Trapped in Another World With No Magic-Chapter 153: The Heroine’s New Companions

Zuzia rides with the merchant caravan she stumbled across while hiking aimlessly. She was roughly following a guiding point on her phone towards ‘Daniel’, which she has fairly solidly confirmed is the name of an otherworlder like herself who made himself an Emperor that is selling Earth goods to make himself rich. From other things she has heard, including from Moenella and Stolkod, the primary merchant couple in the caravan, he also has a harem of women that he calls his ‘empresses’, and they are a peculiar bunch of people that go against most people’s expectations of royalty.

Given that he has a harem, he unfortunately fits in Zuzia’s expectations of some kind of loser suddenly granted power in an isekai story taking advantage of the women he encounters and enslaves along the way.

Regardless of that, she already blew it with the alternative otherworlder present in the world, and Daniel seems to have one thing Zuzia has craved since coming to this world after all of the stress; alcohol.

Moenella and Stolkod have graciously shared their precious supply of rum with Zuzia, and she’s finally feeling a nice, relaxing buzz after all of the accumulated stress of travelling. She’s thankful that, among all of the resistances to damage Amalaskae gave her upon transferring her to this world of Zenkon, the young Polish woman wasn’t given some sort of overpowered poison resistance that would prevent her from getting buzzed or drunk.

In her giddy daze, she sends a text message to Amalaskae, the angel watching over her. “[Amala! Tank you so muvh for not makin me resisant to alcohol! I love you!]”

A reply comes quickly enough. “[AAAAAAAHHHH! I’m so happy you’re happy, Zuzia! I’d give you some if I could, but I think I’m being watched now… But, please enjoy what you can! I-If you can find one of the certain artifacts hidden in the world, I can sneak in a special function for you! 😜 (Winky-tongue emoji). Have fun, and I’ll keep watching over you! I love you, too!]”

Little does Zuzia know that she may come to regret her drunken words of affection to a strange and clumsy celestial being.

That being said, the trip is made quite enjoyable by the small talk and drinks she shares with the merchant couple, and they arrive in Emberlight after a couple of days on the road.

Upon arrival, the merchant couple pay her with a surprisingly hefty bag of coins, which Wulfsten explains should cover at least a month’s worth of expenses for her if she’s prudent with her finances, which she likes to think she is.

But, before she parts with her new companions, Stolkod makes an offer she expected but was hoping wouldn’t come.

“Lady Zuzia, I feel a strong synergy with you. How would you feel about permanent employment?”

“Permanent employment?” asks the surprised Polish woman.

“Indeed! Your strength was uncanny, and just having you by our sides was a humongous relief travelling the rest of the way. Even the wildlife seemed to pull back in your mere proximity.”

The brunette laughs nervously. “Hahaha… I’m sure you’re exaggerating. I barely did anything.”

Both Stolkod and Moenella laugh in their own ways, though almost equally boisterously. “‘Barely did anything’,” remarks Moenella. “You saved our lives, dear. And, you were most pleasant company. I wouldn’t feel safer in any scenario from a banquet to the roughest trails with you by our side.”

Zuzia bows her head with her hand on her heart. “I am truly touched that you feel that way. But, I have a mission already that affords me small detours, but I must accomplish. I do ask you not to pry too deeply.”

Both merchants smile at her. Stolkod replies gently, “I see. Then, if it can’t be helped, so be it. But, the offer will stand if you ever need employment. I don’t know where each of us will be in the future, but you are welcome at my table.” He offers his hand, imitating Zuzia.

She smiles and accepts his handshake, replying, “Thank you. I won’t forget you or your kindness. You were very helpful.”

“My pleasure.”

Moenella shakes Zuzia’s hand next, saying warmly, “Reach out to us if you ever need anything. If we don’t have it, we’ll procure it for you.”

Zuzia grins. “Be careful, Madame. I might ask you for more rum. Heeheehee!”

“Ho ho ho! Certainly, we shall be in contact with our connections in Mattarglos. I would say you have earned priority on any stock we have.”

“Most certainly,” agrees Stolkod. “I’ll be waiting for us to meet again.”

“I as well, Mister Stolkod. Safe travels.”

“You as well, my Lady.”

