541 The Giant Spider, and a Discovery 

As if resetting her flustered state, the Queen of the Refan Kingdom cleared her throat with a dignified ahem. 

"So, where in the royal castle is Stella’s Flute?"

When asked, I zoomed in on the map, but all I could say was, somewhere around here. 

The map was, after all, just a map—it had its limits in terms of zooming, and it wasn’t detailed enough to show individual rooms. If we went to the royal capital, maybe I could use [Search] to find it directly. 

Her Majesty stared at the map, tilting her head in confusion. 

"This is… just a corner of the castle with a few unimportant rooms… Could Stella’s Flute really be in a place like this…?" 

"Are there no hidden passages or secret rooms?" 

Sue asked Her Majesty that question. 

Since ancient times, it’s been common for castles to have secret escape routes known only to royalty or hidden chambers for temporary refuge. 

By the way, Brunhilde Castle has one too—an entrance to an underground passage behind the throne. 

It’s there so we can escape outside if something happens. Of course, it’s best if we never have to use it, but not having one at all isn’t an option. 

"There are hidden passages and rooms, but none should be in this area. The maids clean every corner of these rooms, so if it’s hidden, it must be…" 

It’s not that big, after all. It could be inside a fireplace, behind a bookshelf… There are plenty of places to hide something if you really wanted to. 

Probably stashed away by some faction of that defeated great-uncle or whatever, biding their time for a comeback… Maybe they planned to retrieve it once things cooled down. 

But before they could, the person who hid it was either purged, or something went wrong, and the information was lost, leading to it lying forgotten for nearly a century. What a pitiful story. 

"So, we know where the Regalia is, but what do you plan to do now?" 

"If we retake the royal capital, we can reclaim the Regalia! No matter what, we must drive Duke Bluesson out of the capital…!" 

"Leave it to us! Steph and Gold will take back the capital for you!" 

Following Her Majesty’s determined words, Steph’s sudden declaration made me tilt my head in concern. Honestly, getting any deeper into another country’s civil war—one we’re not even allied with—is a bad idea. 

That said, Steph isn’t officially my daughter—just a relative in the public eye. Meaning, she’s not technically a citizen of Brunhilde. 

So, individually, her joining the civil war wouldn’t be a problem… Wait, no, it would be a problem! A huge one! 

I definitely don’t want to toss my daughter into a warzone. Well, she’s already in the thick of it, but still… 

As I groaned internally, Sakura, who had been sipping tea, muttered under her breath. 

"Your Majesty’s teleportation magic has been slacking lately." 

"Huh?" 

"I’m worried if that last [Gate] properly transported the target. You should try again." 

Huh? Why the sudden doubt? I’ve done this plenty of times—it’ll be fine. What’s with the suspicion? 

"How about targeting the area around this kingdom’s capital? Try teleporting, say, tens of thousands of pebbles from outside this fortress city?" 

Pebbles… to the capital? Tens of thousands? Why would I do such a ridiculous training—wait… Oh. Ohhh, I see. 

"Ahh, I get it. Yeah, I have been slacking on magic practice lately. There are plenty of easy-to-teleport pebbles outside this fortress city, so why not give it a shot? Might as well aim inside the capital’s walls. Gotta be careful not to accidentally send people or animals along with the rocks, though." 

Even as I said it, I knew how forced it sounded. "Easy-to-teleport pebbles"? Seriously? 

Her Majesty’s eyes widened at my deliberately obvious remark. The surrounding knights seemed to catch on, too. 

"W-Wait, Your Majesty! When will this ‘training’ be—?!" 

"How about in three days? Nighttime might be best… or should we do it during the day?" 

"Night would be preferable to avoid alarming the citizens… May we observe? There might be quite a few of us…" 

"The more, the merrier. Just be careful, alright? If anyone gets teleported by accident, it’s not my fault~." 

Our exchange was laced with implications. 

If soldiers from this kingdom happened to get caught in my "training," well—that’d just be an accident. 

I did warn them not to get too close. If they ignored that and got swept up in the teleportation, that’s on them. Totally on them. 

"Muuu…? Tou-sama and Queen-sama are talking weird again…?" 

"Steph, adults have… complicated matters."  

"More complicated stuff…?" 

As Steph pouted, Sue patted her head. Meanwhile, Her Majesty was already issuing orders: "Gather every soldier from nearby cities! As many as possible within three days!" 

Well, this kingdom’s war is best left to its own people.  

 ◇ ◇ ◇ 

"Steph! Welcome back!" 

"Welcome home, Steph!" 

"You’ve finally returned." 

"Nee-sama! Everyone’s here!" 

"I’m here too, but…" 

"Nii-sama too!" 

When I brought Steph back, all the kids rushed to greet their youngest sister. Despite everything, they’d clearly been worried—everyone took turns ruffling her hair. 

Well, almost everyone. One of them barely spared a glance for Steph before latching onto the golden golem we’d brought back. 

"T-This is the ‘Gold’ Crown! Amazing… It follows the previous crown designs but minimizes magical interference with engraved spells in the details…" 

"Never change, Kuon…" 

As Kuon clung obsessively to "Gold," I couldn’t help but feel a little impressed (in a weird way). His mother, meanwhile, sighed and facepalmed. 

