Vol 2 Chapter 8 – Encountering a Nostalgic Race While Traveling

“Magic ship?”

I’d transformed into Alisa and visited the Adventurer’s Guild, where my assigned receptionist Serina was telling me about a request.

The first term that came up was “magic ship”—a phrase I’d never heard before.

“Judging from the words, it’s a ship powered by magic?”

“Well yes, but also no, or rather…”

Serina seemed to be struggling with how to explain it, thinking for a moment.

After Serina stumbled through her explanation, here’s what it boiled down to:

The Empire has ports facing the sea, so naturally ships exist.

Ships in this world—or rather, this continent—obviously don’t have engines installed, so magic powers them.

The common method is using wind magic from behind to blow wind at the ship’s sails for propulsion.

Of course, even mobilizing multiple mages, there isn’t enough magic power to constantly generate thrust with wind magic, but it’s still far more efficient than relying solely on wind.

More importantly, once you set sail, there’s a high chance of monster attacks, so being able to rapidly accelerate and escape becomes crucial.

In that sense, maybe the ships currently in the Empire could also be called magic ships.

“However, this ship is apparently so innovative it can only be called a true magic ship. After all, there’s a strong possibility it came from another continent.”

“…From another continent?”

Apparently while I was making various detours, someone approached from another continent.

“Well, it’s just speculation. After all, the crew aboard the magic ship that reached the Empire’s port speak a different language and have a different culture, so we can’t even communicate.”

“Huh.”

I once flew over another continent using flight magic, but I never imagined there’d be a race with superior civilization.

“So we’d like to ask you to investigate, Alisa-san.”

“Investigation? Shouldn’t the Empire’s investigators already be doing that?”

“Well yes, but also no, or rather… They can’t communicate with them, and maybe they think they’re invaders from another continent? Either way, no progress is being made.”

“Can’t you just send personnel directly under the emperor to the port?”

“Yes. The request is for you to transport a special operations member from the Royal Guard—directly under the emperor—using your teleportation magic to help move the investigation forward.”

“Ah…”

In other words, I should bring Yumeba along as the person in charge and proceed with the investigation myself.

Of course, not as Alisa the mere adventurer, but as Emilio the former imperial family member.

The request probably isn’t from the Adventurer’s Guild but from the emperor himself.

“The emperor could just tell me directly.”

“…He seems very busy.”

Well, there’s no way the emperor would be idle in the current situation.

But the bigger reason he didn’t contact me directly is probably because he developed some kind of complex about me and Yumeba and is avoiding us.

As the Empire’s emperor, he can’t appear weak, so he’d deny it with everything he has.

“I understand the request, but is there a letter of authorization?”

If Yumeba and I can officially go out together, I have no complaints, but without full authority delegated from the emperor, we can’t conduct a formal investigation.

“They’ll give that to the special operations member.”

“…I wish he’d shown that same level of preparation during the war.”

“No comment.”

Serina kept her mouth shut rather than agree with criticism of the emperor.

“Oh right, this is a souvenir from our trip.”

“Thank you so much!”

When I handed over the souvenir—my original purpose—she accepted it with a genuine smile.

“By the way, what should we do about the telepathy devices?”

“I want to keep communication with personnel remaining in the capital, so hold onto them for now. Or have you been bothered unnecessarily?”

“I have been… but there were no problems. Dropping Alisa-san’s name and the Saionji ducal house makes them back off 100% of the time.”

“Figured as much.”

Who would willingly make enemies of both me—an S-rank adventurer equivalent—and the Saionji ducal house?

“However, His Majesty the Emperor has conveyed that he doesn’t need details but would like one of the actual devices.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

I don’t want a hotline with the emperor.

◇◇◇

“I get to travel with Lio again!”

Yumeba, returning from training, was in high spirits.

While Yumeba enjoys the situation of being alone together at home, she seems to like traveling alone together even more.

Well, the world’s strongest creature is always at home, so it’s not exactly relaxing.

“Um… this is technically work too.”

“Of course I understand! Let’s finish the job quickly and enjoy our trip together!”

“…Right.”

For Yumeba—or rather, for the Saionji ducal house—work is apparently just spice to enjoy flirting with one’s husband.

Well, I’m looking forward to the trip too, so it’s fine.