As Zuzia is preparing to depart, Wulfsten finally steps up. “Lady Zuzia.”

Zuzia smiles and approaches him. “Sir Wulfsten.”

“May I ask your journey’s destination?”

Zuzia smiles. Wulfsten is handsome in the refined older gentleman kind of way. “As it turns out, I am headed for… uh… Mattarglos, I think? A friend of mine is there, and I agreed to meet up with him.”

“Is that so?” asks the mercenary gentleman. “Surely, you aren’t planning to travel on your own. O-Or rather, continuing to travel on your own.”

“I’m used to that part. And, as you saw, I can handle myself pretty well.”

A couple of the other mercenaries nearby chuckle.

“That's true. I certainly meant no disrespect, my Lady.”

“And, I have not been. I only wished to ease your concerns.”

“That being the case, my Lady, I would like to offer to escort you to your destination. I know our acquaintance has been very brief, but I owe you my life, as well as my reputation as a mercenary.”

“And a former knight, hmm?” asks Zuzia, trying to make the scene a little lighter, since he’s speaking so seriously.

However, his face darkens, and she panics a little. “S-Sorry! I just assumed. You’re very well-spoken and gentlemanly, but if something happened, it’s certainly not my business, so forget my dumb joke…”

“No. It is alright, my Lady. I was a knight. But, I fell out of favor with the house I served, so I resigned. Now, I take escort jobs for merchants, mostly.” He smiles a little bitterly, reflecting on his life thus far. However, he straightens up and regains his refined air. “I know the route to most of the largest towns and cities in Mattarglos. I also know areas to avoid, lest you run into the more dangerous beasts lurking in the wilderness of the demi-human kingdom.”

“Demi-human?” asks Zuzia, glancing at one of the wolf-eared mercenaries nearby.

Seeming to take that as a prompt, he speaks for himself. “Mattarglos was founded a long time ago as a safe-haven for demi-humans and other human-kin being persecuted by humans. We’re more widespread now, but most of us have ancestry in Mattarglos, I expect.”

One of the feline men Zuzia saved also speaks up. “Mattarglos is the second largest territory on the continent, but its strategic and resource values are weak as territories.”

The wolfman scoffs. “Yeah, because of the monsters. Zaftambens are the weaklings of Mattarglos monsters. You might be alright against a hakkadel or mantarouck, but there are worse things. Especially if you come across an ancient variant of those.”

One of the human mercenaries points out, “I thought the Fievegal was starting extermination operations.”

“If the rumors are to be believed, the Three Great Terrors of Mattarglos have been felled,” replies Wulfsten. “But, it is unlikely all of the regional lords will have agreed to allow the Fievegal to operate within Mattarglos borders so freely. For them to bring military forces in would be invasion.”

“Not to mention, the Fievegal is already invading Mornistae through the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy, apparently,” remarks the wolfman. “I don’t care how otherworldly their Emperor is, you can’t fight on so many vastly far away fronts.”

Zuzia cuts in politely, “I don’t really care much about the world’s politics. I just have to get to…” She looks at her phone, squinting to try to read the city name Daniel’s phone is located in. “Um… Hologand.”

“What a peculiar magic device…” remarks Wulfsten, prompting Zuzia to put it away, lest people realize it’s not truly magic.

“Yes, thank you. But, pardon me.”

“No, no. Pardon me. Hologand, you say? You’re going to the capital of Mattarglos?”

“The capital?”

“Hologand is a sort of… proxy town,” explains the wolfman. “It’s effectively inside the capital’s area of influence, but it is maintained as separate for… legal reasons.”

“That sounds shady,” retorts the Polish Earthling skeptically.

The cat-eared man replies, “It sounds worse than it is. It’s a sort of protection for the capital. Mainly, if the Empire ever tries to exert economic pressure, Hologand is sacrificial.”

“Hmmm… Well, that’s where I’m going. T-To meet my friend.” Zuzia silently curses herself for reflexively and defensively adding the last sentence. If her destination wasn’t suspicious already, she definitely made it so.

Thankfully, Wulfsten doesn’t seem to read too much into it. He replies, “Very well. May I accompany you to Hologand, my Lady?”

Zuzia offers her hand. “I’d be honored, Sir Wulfsten.”

