523 – The Prince Returns, and the Silver Crown

The tunnel requested by the Iron Nation of Gandiris had been successfully dug, and we returned to Brunhild.

That said, Kuhn, Engineer Elka, and Professor stayed behind in the underground city Agartha to continue analyzing the Gigantes.

Several golem engineers from Gandiris had also gathered in the underground city, and they were all stunned to see two of the Five Grand Meisters—the pinnacle of golem engineering—present.

“Good grief, that was rough…”“Thank you for your hard work.”

Slumping into the sofa in the living room, completely drained, I gratefully accepted the tea Yumina poured for me.

Perhaps inspired by the fight against the Gigantes, the kids had run off to the game room, saying they’d battle using frame units. Elze, Hilda, and Yae had gone with them, so it should be fine. Alice and Ende also tagged along.

“We've been away for a while, but quite a few of the children have gathered, haven’t they?”

Tokie Obaa-chan, who also received tea from Yumina, smiled gently as she sipped from her cup on the sofa.

Apparently, she had been in the Divine Realm for a while. Normally, she’s supposed to help maintain this world’s barrier, so I had been wondering if something had happened…

“There are only two children left who haven't come yet, right? Yumina’s son and Sue’s daughter. …Once they’re all here, they’ll return to the future, won’t they?”

“About that… things have gotten a little complicated.”

Tokie Obaa-chan smiled wryly as she set her teacup down on the table.

Complicated? Wait—don't tell me they can’t return to the future?

“Ah, it’s not like that. If it’s just returning them to their original timeline, there’s no issue. They can be sent back safely to their original worldline. However, we… have our own reasons for asking them to stay a little longer.”

“Reasons?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t say just yet. I’ll explain once I’ve looked into things more and things become clearer.”

With a troubled expression, Tokie Obaa-chan brought the cup back to her lips. Mmm… Something troublesome again, huh…? Dealing with the "Apostles of the Evil God" is already enough of a headache. I really don’t need anything else on my plate.

Just as a bad feeling started to creep in, my smartphone in my pocket buzzed with an incoming call.

“Huh? It’s Zanac-san. That’s rare.”

Zanac-san, the owner of the clothing store Fashion King Zanac, had shot to fame after designing our wedding attire. His wedding dresses were now selling like hotcakes to royals and nobles all across the world.

He’d been so busy that we hadn't spoken much since the wedding. I wonder what's going on?

“Hello?”

“Hello? Is this His Highness the Sovereign King? Uh, right, could you—what? Switch with me? But… ah, okay. Please be respectful, okay? Sorry, I’ll hand it over now.”

Sounds like he’s passing the phone to someone. But to whom?

“Hello. I’ve taken over the call—uh, I’m Mochizuki Kuon. Do you know who I am?”

“Wha—!?”

The voice on the other end wasn’t even through puberty yet—clearly a young boy. Did he say Mochizuki Kuon?

“Um, can you hear me?”

“Ah—yes! I can hear you! Wait… you’re really Kuon!?”

“Yes. No doubt about it. I was lucky to meet Zanac-san in Regulus, so I asked him to let me call you. I lost my own phone, so…”

This boy is Kuon…? My son? His way of speaking is pretty mature for his age...

Just as I was torn between feeling proud of his intellect and thinking he was too grown-up for a child, Yumina, sitting beside me, suddenly snatched the phone away.

“H-hello!? Kuon? Is that really you!? It’s Mom! Do you recognize me!?”

Wha—Yumina-san, seriously!? I was in the middle of talking to him!

I reached out to get the phone back, but Yumina masterfully blocked me. What is this, a basketball match?

“Yes, yes. I understand. Please stay right there, okay!? Don’t move!”

And with that, she heartlessly hung up the call. Wha—why’d you hang up!?

“Touya-san! He’s in the Imperial Capital of Regulus! At the public carriage station in the central district! Let’s go pick him up immediately!”

“Eh? Oh, right, that would be faster…”

Yeah, we can just go directly if we know the location. A simple teleport spell will do.

I looked at Tokie Obaa-chan, and she gave a small nod. Alright then, time to go fetch my only son.

