In a Different World with a Smartphone (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 4

Chapter IV: L’Etranger from Another World 

Much to my surprise, Mr. Mittens’s cat patrols proved to be effective. 
If they spotted trouble, they immediately informed the nearest guard checkpoint and called over the peacekeepers. If they saw something suspicious, they tailed them and kept an eye on their actions. They also got the attention of adults when their kids were doing dangerous stuff. 
They managed a lot, all without the ability to speak. The townspeople ended up being so thankful for the cats that nobody minded them being all over the danged place. 
Usually a large increase in the amount of cats would mean fish might get stolen, or stray fighting would break out... But I never heard anything about that. Apparently Mr. Mittens was quite the skilled leader... When it came to cats, at least. 
There were occasional incidents where traveling adventurers would try to treat the cats poorly, but they’d always end up being found in back alleys with their clothes shredded to pieces. Their bodies were found covered in scratches, as well. The number of injuries implied they’d been attacked by a considerably sized group, too. The amount of adventurers that tormented animals for fun sharply declined after a few of these incidents. Cats were animals, but they were still capable of retaliation. It seemed like most of the adventurers who fell victim to these attacks ended up being so afraid of cats afterward that they packed up and left town shortly after. 
Thus, the cats had earned their rightful place in Brunhild. 
“What’s suspicious about this person, anyway?” 
“Well...” Mr. Mittens and I were lurking in the shadows, watching someone sitting in the guild bar. Fiana was with Sakura at the castle, so Mr. Mittens was off guard-duty for the day. 
This alleged suspicious person was slowly drinking sake at the edge of the bar. I couldn’t see their face, because they were wearing a dirty, hooded robe, but I definitely considered them female instead of male. That was just my gut instinct talking, though. 
Her hands and legs jutted from the robe, and I could see they were clad in armored gloves and greaves. That led me to believe she was a knight. 
I guess if the cats found her suspicious, then there was cause for concern... but I didn’t think we needed to be so guarded. I didn’t want to intrude on her personal circumstances. She might have had her own reasons for her disguise. 
“She’s plenty suspicious, but the purrcise thing about her that bothers me is that... She doesn’t smell of anything.” 
“No scent? Huh...” 
“Everyone smells of something. At the very least, there’s sweat and body odor. Purrfume is often used to cover that up, but having no smell at all is pawsitively unusual.” 
That made sense enough to me. Cats might not have had a sense of smell as acute as a dogs’, but they could still smell better than humans. From what I heard, cats used scent to judge the quality of their meals, and also to mark their human owners with their own smells by rubbing against their legs. 
In other words, if the cats found her smell suspicious, then it was probably suspicious. 
“There are three purrfectly valid possibilities here.” Mr. Mittens suddenly raised three of his ‘fingers’ into the air. He was surprisingly dexterous for a cat. 
“Firstly, the scent is being masked with magic. Like maybe with an artifact or something, meow. Secondly, she’s undead. But then she’d smell like death at least, so that’s not likely. She could be a spirit though, that would still count... And then there’s the third option! She could be a Golem or a magic construct. But I’ve never seen a Golem her size before. That’s why I think option one is most likely.” 
There were Golems known as Flesh Golems that were made of bodies, kind of like Frankenstein’s Monster... But they still counted as undead creatures. They’d surely emanate the stink of death. 
If her scent was being erased by magic, I couldn’t even begin to think why she’d do that. I didn’t even know a spell like that existed, but there were definitely Null spells with all kinds of uses. One would use a deodorant-style magic if they stunk really badly, but this town was equipped with public bathhouses... If she could afford to drink sake in a bar, she could definitely afford to take a bath. 
“She hasn’t done anything, right? All she’s done is... lack a smell.” 
“You’re too optimistic, meowlord. If you wait until she does something, then it’s already too late, right? We need to act before then, don’t you know that?” 
Really...? She’s just sitting there drinking sake, it’s not like... Oh...? Two drunk adventurers suddenly walked over toward the hooded woman. It looked like they were trying to pick a fight. She definitely stood out, so it wasn’t too surprising that she’d be confronted at some point... 
I briefly wondered whether or not interfering was the right thing to do. 
Just as I was about to make a move, one of the adventurers harassing the woman was blasted away in the blink of an eye. I was taken aback. He ended up being flung out of the bar completely, crashing headfirst into the ground. The hooded women had barely made a move. 