With that, Zuzia has obtained companions to accompany her for the rest of her trip.

***

Rikuto stands before the foreboding signs marking a hard border between the Grand Duchy of Stalvaltan and the rest of the Kingdom of Mornistae. The signs overtly threaten death for crossing over the border, but also seem to be a more specialized warning. Given the reports he received from the soldiers that fled immediately, soldiers that were captured during the two failed sieges on the Citadel were cursed with a spell that dropped them by simply crossing into Fievegal sovereign territory.

Seeing it for himself makes it sink in. Daniel has exceeded anyone’s expectations since arriving in this world. He truly has come into power over a powerful entity.

Rikuto looks ahead at the hills rolling before him, as well as the forest edges a little further away. They’re well-masked, but knowing what to look for has helped the young Japanese man. Things that don’t belong are scattered across the landscape.

Among those unnatural presences are a staple of Earth battlefields; the not-so-humble tank.

Rikuto can’t see any of them well enough to guess at a model, but being an American, Daniel would likely have chosen his country’s M1 Abrams, which boasts heavy armor an an advanced suite of technology to defend itself from attacks in exchange for a great deal of inefficiency and sluggishness comparatively.

Regardless, Rikuto can see the barrels of at least two of the vehicles peeking out from under camouflage stands of shrubs. He wouldn’t have expected the Fievegal to bother digging and structuring shielding bunkers for the tanks, given that Zenkon had no firearms of any kind before Daniel, but then again, they do have magic, so it’s possible Daniel did not overlook that.

The leading guard cautiously approaches Rikuto as he studies the guarded no-man’s land ahead. “Your Majesty, I think we should not linger. As you know, the Fievegal possess ranged weapons that do not produce any magical signature and can strike far outside of a bow’s range.”

“Yes, I’m wholly aware,” replies the otherworlder king. He came to the border to get some space from Yaulander, who has been raving since the bronze-brunette woman summoned from Earth escaped. Combined troops from the Empire and Mornistae have been scouring the land looking for her, and the Grand Prince has been rather impatient, to put it nicely.

If Daniel wanted to assassinate me, I have a feeling there's nothing I can do.

The Japanese man looks at the horizon for a moment. It’s mostly a battle-scarred field. The Grand Duchy had very little wasted space that wasn’t developed for farmland and a population to match. Daniel allowing the battles to take place on the Grand Duchy side of the border either signal incompetence, or a fearlessness of the economic damage done to Grand Duchy farmland.

That said, it also seems that Daniel isn’t making an effort to invade any further than securing the Grand Duchy, which serves as further proof of what Rikuto already suspected; Aramellianna long ago took Daniel’s side and has defected to the Fievegal. She sent a couple of letters claiming Wenlianna is Daniel’s hostage, being ‘forced’ to become one of his consorts, and if Aramellianna didn’t surrender, Wenlianna would ‘suffer’.

Knowing all he knows now, Rikuto is certain it was all a lie, but there’s not much he can do about it. The joint imperial army and remainder of the kingdom’s forces are regrouping in the territories bordering the Grand Duchy, but it’s unlikely that the Grand Duchy can be captured again. Not without substantial losses on both sides, assuming they’re lucky enough to get close enough to engage the Fievegal’s soldiers.

Perhaps most surprising, though, is the severe shortage of refugees and defectors fleeing from the occupied territory. Stalvaltan Guards are loyal to the Stalvaltan family, but not one of them has held to the Grand Duchy’s vows of allegiances.

Rikuto chuckles, crossing his arms. “What was the point of re-doing our treatises if you were just going to turn traitor, Aramellianna?” wonders the otherworlder king quietly to himself.

“King Tachibana Rikuto,” says a strange voice from ahead of him and to the right, just as a figure emerges from behind a brush patch that survived the assault.

He flinches in surprise a little, and the knights guarding him immediately grip their weapons.

The person appears to be a gatonine at a glance, but his facial features are more feline than a gatonine’s human visage. Additionally, the person has more distinct fur patches, a creamy grey coloring with dark ring-spots like a snow leopard, and armor with the distinctive Fievegal emblem on the shoulder; a female kemonomimi (Jap. (loosely): animal eared person) girl with triangular fox ears and a bushy tail holding a sword. Rikuto has seen sketches of Hekate, so it most certainly is an emblem depicting herself.