Amid the chaos, Luu clapped her hands sharply. 

"Alright! I know you’re all happy to be together, but let’s eat first! Everyone, wash your hands!" 

"Yay! Luu Ka-sama’s cooking!" 

Steph dashed off to wash her hands. Don’t use [Accel] in daily life, geez. You’ll hurt someone if you crash into them. I should scold her later. 

I was about to head to wash my hands, too, when Sue stopped me. 

"Touya, what about retrieving Steph’s dropped smartphone?" 

"Ah, right…" 

I couldn’t just leave it, but did I really have to go searching again? These kids drop things way too often. Elna, Linne, Kuon, and now Steph. That’s nearly half of them! Maybe I should make smartphone cases with neck straps… 

"Hmm, she said it was the forest south of the Refan Kingdom, right…?" 

I searched on my own phone, and sure enough, Steph’s smartphone was deep in the woods. Ugh, I’ve never been to this forest, so I’ll have to [Teleport] there. I could’ve used [Recall] to get Steph’s memory and open a [Gate], but she’s already off eating. Fine, I’ll make it quick. 

"Wait… huh? Is this phone… moving?" 

I zoomed in on the map, staring at Steph’s phone’s marker. Yep, it’s definitely moving. Crap, did someone pick it up? Better get it back before things get messy. 

I warped to the Refan Kingdom via [Gate], then roughly [Teleported] toward the forest where Steph dropped it—luckily landing right inside. This should be the place, but where’s the phone? I advanced through the trees while checking its location. The sun was setting, so I wanted to hurry. 

Steph’s phone kept moving. Definitely picked up by someone. But what was anyone doing in this deserted forest? Zigzagging around… a lost traveler? If so, I should help. I started running toward the marker, and it began moving toward me. 

"Convenient. This’ll be fast—" 

I skidded to a halt. 

…What’s that heavy thudding up ahead? Birds were scattering too. Something’s coming. And Steph’s phone signal was heading right for me. Wait… did whatever picked it up… eat it?! 

Then, from the forest depths, a spider way bigger than normal came charging. 

『GYASHASHASHAAAA—!!』 

A shrieking, bus-sized, jet-black spider with crimson eyes and spiky legs barreled toward me. Yeah, nope. Stay away. 

"[Shield]." 

『GABFUHH!?』 

The spider crashed into an invisible wall, staggering back before steadying itself on log-thick legs. 

『SHAAH!』 

It spat sticky fluid—blocked by [Shield]. Enraged, it reared up on four legs and hammered the barrier with the other four. Ugh, this is disgusting. Grandpa always said spiders were beneficial, but this thing was not helpful. 

Verdict: Extermination. 

"[Come forth, thunder and ice—Hundred Bolts’ Frozen Mist: Baltic Mist.]" 

『BIJURAAH!?』 

The spider dropped dead, fried by the lightning-ice fusion spell. Is it charred? Hard to tell—it was already black. 

"Now then…" 

I used [Search] to locate Steph’s phone. …Yep. Inside this thing. Do I really have to dig it out of its guts? Seriously? The mass-produced phones were durable (magic-metal reinforced, plus my [Protection] spell), but still… 

Am I supposed to dissect this? Nope, nope, nope. 

Wait—I could take it to the Adventurer Guild for dismantling. 

"Oh! Duh. I can just [Apport] it out." 

Why didn’t I think of that sooner? I’m an idiot. I raised my hand toward the spider—…Hold up. 

If I used [Apport], would only the phone come flying? Or… would it be covered in, uh, spider goo? Last time I used it to extract an arrowhead from Sue’s grandpa, it came out drenched in blood… 

I activated [Storage] and stuffed the spider inside. Better safe than sorry. If there’s a clean option, take it. 

I opened a [Gate] to Brunhilde’s Adventurer Guild for spider disassembly. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

"You’ve brought us another absurd monster, I see…" 

Guildmaster Lerisha sighed, staring at the giant spider now laid out in the dismantling area. I’d assumed it was just an unknown species from the western continent—but was this another extinct one? 

Lerisha-san answered by unrolling an ancient scroll on the desk. The spider depicted there matched ours perfectly. 

"This is an Atranat—an ancient, great spider. They were said to reproduce explosively in cyclical outbreaks, causing calamities." 

"Ancient? So, it’s really…" 

"Yes. An extinct species. Unseen for 2,500 years. Lately, guilds worldwide have reported many such findings. Your Majesty… just what is happening to this world?" 

Lerisha-san glared at me with sharp eyes. 

Hmm… should I be honest here? There’s still a non-zero chance some absurd magical beast might appear… 

I explained that distortions in spacetime had become more frequent, causing beasts from the past to slip into our era. 

"Does that mean we’ll keep seeing these monsters from now on?" 

"Apparently, it’ll gradually stabilize, so it should settle down eventually…" 

Hearing my words, Lerisha-san let out a relieved sigh. Well, it’d be unbearable if these things kept popping up all the time. 

"Hey, Your Majesty, this is what ya were lookin’ for?" 