◇◇◇

The next day, Yumeba and I teleported to the port in question.

Of course, Yumeba already had the emperor’s letter of full authority and stored it in her bracelet.

Holding this gives Yumeba speaking authority equal to the emperor himself.

“It’s been a while since I came to this port town.”

Yumeba doesn’t seem particularly concerned about it.

“You’ve been here before?”

“My first assignment after joining the Royal Guard was traveling around the entire Empire to memorize the geography. I’ve been to every city in the Empire at least once. Though it’s half that now.”

“If my memory serves, even after you joined the Royal Guard, you trained me pretty frequently?”

“I traveled by horse, so unless it was a really distant city, I could return by my day off.”

“I-I see.”

That’s normally a forced march, and days off should normally be used as actual days off.

Yumeba’s been Yumeba since back then, apparently.

“More importantly, let’s get an inn quickly. Work comes after that.”

“Yes ma’am.”

My job this time is merely assisting Yumeba, so I’ll obediently follow her decisions as the authority holder.

“~♪”

She’s technically working but is it okay that Yumeba’s in casual clothes?

Well, the bracelet’s function lets her change instantly, so she can just change when needed.

Of course, Yume II floats and follows by Yumeba’s shoulder…

“By the way, did anyone say anything about Yume II?”

“When I said it was a gift from Lio, everyone accepted it.”

“…I see.”

Apparently “Lio gifted something strange” is more convincing than “Yumeba has something strange.”

◇◇◇

Yumeba chose an inn in the port town with an ocean view.

Romance takes priority—the walls are thin enough that soundproofing can’t be expected, but I can set up my soundproof barrier at night, no problem.

I have no intention of letting anyone but me hear Yumeba’s sexy voice.

◇◇◇

After successfully securing the inn, Yumeba and I decided to go see this so-called magic ship.

“According to information gathered, the truth is that the magic ship got caught in a storm and drifted to port—apparently the Empire’s port wasn’t the intended destination.”

“Was there even a storm?”

Even though it’s been halved, the Empire’s territory is still vast, so I don’t monitor every region’s weather, but I hadn’t heard anything about a storm.

“I thought so too, but the ship apparently has no mast or sails left, so sailors said it must have been that.”

“What unreliable testimony.”

To begin with, since it’s a magic ship built with different technology than the Empire’s, there’s a possibility it never had a mast or sails in the first place.

Despite my exasperation, Yumeba and I reached the port and entered a building that looked like a management office built nearby.

I was curious about the magic ship too, but I figured we should first speak to the port’s supervisor before meeting the crew we supposedly can’t communicate with…

“Hmph. Lowly adventurer scum.”

“…”

The port’s management supervisor—a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman in knight’s armor—looked down at Yumeba and me the moment we met, speaking condescendingly.

“As you can see, I’m busy. Unlike lowly idlers like you. Tuck your tails and scurry home.”

“…”

Seriously, what’s with this woman?

“…I have one question.”

“!”

I was just exasperated, but the quiet voice of Yumeba-san beside me startled me—I glanced over to see a member of the world’s strongest creature clan with light completely gone from her eyes and expression fallen away…

“Does that question have enough value to waste my precious time?”

(Hey. Stop it, you idiot! Don’t provoke Yumeba-san any further!)

My desperate prayer went unanswered.

“…Why do you think we’re adventurers?”

“Hmph. Look at that hair and those eyes—it’s obvious at a glance. Noble people have golden hair and blue eyes like me.”

“…I see.”

Yeah. Why is this idiot the port supervisor?

“Lio. I’m going to execute this idiot for a moment… You don’t mind, right?”

“Be my guest.”

We’d already passed the stage where I could stop her, so I honestly support Yumeba-san’s actions.

“You two, what are you…!”

Mid-sentence, the idiot received the dense killing intent released from Yumeba’s body, fell silent, and simultaneously collapsed onto the floor with her legs giving out.

She’d lost the strength in her legs from fear.

“Wha… hah! What’s…?”

“You’re noisy. Don’t talk.”

“!”

Yumeba grabbed her prized blonde hair and slammed her face into the floor.

“Ah… gahah!”

Apparently not full force—the idiot only ended up with a collapsed nose and didn’t die.