Addressing the call out, Rikuto responds as he trained himself; “Pardon, who?”

The man, given the similarities and differences to a gatonine, must be a dattakorien, and he has a shield ready to block, but his other hand is held up holding a scroll. He replies politely, “Pardon, your Majesty, but we have been well-informed of your identity and have already confirmed who you are. Our Emperor even ensured we address you by proper Japanese naming convention.”

Rikuto curses himself silently. Not that it would have made much difference, but he did miss that little detail, since it is the natural way he used to hear his name. If anything, it should have been odd to him to hear it, since it has been over a year since he heard his name properly, and from a demon-kin no less.

The dattakorien man glances at the guards around Rikuto, all on the ready to lunge forward and attack, and he says cautiously, “I will remind you and your men, your Majesty, that even across the border, you are in range of our entire forward line, whether you see them or not.”

Rikuto sighs. He has lost this small battle, and he gestures at his men to stow their weapons. “Relax your guard a little, Sirs.”

“My Lord,” replies the leading knight, but Rikuto looks at him and explains, “He’s right. Just there and there, I can see camouflaged tanks. We’re within half of their full accurate range, and they could probably still kill us that distance again.”

The knights try to scan the areas Rikuto pointed out, but they don’t know what to look for, so they are unable to find anything right away, which isn’t helped by their helmets and the visors they bear.

Rikuto turns his attention back to the dattakorien man, who is cautiously walking closer, keeping his shield close and scroll up.

The Japanese king states a little dryly, “If Daniel told you to use proper greetings, then he should have told you that it is rude to ask another man’s name before introducing oneself.”

“His Grace did explain that, your Majesty. However, he also agrees that this is a world of slavery contracts, your Majesty. It is more prudent to be mindful to whom one’s true name is given in the presence of enemies.”

Rikuto cocks his head. He looks at his knight, asking, “Is that true?”

The knight dips his helmet once. “It is, my Lord. Though, it’s not strictly practiced in civilized kingdoms because slavery is reserved for criminals and indentured servants.”

“Demon-kin like myself are less concerned with our personal legacy through proclaiming our names, so much as demonstrating our strength. However, I do have a duty to provide you an identity to refer to me by, as instructed, so you will honor me by referring to me as Snow Phantom, Phantom for short.”

Rikuto does his best to stifle a laugh. What kind of edgelord name is that? Daniel must really be an otaku (Jap. (simple def.): Nerd). Or worse, a weeb.

The young man clears his throat, saying as respectfully as he can, “Sir Phantom, what caused you to approach me today?”

“I have a message from his Grace intended for you, your Majesty.” The dattakorien presents the scroll, which is rolled up.

“Halt, soldier. A scroll could easily be a trap.”

Snow Phantom smirks, sighing a little. “You’re right. I’ll unfurl it this way.” The feline man turns 90 degrees to the left, aiming the scroll away from him as he removes the binding and unravels it. Rikuto has yet to see a magic scroll in action, but given how afraid the vassals and soldiers are, it must be common enough and dangerous enough to warrant such a cautious approach. It was so natural, that the dattakorien man from the demon kin followed an acceptable protocol as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He then approaches to the line formed between the two signs signifying the hard border to the Grand Duchy. The dattakorien sets the scroll down, backing away from the scroll. “Please read it, your Majesty. In short, his Grace and her Imperial Greatness are hoping to arrange a meeting.”

Rikuto looks at his guards and nods. They nod cautiously, keeping their hands on their weapons, while the battle mages keep their grips firm on their combination morningstar-staves. They have the magic-amplification effect of magic staves, with the melee advantage of a morningstar, though not quite as heavy. Those with more complex spells have their grimoires at the ready as well, though Rikuto can guess from the disastrous attempts to reclaim the Grand Duchy that the Fievegal has many counters prepared.

He approaches the border, wary of crossing the line.

Seeming to sense this, Snow Phantom says somewhat dryly, but as respectfully as he can, “Your Majesty, as I may remind you, you are already in range if we wished to attack you. Additionally, the border only affects those soldiers who were contracted at the Citadel to never set foot in Fievegal territory again. Those affected have been captured and are being kept at a neutral zone where they will not perish, as are any survivors who proceeded further into our territory.”

