Chapter 127: 127

Before I knew it, it was already dusk.

In the distance, a crow was cawing pleasantly.

“Oh, um, here’s some coarse tea.”

Shouhei placed a teacup on the table.

“Do the people of this country offer coarse tea to the royalty of other countries?”

“Shut up. That’s the most expensive tea we have. Shut up and drink it all, talk, and then get the hell out of here.”

It’s called being humble. It’s Japanese culture, you bastard.

I’m getting irritated.

Why do I have to invite this bastard into my house?

Everything is the fault of that gray rat.

“Kazamachi-sama, thank you for inviting us today.”

“Kunpei’s house! It’s huge! It’s so small compared to His Highness’ house though!”

Kayone bowed deeply and Utai looked around the living room with a glint in her eye.

The windowpanes in the living room shivered at the sound of Utai’s voice.

“I’m sorry, Utai, but there’s a baby in the house, so please lower the volume of your voice.”

“!”

Utai hurriedly covered her mouth with her hands.

Yes, it would be easier on our ears if you did that for a while.

I couldn’t let him talk too long about Aoi and the others out there, so I invited the Prince and his party into my home.

I wondered if they were really acquainted with the shitty rat, but what I was holding in my hand assured me that they were.

The Dragon Fang Sword and a letter.

The Dragon Fang Sword is incredibly white and sharp.

I held the hilt and scrutinized it.

This is certainly the Dragon Fang Sword that I used in the past at Tusk Crag.

That shitty rat’s treasure.

He always keeps it in his mysterious space with great care.

It’s not something you just hand over to a stranger.

And the letter.

It was in some kind of creepy bright red envelope, sealed with beeswax that looked like a grain of bean.

As soon as I touched the envelope, the beeswax melted away.

It seemed to be some kind of magic that could only be read by a certain person.

I opened the letter inside and found that it matched the letter he had left behind when he went to pick up Rouge.

The letter was written in poorly written Japanese.

At the end of the sentence, there were even the footprints of that rat.

I opened the letter again to check it out.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Hey, Clumsy-kun. How are you doing?

Since only Clumsy-kun can open this letter, can I assume that you’ve met the prince of the demon tribe?

It’s really urgent, but…

The Sea Dragon tribe had an emergency, so I won’t be able to come by for a while.

So I’m writing this letter after making some preparations.

Yes, I’m talking about the twins.

It’s about Jaja and Nana’s special abilities.

I’ve been doing a lot of thought experiments and research, and it seems that the spirits themselves are not so different from magic in terms of wavelength.

A tribe that used to live on the Sphere Continent used ornaments to ‘eat’ magic when they were young to prevent their excessive power from going out of control, you know?

I tried to use that as a hint to make my own, but the tribe had long since lost their knowledge and skills.

It’s going to take some time to research and make it from scratch, and the material itself is made of ore, which is very rare nowadays, so I’m having a hard time.

That’s why I’ve enlisted the help of your friend to look into it for me.

The girl with the glasses.

Unlike you, she seems to be smart, so I’m sure she can help us find it.

The ore can only be found in the sphere continent, the area where the demon tribe lives, so I’ve made the first move.

The explanation is a bit long, so please ask the royal children.

I was offered some kind of exchange condition, but I’m sure you won’t mind, right?

I’ve given them the sword as proof that it’s my message. You have to take it.

Now, I won’t be seeing you for a while, but be careful, okay?

It’s a major operation that I can’t leave in the middle of.

Wish me luck.

The twins are fine. They’re doing great.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

It’s long.

And can you please stop irritating people even with your writing?

Do you have to make fun of me every single time to keep on living?

Then I’ll just let you off!

“What does the Sage’s text say?”

Prince Atol, sitting in the chair in front of me, as usual, asks me in a pompous manner.

I don’t know why he’s being so pompous.

Oh, it’s because he’s a prince.

That’s why Kayone and Utai aren’t sitting down and are waiting in the back.

“I’ll let you guys tell me the details. Well, it’s definitely a letter from the rat.”

He’s the only one who annoys me this much.

“Are you insane, commoner, to call the sage a mere rat?”

You’re the one who’s insane.

You’re the one who suddenly offered a complete stranger a duel.

“Since His Highness probably can’t explain it, may I explain it to you?”

“… As long as you don’t start flirting again in the middle of it like during lunch break.”

“W-we weren’t flirting!”

Her face flushed bright red, Kayone averted her gaze.

She’s so easy to read.

“Nii-chan, do you want me to go get Aoi-neechan?”

Shouhei whispered in my ear.

Hmm. I wonder what I should do.

I don’t have a good feeling about this.

In case of emergency, Rouge and I will have Jaja and Nana protected.

“No, let’s just wait until we hear what they have to say.”

“Okay. What about me? Shall I go to my room?”

No, I want you to stay here.

If it’s too complicated, I might not understand it.

“Stay.”

“U-un. But I can’t chat with a prince, can I?”

It’ll be fine.

The arrogant foolish prince in front of me is probably the same type of idiot as me.

I’m sure Shouhei can easily handle it.

“It’s not a problem. Leave it to me.”

“I’m worried.”

Hey, little brother.

Don’t look so dubious.

Even I’ll do it when I have to, right?

Maybe.