Or rather, this exquisitely calibrated restraint to avoid instant death means—she doesn’t intend to finish this by simply killing her.

Yeah. Yumeba-san is definitely pissed.

Insulting her husband in front of a Saionji ducal house woman is touching her reverse scale.

Even Yukina-san would definitely get pissed in the same situation.

“You… You! You think you’ll get away with doing this to me…! Mpgyu!”

While the idiot was still making noise, Yumeba stomped on her head mid-sentence, making her kiss the floor face-first.

Yeah. This woman’s just unpleasant even talking.

“You think… you think you can do this! I’m from House Mareliya the Count family! You know this and commit such outrages! You’ll regret this!”

“Oh, how considerate. I’m Yumeba.”

Against the idiot who kept making noise with her head trampled under Yumeba’s foot, Yumeba simply gave her name. Just her name.

“Ku… kuku. Yumeba is it? I’ve memorized that name! I’ll definitely use House Mareliya’s power to destroy you and your entire clan!”

“…”

This woman—why does she have zero perception or observation skills?

My black hair and heterochromatic eyes are obvious, but the Saionji ducal house’s red hair and crimson eyes are also distinctive enough to notice immediately.

“Fufu. It’s been a while since a noble house picked a fight with me… or rather, this might be the first time? Let me properly introduce myself—I’m Yumeba = Reio = Saionji.”

“Hmph. Introductions from the lowly… Saionji?”

Only then—truly only after Yumeba gave her full name—did she finally realize Yumeba’s identity.

“No way…”

“Yes. I’m Yumeba, next head of the Saionji ducal house. The Saionji ducal house has a policy of accepting any fight sold to us, so your… no, House Mareliya’s challenge—I’ll accept it.”

“~~~!”

Finally understanding her position and the situation, the idiot’s face turned pale as she let out a voiceless scream.

“Of course, to leave no lingering grudges, I’ll thoroughly, mercilessly, ensure you can never recover, leaving not even a speck of dust… I’ll crush House Mareliya.”

“Ah… ahh…”

The idiot could only tremble while looking up at Yumeba.

“That’s fine, right? Lio.”

“Sure. If House Mareliya is the kind that makes this idiot their supervisor, they’re parasites on the Empire—His Majesty won’t complain.”

Yeah. Yumeba won’t stop at this point, and besides, if Yukina-san hears about this, she’ll say to be thorough too.

“Hey Lio, what punishment would be appropriate for this one?”

“How about service duty for mine slaves?”

“What kind of job is that?”

“Slaves who dig mines until they die accumulate stress, are filthy, disease-ridden, and overflowing with sexual desire, so it’s a job being their outlet. Getting violated in every hole around the clock, not allowed to rest or die—it’s one of the lowest jobs in the Empire.”

“Hiiii!”

The idiot listening to the conversation lost even more strength in her already-weak legs—and a puddle spread across the floor where she sat.

She’d peed herself in fear.

“Near the lowest means there’s something even lower, right?”

“I don’t know the details that far down, but there’s a low-level monster called goblins, right?”

“Oh. Those small green old men.”

“Apparently there’s a place breeding them for beginner training.”

“Ewww.”

Yeah. The simple job of endlessly getting violated by goblins and continuously bearing goblin children.

“Stop… please stop! I was, I was wrong! I apologize, so please show mercy!”

“Can’t do that, right?”

“Obviously not.”

Of course we’d reject this idiot’s pleas.

This kind of idiot would definitely pull the same crap again if temporarily saved, and before that, there’s no way such convenient talk of only saving herself would fly after doing whatever she wanted until now.

There must be many people crushed by her who suffered terribly—now it’s just her turn.

“Oh right. I don’t think this one has the guts to commit suicide, but just in case, let’s put a suggestion on her so she can’t.”

“That’s good.”

Really just in case, I made eye contact with the idiot to cast hypnosis magic…

“B-black hair… heterochromatic eyes? The… discarded prince?”

The idiot pulled another idiotic move.

“Fu… fufufu. You’re amazing. After making me this uncomfortable, you still weren’t satisfied? You must be a genius at making me uncomfortable.”

“Hiii!”

Obviously, my moniker “discarded prince” is an infamous name meant to demean me—there’s no reason for Yumeba not to get angry hearing it.