While we were talking, one of the guild’s old-timers, who’d been butchering the giant spider, walked over, holding a smartphone he’d retrieved from it. 

Had he wiped it clean with a cloth or something? It was sparkling. What a considerate guy! 

…Though it still smelled a bit gamey. I cast [Clean] just to be safe. Okay, the stink’s gone. 

Better not tell Steph we pulled this out of the spider’s abdomen… 

When we returned to the castle, the kids had already finished dinner and were relaxing together in the salon. 

…Wait, Kuhn wasn’t here. Gold was missing too—maybe he was in Babylon? With Elka the Engineer and Professor around, I doubted they’d do anything reckless… 

In the forest where Steph and Gold first met, I’d encountered an extinct species. Was that a coincidence? 

Did that area have a spacetime distortion? Could Gold have crossed time to appear in this era…? 

I should probably ask Dr. and the others to look into it. But first— 

"Tousama, welcome back!" 

"Guh—hff!?" 

Steph rammed into me head-on, nearly knocking me over. Ugh, [Accel] is not for charging at people like a battering ram! 

"Did you find my smartphone?" 

"…Yeah, here. Try not to drop it again." 

"Thank you!" 

The moment I handed it over, Steph dashed back to Sue at full speed. I told you not to use [Accel]—! Too late. 

"Welcome back, Touya-san. You’ve worked hard." 

Rubbing my aching stomach, I slumped into an empty chair in the salon. Yumina brought me a glass of chilled fruit water and sat down beside me. 

"Finally, everyone’s here." 

"With nine more people, it’s gotten pretty noisy." 

"Isn’t a lively place nice? Besides, this is a scene from the future. Better get used to it now, right?" 

Well, she had a point. Eventually, this would become everyday life. 

Still, sooner or later, the kids would have to return to the future. I needed to ask Grandma Tokie when that’d be… Supposedly, once the dimensional tremors weakened, it’d be safe—but the "Apostles of the Evil God" were a wild card. 

To send the kids home safely, we’d have to crush those Apostles ASAP. 

Saying goodbye would hurt. It’d be a long time before I saw them again. 

So, until then, I wanted to make as many memories as possible. 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

Three days later, I—accidentally—dragged around 30,000 soldiers gathered at Asshira, the fortress city of Refan Kingdom, into teleportation magic training and ended up sending them all to the royal capital.  

After some time had passed, I flew to the royal capital as well. The so-called Duke Bluesson, who had seized control and entrenched himself there, surrendered without a fight, and Her Majesty the Queen declared to the people that the capital had been retaken. 

Well, if thirty thousand soldiers suddenly appeared inside the city walls in the dead of night, there wasn’t much anyone could do… 

Thanks to the martial law imposed on the capital’s citizens, which, among other things, forbade anyone from leaving their homes at night without good reason, there had been zero collateral damage. 

Despite the late hour, the people of the capital were in a frenzy over Her Majesty the Queen’s return. Everyone was shouting for freedom. Seems that the duke had been really oppressive. Guess he was afraid of a rebellion, huh? 

And so, the royal capital of the Refan Kingdom was reclaimed almost without bloodshed—but this wasn’t the end. 

If we didn’t find the Regalia in question, the same thing could easily happen again. 

Urged on by Her Majesty the Queen, I followed my smartphone’s map to the hiding place of the Regalia—the Flute of Stella. 

At a corner of the castle, I stopped in the center of a T-shaped hallway. 

"Should be around here…" 

Two rooms stood to the left and right of the hallway ahead, while the corridor itself led to a staircase ascending to the second floor. Behind me was a window overlooking the courtyard. 

It wasn’t the courtyard, so it had to be one of these two rooms. 

…Yeah, using [Search] directly would be faster. 

"[Search]… Huh?" 

"W-What’s wrong?" 

Her Majesty the Queen asked, eyeing my suspicious behavior. 

Nah, it wasn’t either room—it was further down the hallway. Wait, the staircase? 

The staircase was made of stone, with an aged wooden railing. …Not the stairs themselves. The railing, maybe? 

Carefully inspecting it, one of the railing’s support pillars reacted to [Search]. No mistake—this was it. 

I gave it a firm twist, and with a clunk, something came loose. The pillar sank about ten centimeters before dropping out entirely. 

Sliding it sideways, I pulled it free—pop—and the whole thing came off. Seriously, it just detached. 

The ornate wooden pillar was hollow inside. So that’s how it was hidden. No wonder nobody found it. 

I handed the pillar to Her Majesty the Queen directly. The Regalia was a symbol of royal authority—no outsider should casually handle it. 

With trembling hands, she turned it over, and a small golden flute plopped into her palm. 

It was exactly the same flute as in the photos. 

"Ah… Ahh…! There’s no mistake—this is the Flute of Stella…! At last… at last, it has returned to our royal family…! Father… Grandfather… I’ve finally found it…!" 

Clutching the golden orichalcum flute, Her Majesty the Queen wept. The knights around her, equally overcome, stood at attention with tears in their eyes. Well, I get how they feel. 

Glad it’s found. Hopefully, this’ll finally bring an end to the Refan Kingdom’s civil war.