The man was pretty damned big and tall, so the woman must have been packing serious strength to fling him so far. 
I poked my head inside again, and almost got hit by the second adventurer, who was hurtling out the door in much the same fashion. Whoa! I pulled back and watched in awe as the man crumbled to the ground near his friend. Then, I looked back into the bar and saw the hooded woman had returned to her glass of sake, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened. The woman had serious balls, it seemed. 
“Hey, you piece of shit!” 
“Who do you think you are, huh?!” The two men stumbled to their feet, drew their weapons, and tried to get back into the bar. They were completely drunk. It was time for me to step in. 
“That’s enough. Take it any further and there’ll be trouble. A bar fight I can understand, but the moment weapons come out I can’t accept it. Put your weapons away.” 
“What’s that, brat?! You a friend of the hooded idiot?” 
“Get the hell outta my way! You wanna get messed up?!” They were seriously treating me like a child. I wasn’t a seventeen-year-old anymore, but physically I hadn’t really aged in the last year or so, so sometimes people treated me like I was still a kid. It added further credibility to the idea that my Divinity had somehow halted my aging. I might have even become an immortal, but I wasn’t in a hurry to test that out. 
“What’s going on here?” 
“There’s some adventurers causing a fuss.” 
“Wait, that’s the grand duke!” A crowd had gathered without me even realizing it. There were some kids waving to me, even. 
“Go get them, milord!” 
“You can do it!” 
“Go beat them up, milord!” 
Wait, no... That’s not what this situation is! 
I sighed slightly and gave a dismissive wave towards the kids, they seemed a little disappointed by my pacifistic intentions, but then one of the drunks tried to slash me. 
“Grargh!” I dodged him, but his attack would’ve missed anyway. His whole posture was bad and his feet were unsteady; he was steaming drunk. 
Either way, he was a risk. 
Paralyzing him with a bullet would do the job, but I didn’t want the crowd to think I’d just murdered someone. I decided to take him out conventionally. 
I dodged his next attack and touched him with a spot of [Paralysis]. The other man saw his comrade go down like a puppet with its strings cut. He charged at me with his blade, but I used [Power Rise] to catch it between my fingers and snap it off. It was a cheap weapon, evidently. 
“What the...?!” 
Then, I used [Paralysis] to take the second guy out. 
“Hmph...” Just after I took them out, Guildmaster Relisha came out to see the commotion. 
“Your Highness? What’s going on out here?” 
“Ah... I just took down two violent drunks. They’re adventurers, so give them a formal warning, if you could.” 
The guild couldn’t oversee everyone who decided to become an adventurer, but they still had the power to punish them if they did something that harmed the guild’s general image. Such punishments could range from taking treasure away, all the way to revoking a guild card. I’d even heard rumors of a secret guild assassin squad, but those weren’t proven. 
“Got it. I’ll give them a stern warning. If they do it again, we’ll treat them more harshly. That being said, trying to attack a monarch is a grave offense, and would usually warrant the death penalty.” 
“Well, I’ll let them go this time.” Some members of the guild came out and dragged the two fallen men inside. They were paralyzed, but they could still see and hear everything around them. Which probably meant they knew who I was, now. Their faces had gone completely pale. They looked a lot more sober than they had a few moments ago. 
“I have a question.” 
“Whuh?!” I let out a startled cry at the mysterious and unexpected voice from behind me. The source of the voice was the girl who had been drinking at the bar. ...I didn’t notice her at all, what the hell? Her voice is definitely female, but even so... 
“You were referred to as Your Highness and the like. That makes you this country’s sovereign, does it not?” 
“Er... Sovereign’s a weird way to put it, but yes, I’m the grand duke.” 
“Then that means you are Morcheezooki Towya. Am I right?” I nodded awkwardly at the woman’s words. Even if her pronunciation was a little stilted. 
What the hell is this? Is she another foreign assassin? But she doesn’t look like she’s from Yulong... 
“We must talk. Privately. I won’t take much of your time.” 
“...Alright.” I was a little reluctant in following someone this suspicious, but I didn’t feel any hostility from her. I was also curious in exactly what it was she wanted to tell me. 
It felt strange walking behind the hooded woman, but I was finding it hard to put into words. It was like following a robot. There was no feeling in the way she moved. 
I left Mr. Mittens behind, and she took me to the eastern area of a nearby forest, close to a river. 
She looked around to be sure there was nobody else in the vicinity, and she dropped her hood. Her face was fully exposed. 