“The Stalvaltan Grand Duchy is still legally the territory of the Kingdom of Mornistae,” retorts Rikuto a little bitterly. He knows it’s hopeless and petty at this point, but it still needs to be said.

“We’ll have to disagree, your Majesty.”

Rikuto reads the letter he was handed, which is written in English. Since the spell just wore off again, he asks one of the mages to cast it on him again. He still needs to learn it himself.

Once complete, he reads the letter again.

“[King Tachibana Rikuto,

I know ‘-sama’ is supposed to go somewhere in there. Or, maybe ‘-denka’? I’m not certain. Forgive me, I was never strongly familiar in Japanese, and the translation spells still don’t effect me.

As you’re well aware by now, the Fievegal has secured the territory of the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy and have declared it our sovereign land, in addition to the land spanning east of the Citadel to the mountain range. I have not forgiven your unwarranted attack on Fort Twilight, which, at the time, was occupied by our forces in retaliation for the Empire’s unprovoked invasion and siege on our capital structure, the Citadel.

The Fievegal has repeatedly attempted to maintain a neutral and isolationist stance towards the other kingdoms to avoid bloodshed and conflict. Now that you have been completely cut off from your supply of enhanced magic crystals, I hope you will be willing to enter negotiations with the Fievegal. We are both well-aware of each other’s superweapons, and further provocation with such weapons can only further destroy this precious world.

There are circumstances that led me to create what I did that had nothing to do with the eastern kingdoms, but I should have foreseen the misunderstanding that would take place. And now, irreplaceable lives have been lost.

Considering the fact that I have had custody of Queen Heralesse and Princess Erimaya for these past few weeks with no calls for negotiation indicates to me that you have little to lose in this world other than your power and authority. I do not wish to make threats, so please accept this offer for negotiations. If you do, I will return her Majesty unharmed, though you will need to speak to Erimaya yourself for reasons you will understand upon speaking.

You have two weeks to reply to this message, after which time, I will be unreachable for a time, and I will consider your delay an attempt to sleight the Fievegal.

I wanted to live peacefully and be left alone, King Rikuto. Now, I am the Emperor of the Fievegal, second only to her Greatness, Empress Hekate fell Lawson.

You may send your reply to the point of contact you received this letter from by the end of the two weeks, and if you do not object, we will hold a peace summit at a neutral location as soon as possible.

I look forward to your wise decision, your Majesty Tachibana Rikuto.

Very Respectfully,

Daniel kos Lawson

Emperor of the Fievegal]”.

Rikuto can feel his heart beginning to beat faster. He knows rifles and tank cannons, at the least, are all aimed at him and his men. He could be snuffed out in a moment before he even has time to turn around, but Daniel is subtly threatening him. He hit all of the points to remind Rikuto how dangerous the American is.

More importantly…

Could that girl have fled because she was given orders by Ryukana to meet up with Daniel? She seemed genuinely terrified, though. And, why would Ryukana send her to Daniel after delivering her to Castle Mornistae?

Rikuto sighs. “Is this going to be a situation where I’ll prefer the bullet?”

“I cannot speak to the mind of my Emperor, your Majesty. If you must know, we are only keeping hostages because of the mercy of his Grace and our glorious Empresses.”

Ugh. Don’t remind me. Daniel the harem lord. How original. Much masculine. Such cool.

“And… Heralesse?”

“She was captured rather painlessly when she came to treat with the Grand Duchess. She has been transferred to the Citadel where she is living freely under escort.”

“‘Freely under escort’,” repeats Rikuto skeptically.

“Yes. She is allowed to wander the Citadel, speak with anyone she comes across, and spend time with Erimaya, who is an honored guest.”

“Honored guest!?” snaps Rikuto.

Snow Phantom is unfazed, since there is a fair bit of distance between them, and Rikuto is afraid to cross the border, in case there is some kind of magic. Still, he can’t believe what he just heard.

“Yes, your Majesty. Princess Erimaya has become one of her Greatness Hekate’s closest friends. For further information, you’ll have to speak to the Princess.”

The Japanese king is silent for a moment.