“【Gate】”

As soon as the portal of【Gate】opened, Yumina leapt through it even faster than I could. Wait, Yumina-san, aren’t you rushing a bit too much?

I left everyone else in the room behind and passed through the portal myself. It brought me to a familiar back alley near the public carriage station.

I always scout out quiet places like this in advance to use【Gate】discreetly.

Yumina was already gone—she must’ve headed straight to the station.

I jogged out of the alley and quickly arrived at the carriage station, where numerous carriages were lined up. There, I saw Yumina hugging a boy who looked around six years old.

Next to them stood Zanac-san, looking completely bewildered, along with another man who had a similar face and seemed to be a merchant.

“Ah, Your Majesty. You’ve arrived. So, this child really was a relative of yours?”

“Uh—Uh-yeah. Something like that.”

I gave a vague answer to Zanac-san and turned my gaze back toward Yumina. The boy she was hugging looked suffocated, his eyes darting back and forth as he tapped her shoulder.

“Hey, Yumina! Kuon’s struggling! Let go for a second!”

“Huh!? Ah, I-I’m so sorry! I just got carried away…!”

Freed from Yumina’s arms, Kuon took a deep breath and tried to steady his breathing. Just how hard was she hugging him?

He seemed a little short for a six-year-old and had a delicate build. His long blond hair, tied in the back like Yumina’s, made him look a bit like a girl at first glance.

Then Kuon turned to look at me. His eyes were the same black as mine.

“Shall we head back to Brunhild to talk? It’s not really the best place to have a proper conversation here.”

“Ah… yeah. You’re right. Let’s do that.”

When I thanked Zanac-san, he took the opportunity to introduce me to his younger brother. His name was apparently Barac. No wonder I thought they looked alike.

It seems Barac-san is the branch manager of “Fashion King Zanac” in Regulus. So, he had a younger brother, huh. I thanked him as well, but he ended up thanking me instead. Apparently, Kuon helped him out when he was about to be scammed by a con artist or something. Seriously...? The kid’s got his act together...

“If you’re heading back to Brunhilde, I could give you a ride...”

“Ah, no, it’s quite alright. There are a few towns I plan to stop by on the way...”

I was going to offer Zanac-san a ride to Brunhilde as well, but he declined. If it’s for work, then it can’t be helped.

In the Eastern Continent, carriages are still the main mode of transportation. It’d be much more convenient if they’d finally open a magic train line between Brunhilde and Regulus...

“Touya-san! Hurry up!”

Yumina tugged on Kuon’s hand as she called out to me impatiently. I glanced over and saw Kuon holding a small sword in the hand not connected to Yumina’s. So Kuon uses a sword, huh?

After giving another round of thanks to Zanac-san and Barac-san, we returned to Brunhilde through the back alley.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Once again, my name is Mochizuki Kuon. It is a pleasure to meet you in this era, Father, Mother. I humbly ask for your favor.”

“Ah, ahh... yes...”

“Umm, you don’t have to be that formal, you know? We are family...”

Even Yumina was a bit bewildered by his stiff greeting. Is he just naturally serious?

“No, please don’t worry. I’m always like this. Actually, this is me being casual, you know?”

He says that, but he didn’t sound casual at all. If anything, he sounded like a corporate businessman. Weren’t boys his age supposed to be louder and restless?

Seated on the sofa in the living room, Kuon pulled out a paper-wrapped box from the backpack he had been carrying.

He placed it on the table and gently pushed it toward us. Huh? What’s this?

“This is a souvenir. It’s from a shop Barac-san recommended—famous for their cookies. I hope they suit your taste.”

“Wait, hold up—are you really six years old!?”

He even brought a gift for his parents? What kind of ridiculously thoughtful child is this!? What a perfect son!

“Haa... what a polite little boy...”

“Is he really younger than my Linze...?”

Those voices came from Luu and Linze, who had been watching us curiously.

Hearing that, Yumina, sitting next to me, looked absolutely delighted. I get it, I really do—but maybe don’t smile that smugly?

We then asked Kuon where he appeared and how he got here. As expected, he had lost his smartphone too.

In the snowy fields of Elfrau, huh? Yeah, there’s no way you’d find it out there.