“What...?!” I instinctively jumped back and reached for my gun, leveling the sights on the woman immediately. The face that my gun was pointed at was absolutely beautiful; she was one of the most beautiful girls I’d ever seen. 
But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was her red eyes. Her red eyes and hard ‘hair,’ the way the sun glittered and reflected from the top of her head. The way she shimmered much like the creatures I’d seen in Roadmare, and then later on in Xenoahs. 
“A Dominant Construct...?!” Shit, how did one infiltrate Brunhild?! The sensors didn’t go off! 
“Please wait. My intention is not to fight you.” 
“...What?” You don’t want to fight? What? 
“I am Lycee. If you are this Mocheyzuki Tooya, then you know Endymion, do you not?” 
“Endymion...? You mean Ende?” He had a name like that? Man... 
“Endymion has not yet returned from the space between worlds. The effort should not be monumental. That is why I would like to request you retrieve him.” 
“Retrieve...?” I was extremely suspicious of this chick and had no idea what to think. Suddenly the girl, Lycee, threw something towards me from beneath her robe. It was a small triangular prism, around ten centimeters in length. 
“If you pour magical power into this... Then Endymion shall be called here, apparently.” 
“Apparently?” 
“That is what Endymion told me. I have never tried it. I lack what this world refers to as magical power. He said that if I was ever to be in trouble, then I needed to seek out the sovereign of Brunhild. Mochizukey Tohya.” 
What the hell... This chick is definitely a Dominant Construct, so why’s she working with Ende? Isn’t he an enemy of the Phrase? Is this a trap, maybe? I glanced over to Lycee with suspicious eyes, but I read no emotion on her at all. Still, something about her felt different to the other two I’d encountered before. 
I poured a little of my magic into the prism, but nothing really happened. Is it broken...? 
After that failure, I gradually increased the amount of magic I was pouring into the prism, until I’d filled it with about a tenth of my total magic. Then, it shattered into several tiny shards. 
“Whoa!” I pulled my hand back from the splintered prism, and the debris floated up into the air to form a large circle. Ende suddenly appeared inside the middle of the circle, passing through it almost like it was one of my portals. 

 

“Ah. Touya, huh? About time... You really saved me. If you hadn’t done that, it would’ve been another half-year or so before I could come back. Thanks... Man, I’m back now, Lycee.” 
“I see you’ve returned, Endymion.” Ende smiled as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. His scarf fluttered in the breeze as he set foot upon this world once more. 
 
“Man, where should I even start...” 
“Tell me everything. I’d like to know all the details from the beginning.” Ende began speaking as he sipped his freshly-brewed tea. We were both sitting in my castle. Lycee sat next to him, sipping her own tea much in the same way she had been sipping her sake earlier. 
The only other person in the room was me. I wasn’t keeping anyone else in the dark, I just wanted to be sure of the situation first. It was serious. 
“That means I might end up talking for a while, is that fine?” 
“That’s fine. Let’s start with something simple. That girl, Lycee. Is she one of the Dominants?” 
“She is, yes.” Ende continued to sip at his tea. 
“The Dominant Constructs are the highest tier of the Phrase species, right?” 
“That’s correct. Lesser Constructs, Intermediate Constructs, Upper Constructs, and Dominant Constructs. Above them there is only the Sovereign. The Dominant Constructs, as the name suggests, exert dominance over anything lesser than them. They also have higher capacity for intelligence and emotion. Well, they’re not very good at the whole emotion thing, mostly.” He flashed me a wry smile as he looked from Lycee to me. 
“Let me just get one thing straight, then. This girl isn’t an enemy, right?” 
“The concept of an enemy depends on circumstances, Touya. If you and your allies decided you wanted to kill the Sovereign, then that would make us your enemy.” Ende glanced at me, a subtle hint of challenge in his eyes. 
“Are you one of the Phrase, Ende?” 
“I might’ve mentioned it in the past, but I’m simply one who crosses worlds. I’ve been called many things in the past. A drifter, a Shift Walker, l’etranger... The list goes on. I was born in a world that exists ‘higher’ on the ladder of reality, at least compared to this one. I have the ability to traverse worlds, up and down, but only worlds ‘below’ my own. I don’t have omnipotent power.” 
So he can move between worlds... That’s an incredible power, honestly... Still, he said he can only cross to lower worlds, but I wonder if that means he could visit Earth, too... 