“The first time I met the sage was during the ‘Tusk Crag Dungeon Expansion Incident’.”

Kayone, who was shaken by my teasing, closed her eyes to calm herself down and slowly opened her mouth.

I wondered where he had disappeared to, but he had gone to these guys.

“We were preparing to return to our homeland, as it would have been difficult for the Japanese to have diplomats like us there at the time of the disaster.”

“Preparing to return?”

Packing?

“Yes. We demons have transference magic. It won’t take us more than a minute to return to our homeland.”

No, no, no, no.

“Don’t be silly. The Sphere Continent is that thing, right? It’s next to Australia, right? How far away do you think that is?”

I’m pretty sure I saw that on the news.

The current limit for transference magic is about a kilometer, and it requires a ridiculous amount of magic power.

Some research institute in Japan announced that the distance had increased a little, and it caused a big stir.

“Yes. Normal transfer magic is impossible. But there are always special cases.”

“Special cases?”

“The Dailan royal family’s secret transfer magic can be used to transfer from anywhere in the world as long as the destination is limited. It is likely that other demon nations have similar means.”

There you go, the story got more difficult from the start.

I glanced at Shouhei.

“Um, you mean a one-way magic that has a fixed place to return to?”

That’s my little brother.

He’s smarter than his brother!

“Yes, and that place of return is quite special.”

Kayone gave off a heavy atmosphere.

“What’s special about it?”

“The royal tombs.”

A tomb?

That tomb where you bury the bodies of your ancestors?

“In the past, the royal family of the demon tribe had authority, power, and prestige to the point of being called the equivalent of gods. Therefore, when a member of the royal family died, it was customary to bury the appropriate vassals along with them in order to serve the royal family member who ascended to heaven.”

“Together?”

Eh?

What? I’m a little scared.

“Together. The loyal ones commit suicide themselves, and the old ones in their families die with them. They also kill the family’s slaves, tailors, cooks, bathers, poisoners, and all sorts of servants, and bury them around the royal tomb. This is a tradition that has been observed for a long time, and it is said that there are countless examples. Of course, it’s an evil practice that has died out now.”

“Nii-chan… it looks like you’ve learned something bad.”

Shouhei frowned and anxiously grabbed my arm.

“Don’t say that, little brother. You know your brother doesn’t like the occult, right?”

I never watch horror movies!

You planted unnecessary knowledge on me!

The capacity of an idiot’s brain is precious!

“What is unique about them is the way they are buried. The magic contained in the bodies of demons does not disappear even after death. In the past, the royal families even used it to create royal tombs. A magic circle using a corpse. By burying the corpse in a magical pattern and placing the corpse of a member of the royal family in the center of the pattern, they created a magical barrier to protect the tomb from grave robbers.”

“So, that’s the special reason?”

Shouhei asked Kayone on my behalf.

“Yes. This magic circle is highly sustainable, and its effects continue to this day. And importantly, it has surplus magic power.”

Surplus magic?

I’m not keeping up anymore.

If Mikuma were here, I’m sure she’d be very happy to hear all about it.

“The barrier itself requires only a small amount of magic power in comparison to the whole. However, since it is a royal tomb, the magic circle is always at its maximum power. The secret transfer magic of the royal family is activated by utilizing this surplus. By using the magic power of the countless corpses lying underground, it is possible to transfer long distances, which would otherwise be impossible. Do you think an ordinary mage can do this?”

What do you mean?

“That means you can’t use long-distance magic unless you have that much magical power, brother.”

Ah, I see.

The transference magic on the news is just magic in the ‘general’ range.

More efficiency and higher performance with less energy.

It’s the Japanese specialty.

“The Sage asked us to let him use this transference magic.”

“Hmm? But that rat said that distance doesn’t matter where the dragon is. He doesn’t need that.”

He’s only going to the dragon’s place anyway.

“No, it’s Kazamachi-sama who will use it. The sage explained that it is you who will be using it. The transfer will take place a month from now, around the start of summer vacation.”

“Me?”

Come to think of it, the letter also said something like ‘See you on the sphere continent.’

In other words, he wants us to go.

Why didn’t he tell me such an important thing?

Explain it to me!

Report, communicate, consult, right?

“After all, it is an offer from the legendary Rat Sage. We had no intention of refusing. Our nation is a nation that believes in the Sea Dragon. If it’s a request from a sage with a deep connection to dragons, we will do our best to fulfill it. But, you garbage bug…”

Kayone looked bitterly at Prince Atol, who sat pompously on the chair in front of her.

“I asked the sage for a favor. You may use it, but you must accept my conditions.”

Prince Atol snorted and reclined back.

“Conditions?”

Well, I think that was in the letter, too.

I knew it was probably unnecessary anyway, but I had to ask.

“The sage explained to us that there was a man in this town who had been chosen by the dragon, and that he and his family needed to use the transference magic.”

“My country, Dailan, has prospered with the blessings of the Sea Dragon. Those men of Dailan who are chosen will call themselves servants of Sea Dragon-sama and become warriors who protect all. I was chosen and became a warrior before I studied abroad.”

Aah.

I’m starting to get it.

This is a muscle-brained way of thinking, right?

“Those chosen by the dragon must compete with each other in friendly rivalry! So have a duel with me, commoner! That is the condition for using transference magic!”

Muscle language is a pain in the ass.