“Alright then, I’ll use the [Apport] and [Teleport] spells we’ve enchanted to summon Kuon’s phone—”

I opened the list on my own smartphone with all the registered users... and then it hit me.

...Wait. What’s Kuon’s phone’s serial number again? Actually, would it even be registered? It hasn’t even been made yet!

Which means... I’ll have to go find it myself. Well, using [Search] should make it easy, at least.

“Touya-san?”

“Nah, nothing. I’m just gonna go pick up Kuon’s phone real quick...”

“I’m terribly sorry, Father.”

Kuon apologized to me. Honestly, this kid’s so polite I almost want to question if he’s really my son. Or maybe he’s just being overly formal. Like Yumina said, it wouldn’t hurt him to loosen up a bit.

It might not be very childlike, but maybe that’s just part of who he is. And that’s not something to deny.

I asked Kuon about the general location where he dropped the phone, and teleported to Elfrau.

“Whoaa, cold!!”

The snowy landscape spread out before me, and the freezing air made me instinctively shrink back. Alright, let’s find it quickly and get out of here.

I cast [Search]. Hmm... It’s a bit far.

Flying over the snow with [Fly], I reached the spot where [Search] had reacted, melted the snow, and found Kuon’s phone right away.

It was drenched from the melted snow, but thanks to the [Protection] spell on it, there’s no way a little water damage could ruin it.

“Alright, mission complete. Let’s get back.”

When I teleported back to the castle’s living room, Kuon was already surrounded by the children who had returned from the playroom, chattering away.

"Kuon, you're so slooow! What were you doing!?"

"Ah, well, a bit of this and that... Ah, Linne-neesama, I brought back some sweets from Regulus as souvenirs."

"Yaaay! Thank you! They look delicious!"

"Kuon-chan, did you get caught up in another mess again? You really need to be more careful, you know?"

"Not exactly caught up in anything... Oh, Frey-neesama, this knife is for you. It's got a rather unusual design."

"...Heeey, this is quite a rebellious design for something made in Regulus. Hmmm, never seen anything like this before. Hehe, thanks a bunch, you know?"

Kuon handed out souvenirs to his elder sisters one after another. He was smooth about it—too smooth. It almost looked like he had them wrapped around his finger.

"Kuon, Kuon! What about me!? Where's my souvenir!?"

Alice clung tightly to Kuon as he sat on the sofa. Right, I remembered—Alice was totally into Kuon.

As I recalled that, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, there stood Ende—smiling, but with eyes that absolutely were not smiling.

"Touya... don't you think your son is just a little too close to my daughter Alice...?"

Uh, no, if anything, Alice is the one clinging to him... Don’t blame my boy for that.

"I don’t see Steph or Kuhn-neesama around... Have they not arrived yet?"

"Steph isn't here yet, but Kuhn-neesama had to run an errand in Gandiris. I believe she'll be back by dinner."

Asia answered Kuon’s question. I recall Yakumo saying she'd go pick her up later. Until then, she'd probably keep analyzing that thing.

Hearing Asia's reply, Kuon picked up a short sword lying by his side.

"That's a shame. I had the perfect souvenir for Kuhn-neesama."

『Wait, young master!? Am I the souvenir, you say!?』

Huh!? What was that voice just now? That sword? Did the sword just talk!?

Everyone was stunned, staring at the now-floating sword—still sheathed—as it slowly rose into the air.

『Pardon my late greeting, ladies. The name’s Silver, just your run-of-the-mill stingy little sword. Might not look like much, but I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, oneesans.』

The sword gave a polite bow in midair by tilting its pommel downward. But seriously, what’s with that shady way of speaking…? He sounds like Kuon's underling or something.

"A talking sword... now that’s rare. Is it a magic artifact?"

"No, despite its appearance, it’s apparently a golem. Its proper name is Infinite Silver. According to itself, it’s one of Chrome Lanches's creations."

Everyone—including me—was shocked by Kuon's reply to Yakumo.

Chrome Lanches!? The ancient golem engineer who made the ‘Crown’ series like Albus!?

That means this sword is possibly...

"The silver ‘Crown’...?"