“During my travels, I found myself on a certain planet. It was the world the Phrase came from. The Crystal Planet, Phrasia. It was there that I met the Sovereign Phrase. Though the title is gender-neutral, it might be best to refer to her as a queen in this sense. She was a woman, after all.” 
Huh... The Sovereign Phrase is female? 
“We spoke with one another about many topics. We spent many years together on that world... It was nice. Eventually, she, well... She wished to live with me. I too, wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. But my people, the Drifters... We simply can’t settle down. We can’t chain ourselves to one world. We Drifters are driven by the sense of exploration and freedom that a new world brings. That’s why she decided she would come with me. There are geniuses in other worlds, after all... And it took her some time, but she came up with her solution. Her method to traverse worlds.” 
That makes sense. Just because a world is lower on a ladder doesn’t mean it’s necessarily inferior. The scientific advancement on Earth is far beyond the stuff in this world, but the magitech stuff that can be applied here is leaps and bounds past some of our stuff. We can’t instantly heal any wounds on Earth like they can here with magic, after all. But still... traversing worlds like that... 
“So you’re telling me she became the Sovereign Core, breached the boundary of worlds, started to absorb power from people in the new worlds, and used that energy to climb upward... Right?” 
“Right. Her hypothesis was that if she reached the heights that I originally came from, she could acquire a method to become an existence like me. Then, and only then, would we be able to live a full life together. That was her plan.” Ende looked downward, casting a sad frown to the floor. Lycee didn’t seem to pay much attention. She was munching on Lu’s cookies like a small woodland creature. Small, cautious bites. She was fine with the sake, fine with the tea, and now fine with the cookies... But she ate really slow. I wondered if she had ever tried these things before. I turned away from her and looked back to Ende as he spoke up once more. 
“The Dominant Constructs protested this, of course. The most vehement of her protesters was the one that I encountered the other day, Ney.” 
“You met Ney, Endymion?” Lycee stopped her slow gnaw to question her companion. 
“Hm? Oh, yeah. She’s looking healthy.” 
“I see.” Lycee shrugged and began eating the cookies again. She wasn’t expressing much in the way of emotion, but it seemed like she was familiar with Ney to some extent. 
“Yeah. I was attacked after that actually, by one calling himself Gila.” 
“Oh, that guy? He’s a total hothead. He’s one of the people after her power, y’know.” 
Yeah that doesn’t surprise me at all. He seemed like a pompous kind of guy. 
“Back to the story... the Dominants protested her decision to travel across worlds. They all had their reasons, of course. Some were scared for her safety, some wanted to keep her strength in the world’s ecosystem, some simply wished to take her power for their own. The Sovereign is the lifeblood of all Phrase, and gives them their supernatural resilience. Without the Sovereign, all Phrasekind would lose that power. They were scared of what might happen. None of them realized that all they had to do was agree on a new Sovereign to keep the species unified. Even if they didn’t have the same power she had, they could still go on. She hoped that they’d come to realize that in time, and left the world of the Phrase with me at last.” 
“So it was like you were eloping because her family protested the marriage, huh...?” 
Ende smiled a little bitterly at my comment. 
“I guess that’s an appropriate analogy, yes. I didn’t kidnap her or anything, we simply wished for the same thing. We did fine for a while. We ascended worlds together. When her core made a pit stop in order to gather enough energy, I would while away my days exploring the new world, meeting people and visiting places. I was alone, but she was with me in spirit. When it was time for her to move, I would move with her. Once she emerged from the body of the local lifeforms, I could sense her presence, and I knew it was time to go. But then one day, something unprecedented happened. The Phrase began invading a world that we were staying in.” 
“Wait, wait. You mean the other Phrase gained the power she had to move across worlds?” 
“In a sense, yes. She tried several different methods of crossing the boundary. The easiest was to tear at the fabric between worlds, and force her way through. But she and I agreed that such a method was risky, and decided not to employ it. Shattering the boundary of a world’s protective barrier would leave that world completely vulnerable to external threats, after all. We wanted to avoid the loss of innocent life in our pursuit of greater heights. That’s why she became a core in a death-like state, and used a more benign method to travel. But a certain faction of the Phrase back on the home world discovered the more dangerous path, and began forcibly ripping down worlds to come after us.” What came to mind was the image of Ende running away with the daughter of a mafia Godfather, and the criminal goons coming after him in violent pursuit. 
Naturally in that kind of story, the hero would be shot to pieces if they were ever found. 