Friends with Hekate? Is that why she ran away both times? But how? If anything, she should pose a threat to Hekate. If there was a chance Daniel could be recruited back to the kingdom…

No. Erimaya carries a level of guilt about our summoning. She won’t try to manipulate Daniel. freewebnσvel.cѳm

Rikuto sighs again. “Daniel gave me two weeks to reply. I trust I can have my reply delivered to you as instructed in this letter?”

“Of course, your Majesty. We will be monitoring the border. You need not come yourself, either. His Grace knows you are a busy man. He will take no offense.”

Rikuto nods. He would hope something like that goes without saying, but a lot of the conflict started because of Daniel flexing a power that shouldn’t exist in this world.

While he’s pondering, Rikuto studies Snow Phantom, trying to find his firearm. He has half a mind to use hypnosis on the dattakorien so he can get the firearm, but too many of the Fievegal soldiers are out of range. And, were it so easy to use hypnosis magic to overcome Daniel’s firearms, some of his mages should have been able to escape, if not claim small victories.

Nodo kara te ga deru(A/N 1)… Thinks Rikuto to himself. Before he does anything foolish, he decides to use his mouth instead of his hands.

“Phantom, if you don’t mind my asking, I have not seen Daniel’s firearms up close. Would you mind showing me yours? I assume you are carrying a personal arm like a handgun.”

Snow Phantom cocks his head, his feline ears flicking somewhat cutely. While it’s not Rikuto’s cup of tea, he can see why people get hung up on the cuteness of animal-eared people. Even on a man, it’s a surprisingly charming trait, and his tail shifting behind him adds another layer to that.

Seeming to see minimal harm in the gesture, and obviously knowing Rikuto comes from the same world as Daniel, Snow Phantom draws his pistol. He does take the time to unload it, storing the magazine and bullet in his belt pouch. The dattakorien man then aims the handgun at the ground, dry-firing to confirm that the gun is completely clear.

With crisp and efficient steps, the tiger-eared soldier steps close and offers the pistol to Rikuto, stopping at the border. In a gesture of good faith, the Japanese man closes the distance and accepts the firearm.

No sooner do his fingers close around the grip does the sensation fill his hand, sending what feels like a tingle through his arm to the base of his skull. That's the closest he could get to explaining his strange ability Ryukana gave him as a backup.

While holding the pistol, he can feel his instincts shifting. His fingers shift to appropriately hold the grip, his eyes begin judging ranges he could hit targets, and his mind becomes anxious about the weight, desiring a reload he doesn’t have the magazine nor bullets to perform. He also has an instant understanding of how to use the notch rear sight and small glowing front sight.

The conscious part of his mind studies the pistol's design.

As Rikuto feared, the design is far more modern than the firearm designs he was able to describe to the magic artisans, who are still trying to research the right ways to produce the components. Even then, he'll be lucky if he can achieve a Minie ball and simple rifling design, as the technology of this world -or Rikuto’s lack of experience with the equipment- can’t make comparable casings for self-contained bullets like modern ones. What that means is that each shot of the firearms that his artisans are working on will take a very long time to reload compared to the semi-automatic and fully-automatic weapons Daniel has somehow manufactured.

And, unfortunately, the otherworlder king's weapon mastery gift doesn’t give him an uncanny understanding of how to make the weapons he touches, but instead, how to use them to their fullest ability. If he had bullets, he could likely pick off one of the snipers, even with it being a pistol, but it would all be moot.

Rikuto hands the pistol back to Snow Phantom, who holsters it without reloading it.

“Thank you. That was enlightening.”

“Princess Erimaya and Queen Heralesse will likely be able to describe them to you in great detail, so it is a small token of peace.”

Rikuto feels a jab at his pride. He’s not sure if Snow Phantom is intentionally being snarky, since his expression hasn’t changed, but his point is very blunt.

The Japanese man keeps his composure, though, and he dips his head, turning on his heel to return. He gained what he wanted out of this excursion, not least of which is being away from Yaulander.

Now, he has a new headache to sort out.

***

<A/N 1: I hope I’m using this right. It’s a Japanese idiom, to my understanding, meaning “hands out of my throat”, as in to want something so badly, that it feels like a hand will burst forth from one’s mouth to grab it.