“~~~!”

Once again, the idiot’s screams echoed around us.

◇◇◇

Postponing dealing with the idiot, Yumeba and I decided to go see the magic ship’s crew supposedly housed in the management facility.

“With that idiot as supervisor, I expected this, but it’s worse than expected.”

“That’s one more charge added.”

The presumed magic ship crew members were all sprawled on the floor, covered in wounds all over their bodies, apparently having undergone excessive torture.

I had no choice but to treat them with my magic.

Yeah. I have Aegis absolute defense barrier, and Yumeba rarely gets injured, so it hasn’t had a chance to shine, but I can use healing magic.

Moreover, with incomparable recovery power to ordinary magic, I can even heal mental wounds from torture.

Well, that just means healing weakened hearts—I can’t do anything about memories, so I can’t heal trauma.

“Seriously, idiots create unnecessary work.”

“She needs thorough instruction before sending her to the mines or breeding grounds.”

“Ah, yes.”

I was just making threats and wasn’t serious, but Yumeba-san was.

Former Fourth Prince aside, the moment she picked a fight with the Saionji ducal house, her—or rather, their—lives ended.

“This will probably keep happening, so reluctantly, I’ll give the emperor a telepathy device too.”

“Right. It’s annoying to get the emperor’s permission every time we crush an idiot noble.”

We have full authority this time so no problem, but even Yumeba from the Saionji ducal house can’t crush noble houses without permission.

We’re about to crush that idiot’s family home, so I’ll hand over a telepathy device while making an after-action report.

“…Where… this?”

While we were at it, the treatment finished—the collapsed magic ship crew members opened their eyes and muttered something.

Then the crew members opened their eyes one after another, confirmed their surroundings, and…

“We, we don’t know anything. We don’t know anything!”

“Don’t do terrible things to us!”

They started shouting in an incomprehensible language.

Incomprehensible?

“Calm down. The idiot who was torturing you meaninglessly has already been restrained. If you do nothing, nothing terrible will happen, so calm down first.”

“You can understand our language!”

“Of course I can… huh?”

Contrary to my confusion, Yumeba was normally communicating with them.

(Ah. It’s the translation magic effect from the ribbon.)

I convinced myself of that, but…

“Is, is that true?”

“Ah.”

Only then did I notice.

The reason I could somehow understand the language they spoke without using any translation magic on myself.

(This is Japanese.)

It’s been over 16 years since I’ve used it, so it’s somewhat uncertain, but it’s the language I used in my previous life, so I could vaguely understand the meaning.

(Or rather, these guys are Japanese.)

Come to think of it, they’re all black-haired and black-eyed—well, not all of them, but modern Japanese people commonly dye their hair brown, so they’re probably Japanese.

Why are Japanese people here? And if these guys are Japanese, is the magic ship they were on actually an engine-powered ship? Various questions float up, but…

“Hey, Li~o~. Why can I understand what these people are saying?”

“…”

For now, I need to somehow deal with Yumeba-san’s interrogation.

◇◇◇

“Geez. It’s not bad or anything, so you should’ve said that from the start.”

“…But Yumeba-san was so happy, I didn’t want to spoil it.”

I mean, it would’ve been a buzzkill to say “actually it was a practical item” when she was enjoying her present.

“I’d be happy with anything from Lio, you know?”

“That may be true, but I’d never given you such a pure present before, so seeing you happy like that was so cute…”

“…”

After accidentally exposing my true feelings, Yumeba’s cheeks gradually turned red.

(Whoa.)

(What’s with this sweetness?)

(I’m gonna barf sugar.)

The surrounding crew members could now understand us since I’d already used translation magic, so they were fed up with our lovey-dovey aura, but ignoring that, I embraced Yumeba.

(Shoo, shoo.)

I simultaneously waved my hand to block the crew’s view.

Since it’s a good atmosphere, we don’t need extra spectators.

(Tch.)

(Couples should explode.)

Some must have been single men judging by the tongue clicking, but they still turned their backs and pretended not to see.

Bad attitudes but they could read the room—that helped.

For a while after that, Yumeba and I held each other, and recognizing no one was watching, Yumeba asked for a kiss so I happily pressed our lips together, hugged tighter, occasionally kissed—endlessly flirting.