“We left that world before they could find her, and we escaped unscathed. But we later learned that the world we fled from was completely annihilated. It was then that I met with Lycee, and she informed me of what was going on. Since then we’ve been chased, trying not to stay too long and hoping others wouldn’t get harmed.” 

“I understand how you’re traveling, but what about that girl... Lycee? How about her?” I didn’t get it. If Ende could bring someone with him, then why did the Sovereign bother entering a near-dead state? 
“I can bring one or two people across worlds with me, it just takes a little longer. But what the Sovereign... What she wished for wasn’t simple movement. She wanted growth, evolution. She wanted to move alongside me, not just because of me.” That made sense enough, kinda. It was more like her goal was to be reborn, go from Phrase to another being entirely. In a sense, that made her similar to me. Only I’d achieved it. 
But I’d been directly changed by God Almighty himself. If she was slowly ascending the spiral staircase of world hierarchy, then I’d taken the express elevator straight to the top and been granted special privileges. 
“We’d been ascending the worlds one by one, but they’ve been lurking outside each world, getting the timing right and attacking us right as we leave the protection of the barrier. There are worlds with stronger boundaries than others. Any time we were in a world with a weak boundary, they’d pour through and try to reclaim the Sovereign. Many of the worlds were capable, too. A lot of races from other worlds were capable of fending them off. Naturally, I lent them my aid as well. Just like I’ve been working in this world, too. I’ve been killing them wherever I can, holding them back and preventing them from hurting her. Finally, we reached this world, some several thousand years ago... And it was here that a massive Phrase invasion happened.” 
That was the great invasion from five-thousand years ago, then... So Ende really was here back then. 
“I had to step in at the time, too. The Sovereign was very close to being found, humanity was being razed pretty hard. I fought as hard as I could, but I was only one person. Lycee didn’t assist me.” 
“I have no intention of raising a hand to my kin. I simply wish to see where the Sovereign arrives in the end.” 
“She’s just like that...” Ende shrugged a bit. Lycee clearly had no intention of fighting against the Phrase. 
“Back then, the boundary protecting this world was completely shredded. The Phrase poured in, overflowing and destroying everything in their path. There were Dominant Constructs all over, too. It was a full-scale invasion. Humanity and the beast races were unable to do a thing. Honestly, I was going to give up. I was going to find the Sovereign, take her with me, and leap to another world. But just as things reached their lowest... the barrier was repaired. I don’t know how or why. But I knew that there was something I could do. I used my abilities to move all Upper Constructs and Dominant Constructs outside the barrier. Just like I did to Ney the last time, but on a much larger scale. But the strain it put on my body caused me to lose my powers for five-thousand years. I was no longer able to traverse worlds. I was trapped between worlds, floating until now. After I moved us all outside, the people of this world diligently killed all the Lesser and Intermediate Constructs, apparently. Then, after my powers returned, I came across you, Touya.” Ende’s long-winded explanation took me by surprise. 
This is a pretty broad scale, holy crap... How many worlds has he been through, I wonder... Just how long has he been alive...? 
“I think it’s unfortunate that in attempting to prevent other worlds from coming to harm, you actually herded danger toward them.” 
“Indeed. I won’t excuse myself here. If we hadn’t come here five-thousand years ago, many people would’ve survived. We’ve been sacrificing the safety of other worlds, of millions of lifeforms, for our own selfish ends. But there’s no way we could stop now. We’ve come so far, to stop now would be an affront to our original promise. I will take her with me, no matter what. Even if every world becomes my enemy.” Ende’s determination danced along his gaze. He was determined, but oh so irresponsible. He was selfish, and she was selfish. They really were only considering themselves. But he acknowledged that and owned up to it, and still carried on. I couldn’t admire him for that, but I could respect the incredible willpower he required to live with such guilt. 
“Now you’ve heard my story, Touya. What will you do with this knowledge?” 
“...Really there’s nothing I can do about the situation as it is. This world will end if it comes to the point where the Phrase acquire the Sovereign Core, because they’d likely have to slaughter millions to find it. Taking care of you wouldn’t do much, honestly. I don’t want the Phrase to kill us. I’ll wipe out any Upper or Dominant Constructs as they come to us. No matter what you want to do, that’s what my plan is.” I stared at Lycee as I made my declaration, knowing full well she probably didn’t want her ilk to die. In response, she opened her mouth. 