『Oh? That sure brings back memories. I was called that once. Though I ain’t got no Crown Skill, so I dunno if I deserve the title.』

The sword—Silver—shook its hilt side to side as if shaking its head at my comment.

"You don’t have the Crown Skill?"

『Chrome was trying to research how to activate Crown Skills without paying a “price.” I’m the result of those experiments, so to speak.』

Now that I think about it, Albus mentioned something like that.

Five thousand years ago, Chrome Lanches used the power of the Black and White Crowns to cross the world’s barrier and jump into the surface world. He was trying to escape the Fraze by returning to the Reverse World.

But if he used the Black Crown's power and paid the “price,” he'd return alright—but he’d revert to such a young state that he’d die.

So, he tried to create a Crown that didn’t require a price.

In the end, before it was completed, the Fraze invaded, and Chrome lost all his memories after overloading the White Crown.

"Wait a sec. Whether it’s a Crown or not, Silver, you're a golem, right? Don’t tell me you made a master contract with Kuon?"

『You betcha.』

"Eh!? I don’t remember agreeing to that!?"

Kuon’s eyes widened at Silver’s confident declaration. Wait, what? Didn’t he?

『See, I’m both a golem and a magical creature. If someone with compatibility picks me up, the contract’s made automatically.』

According to Silver, if the person who touches him has the proper affinity, a contract is automatically formed. It’s apparently the same with most magical creatures known as “intelligent weapons.” Basically, only the chosen ones can wield them.

Even more surprising—the weapon's personality changes depending on the contractor.

『My last contractor was some nutjob who loved slicing people more than eating. I got a little wild under his influence, you could say.』

"Oh, so that explains why you were all ‘kill kill’ when I first met you... Wait—so this current personality is because of me?"

Kuon made a thoroughly displeased face.

『Well, after being scared witless by you, this felt like the best fit. Ain’t this personality perfect for your partner, young master?』

Kuon made that bitter face again. What did you do to this sword, boy?

...But if this guy is the Silver Crown, then the one the Evil God’s apostles got—the one that became the key to the “Ark”—must be the Gold Crown?

"Silver, do you know anything about the Gold Crown?"

『“Gold,” huh? Not really—I was stuck in the lab most of the time. But Chrome did say it was another golem based on a magical creature, just like me.』

A magical creature, huh. For someone like Chrome Lanches, coming from a Reverse World where magic wasn’t as advanced, that would’ve been a fascinating material. A hybrid of that kind wouldn’t be far-fetched.

Magical creatures… maybe something like golems, gargoyles, or mimics? Golems already share similarities with magical creatures, so a fusion isn't surprising.

"What about its specs as a weapon!? That’s what I wanna know!"

Frey, the weapon enthusiast, leaned in close to the floating Silver. She’s as laser-focused as ever...

"I can become both large and small, depending on my owner, y'know. I can be the ideal sword for anyone," said Silver proudly.

"Eh? My father’s sword, Brunhilde, can do that too," Frey replied, her expression disappointed after hearing Silver's explanation. Well, it does have the function of [Modeling], after all.

"I-I can also send slashes over a distance...!"

"Distant attacks? My father’s sword can do that too."

"I-I can also paralyze and immobilize the opponent!"

"That too. You can change the type of affliction bullets to make them sleep or burn, you know?"

"What else?" Frey asked, and Silver, floating gently in the air, started sinking little by little. I don't know why, but I feel like I’m doing something wrong...

"I-I can speak too..."

Yeah, that's something my Brunhilde can't do. Well, it’s a common function for ancient golems, like the Legacy Golem, though...

"So, like... a worse version of Brunhilde that can talk?"

"Ugh!?"

Yoshino, who had been tilting her head, suddenly fired a sharp remark, causing Silver to fall limp. Maybe that's enough... It’s kind of sad, really.

"Well, well, Silver is still a useful sword in its own right. It can be a little annoying at times, but surprisingly, it’s quite handy."

"Young master! Please stop with the confusing words that sound like praise but are really insults!"

Silver snapped back at Kuon, who was smiling as she said something pretty harsh.

That was pretty sharp... I wonder if my son has a surprisingly dark side.

"He’s just like Touya-sama," Luu's voice floated from behind. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.