“I cannot approve, but neither can I stand in your way. If you truly must do battle with my kin, then I will remain an onlooker.” 
Guess that means she won’t do anything even if I declare war. Good. 
“Then you won’t complain if I commit genocide against the Phrase?” 
“We are the species that moved to attack other worlds to begin with. We are immoral. If the Phrase must die for their hubris, then I will accept that as my species’ fate.” Part of me wondered if she wasn’t fighting so that she wouldn’t be killed, too. The Phrase wouldn’t go extinct so long as she was alive, after all. 
Oh, wait... There’d still be some Phrase hanging around on their home world, I think. The ones attacking this world are separated from the original species, after all. Like a rogue force. 
“I would like anyone targeting my Sovereign to die. I’m more than happy with making use of your strength to let that happen, Touya. In fact... I have a question for you... Are... Are you really a human from this world, Touya?” He hit me right in the sore spot. But as a Drifter, he could probably recognize some parts of me that didn’t fit here. 
“...I’m not, no. I wasn’t born in this world. That being said, I can’t travel across worlds like you can. I consider this world my home now.” 
“You can’t pass through worlds...? Then how did you come here...? Oh, were you perhaps caught up in some kind of natural disaster? A random drifter, then?” 
“Well, something like that...” If you could consider god himself a natural disaster, then yes. 
 
The Sovereign Phrase was in a state that was much like death, so she was probably unaware of what was going on. In the end, those people who were pursuing her to take her power away looked like nothing more than creepy and shameless stalkers to me. 
Even so, I feel like if she’d given herself up, the other worlds would’ve probably been safe. I think she should’ve spoken to them more before, honestly. 
Apparently, Ende had advised her on this and had her appoint a successor before they left, but she was simply too talented a leader for a lot of the Phrase to accept the new leader. The Phrase home world divided into two distinct factions. Those that obeyed the will of the new leader, and those that did not. The ones that did not acquired the power to forcibly travel through worlds, and began their pursuit of their Sovereign. 
It seemed there were geniuses amongst the Dominant Constructs, but none came close to her in terms of skill. It also seemed like a lot of the Dominant Constructs had their own goals in regards of what they wanted to do with her, and they were all in different minds about how to proceed. 
Lycee was absolutely intent on not interfering with any side of the conflict. She moved with Ende, but offered aid to neither him nor her species. Even so, some of the Dominant Constructs considered her a turncoat. 
If you asked me, it was a little hypocritical of them to refer to her as traitor when they were the ones not abiding by the will of their leader. A bunch of annoying, hypocritical stalkers. 
They honestly felt like children who couldn’t bear to be apart from their caregiver. 
I was reminded of something Kousaka had told me, though. That I couldn’t let people constantly depend on me to fix all their problems. 
If Brunhild kept on counting on me to fix everything up, they could end up messing up in the same way as the Phrase. 
It wasn’t my country. It was the people’s country. I pledged to never forget that. 
Ende’s Dragoon shimmered in the morning sun as it stood in a field out of town. I’d finished patching it up, so I returned it to him. 
Apparently the sensor board hadn’t reacted to Lycee because she was a Dominant Construct, and our equipment simply didn’t have the right parameters to pick her up. I wanted to use the chance to figure out what kind of wavelength a Dominant Construct emitted, but Lycee informed me that Phrase of her level of strength could easily mute those waves, even for other Phrase. 
Apparently they kept in a state of no-wave generation in order to prevent interference with their subordinates. It was like a built-in stealth mode... Lycee was functionally undetectable, but she wasn’t hostile so it was fine. I did ask her if we could record a sample just in case, but she flat-out denied me. It was a pain, but I didn’t push it. 
I called out to Ende. 
“What now, then?” 
“I’ll keep on hunting any Phrase that come through, like I have been. I’ll do it until she’s ready to leave this world.” 
When’s that gonna be, I wonder... Even if we spare this world, won’t the next one just be in the same situation? 
Nobody knew where the Sovereign would go next. It was likely that even she didn’t know. Ende would continue to loyally follow her, though. He’d keep on protecting her from her pursuers. 
In all honesty, I wanted to wipe out the Phrase while they were still targeting this world. I couldn’t bear to think what might happen if they attacked Earth. 
I understand Ende’s perspective on the matter, though. If I was forced to pick between the people I cared about or many people that didn’t mean anything to me, the older me might’ve been conflicted. But the me right now would sacrifice countless strangers in order to protect the people that matter. 
If someone told me right now that if I didn’t destroy the Sovereign Core, then everyone I loved would die, then I’d fight against Ende in a heartbeat. 
If our positions were reversed, I might’ve made the same decision he did. I could feel a strange sense of kinship in our philosophies. 
Ende clambered into the cockpit. Lycee put her hood back on and climbed into the palm of the Frame Gear’s hand. He let the wheels fall to the ground, shifting to high-speed mode. 
“Well, Touya. I’ll catch you later.” 
“Yep.” The Dragoon began to pick up speed, sliding along the ground and kicking up a dust cloud. Its form slowly faded into the distance. 
“Here you were, Touya.” 
“Oh, Yumina.” I turned around to see Kohaku and Yumina. I’d told the others about Ende and his story the day beforehand. They were surprised, but we still decided to stick to our current plan. If the Phrase kept attacking us, then we were going to resist them. 
Yumina stood by my side as the tiny Dragoon on the horizon faded from sight. 
“If... If you went back to your old world, Touya, then...” 
“Hm? What’s with that line of thought all of a sudden?” 
“I was thinking about it, and... If I couldn’t live with you, Touya. I wouldn’t want to go on. I would’ve looked for a method to travel across worlds as well.” It seemed like she’d been thinking about Ende and the Sovereign. They loved each other, and that was why they were so determined to be together. It was a tragedy that their determination triggered so much despair for so many people, but if I was sent back to my world, I’d do my best to meet with Yumina and the others again as well. 
If I said something like “I’m trying to find a way to travel to another world” back on Earth, then they’d probably think I was insane. But I wouldn’t let that stop me. Even if I had to resort to suspicious or occult means, I’d try everything in my power to get there. 
If I couldn’t live with the girls who meant so much to me, then there’d be no point in living at all. 
I placed my hand on Yumina’s shoulder and pulled her into a gentle embrace. 
“It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Even if I get whisked away to another world, I’ll come back to you. I’ll ask god, and he’ll oblige. I’m sure.” 
“God, huh... It’d be nice if he listened to your prayers.” Yumina smiled softly. Heh... I’m not kidding, you know. 
I’ll protect this smile. I’ll keep you all by my side, forever. I’ll walk to the future with all of you, hand in hand. I’ll do my very best, I promise. 
I embraced her tightly as I made my quiet declaration. 
“Ah, Touya.” We were passing by the training field. Lu was sitting on a nearby bench and waved to us. She was dressed lightly and had two short wooden training swords by her side. Elze was sitting on the other side of her, wiping her sweaty face down with a towel.  

Yae and Hilde were having themselves a fierce bout in the training area. Their training with Moroha had increased their abilities by a considerable amount. They were definitely masters of their craft at this point. 
The other knights were watching them keenly from a distance. 
As we walked toward the bench-seated duo, Elze looked down at the ground and muttered in a dissatisfied voice. 
“Hmph... So what are you two doing? Been together all morning...?” 
“Late morning. Is uh, everything okay?” 
“Yeah, fine. I’m not in a bad mood or anything!” Elze, clearly flustered, wiped her red face down with the towel again. I could read her like a book. That side of her was adorable, too. 
“Where’s everyone else?” 
“Linze and Leen were taken off by the doctor. They’re up on Babylon right now, I think. Something about adjusting our personal Frame Gears.” 
“I’d like my Frame Gear to be built soon, too.” 
“Now, now. Don’t worry. They’re cooking up something that’ll perform smoothly, so you just gotta wait a little longer.” I gave Lu a smile, but she did seem a little pouty. I didn’t have a Frame Gear yet, either. Mine would probably be saved for last, though. I could go toe to toe with Upper Constructs even without a Frame Gear, after all. Plus, everyone knows you save the best for last. 
As I quietly gloated about myself to myself, Sakura, Spica, and Sue came over from the castle. 
“Touya!” 
“Oh, Sue. Visiting today, are we?” Sue rushed over and tackled me with a hug. She lived back with her folks in Belfast, but had a ready-to-use portal in her bedroom so she could visit whenever. She typically visited in the afternoons, though. 
“Mhm. I’m your bride-to-be, you know? I can’t afford to neglect my preparations for marriage. I’m gonna stay here all day today. Also dad gave me permission to stay overnight, so I’m gonna sleep in your bed tonight!” 
“Ehh... Really now...?” All my other fiancees turned their gaze to me. Their eyes were narrowed. 
Sue typically stayed with Yumina when she slept here, so this was a pretty unusual demand. 
“Is there a problem? Do you hate me, Touya?” 
“I don’t hate you, Sue... It’s just a little soon for that. I-It might be bad for my reputation, too...” 
“Your reputation? We’re just sleeping with one another...” Sue innocently tilted her head to the side, it seemed like she had no idea what I thought she had an idea about. 
Welp, I get it. What Sue is thinking about is... different from what I’m thinking about. Not that I was gonna do anything anyway, though! I began to sweat slightly, I gave Yumina a sidelong glance, silently begging her for aid. 
She noticed and grinned softly. Then she began talking. 
“You know, Sue... Sharing a bed with a single man, fiancee or not... Doesn’t reflect well on him or you. You’re a noble, remember?” 
“Is that how it works, Yumina?” 
“It is, it is. That’s why we all need to sleep with Touya at the same time. That way there won’t be any issues.” 
“Waiiit, what?!” What the hell did you just say, Yumina?! There’s no way we can do that! 
“Hold on, hold on! Where’d you get that idea?!” 
“Why not? We’re just gonna sleep in the same bed, right? Is that such a problem...? Or did you have... Specific intentions for us?” 
“...Hmph.” I couldn’t counter Yumina’s perfect attack. I guess just sleeping is fine... 
“W-Wait, Yumina! Does that include all of us?!” 
“Of course, Elze. Or do you want to be the only one left out?” 
“Mhh... Ghh... I-I mean, in that case I have no choice... B-But... Ghh...” 
“I don’t mind.” Sakura seemed pretty comfortable with the idea... Until I looked at her face. Despite her calm tone, her eyes were darting around and her face was beet red. Spica stood next to her with a quiet look of discontent on her face. 
“I-I’m fine with it too, Touya... Let’s sleep together, it’ll be fun!” 
“What’re you being so loud for, Lu...?” I quickly covered Lu’s mouth, she seemed to be sputtering in a panic. 
What the hell is going on?! Someone help! This is way too extreme! My prayers were suddenly answered as my smartphone began to vibrate. It was Guildmaster Relisha, my savior. 
“Y-Yeah! ‘Sup?!” 
“Sorry to bother you, Your Highness. The Kingdom of Ryle has received readings that suggest a group of a thousand Phrase will soon emerge near their territory. There aren’t any Upper Constructs amongst them. They’re set to appear in around three hours.” 
“Three hours?!” Typically we had a little leeway, but this had me concerned... It seemed like the world’s protective boundary was weakening again. 
“They can’t take refuge or send sufficient men in, so... We have no choice but to ask you. I have permission from the king of Ryle.” 
“Not a problem. Send me a message with more information and details. I’ll dispatch our knights.” 
“Thanks.” I put my phone down. The hubbub from my fiancees had finally died down, and now they just had their gazes leveled on me. I was saved by a set of unlikely heroes. I really owed the Phrase one. 
I gathered up the knights and explained the situation. 
“The Kingdom of Ryle is expecting a Phrase invasion to the tune of a few thousand. They’re gonna appear in about three hours. We’ll head there and crush them all! Contact anyone who isn’t occupied. You have one hour to get prepared for rolling out! Dismissed!” 
“Hoo-rah!” All the knights dashed out to begin their preparations. They shed their armor so they could hurry out and contact their allies. 
I needed to call Lain, Nikola, and Norn on the phone to tell them what was going on. Then I needed to tell Baba and Yamagata to guard the castle in my absence. I had to hurry! 
“Man, what a pain...” 
“Good grief... This certainly is a bit of a mood killer, but... Let’s protect the planet! Let’s protect the planet!” Yumina grinned and made a little out-of-character statement as she looked up into the clouds. 
A lot had happened since I came to this world. It was rough living here, much rougher compared to Earth. 
But I loved this world. Everyone that mattered to me lived in this world. It was a world I was proud to fight for. A world I was proud to protect. 
“Shall we?” All the girls nodded. 
I came to this world with a single smartphone. But now I had countless friends and partners to rely on. 
I’m sure a lot more is gonna happen from here onwards... But I know they’ll help me through it, just as I’ll help them. I know it. 
With resolve in my heart, I opened up a [Gate] to Babylon. 
As an aside, the girls all ended up staying in bed together so they could have a private chat... I ended up sleeping on the couch that night after I got back...