Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 188: “The ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ Activates”
A few days later.
The time had finally come for the countdown on the “Pseudo-Smartphone” to reach zero.
“…So Mabel didn’t make it in time.”
But that couldn’t be helped.
Even for someone like Mabel, returning quickly from the “Forest of Confusion” was impossible.
In fact, I’d rather she take her time coming back. It’s dangerous to rush.
In any case, crafting items with the “Mind-Responsive Material” would have to wait.
For now, we need to do everything we can to prepare.
“Chancellor Kelve, Agnis-sama. The countdown on the ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ has dropped below 60 seconds.”
I nodded to Kelve-san and Agnis, who were beside me.
“It’s finally time. Are you ready?”
“No problem. Ready whenever.”
“Agnis is also ready!”
We were on a grassy field outside the castle.
We stood before the tent containing the “Pseudo-Smartphone,” waiting for the moment.
The entrance to the tent was wide open. The “Temporary Simple Storage” stood in the center.
The “Pseudo-Smartphone” was inside it.
The interior of the “Temporary Simple Storage” served as the first line of defense against any damage caused by the Pseudo-Smartphone.
We’d also set up many layers of protection outside the tent.
Of course, Kelve-san, Agnis, and I were all equipped with “Electromagnetic-Wave and Magic-Interference Gloves.”
By the way, Rukie was in the Demon Lord’s castle, in the throne room.
She had insisted on being present at the site, but Kelve-san and I stopped her.
We couldn’t let a monarch be exposed to danger.
Rukie was surely watching us now, from the window of the throne room.
“Ten seconds until the countdown reaches zero!! Everyone, prepare for response!”
Kelve-san activated the “Anti-Magic Barrier.”
I raised the “UV-Cut Parasol” toward the tent.
5 seconds left. 4, 3, 2, 1… Zero.
The moment had arrived.
“…Come on, ‘Pseudo-Smartphone.’”
We’d taken all the precautions we could.
Even if a giant magical beast appeared, we could hold it off.
In the meantime, the elven magic corps stationed on the castle watchtower would use the “Laser Pointer” to defeat the beast.
We were prepared, our eyes set on the worst that could happen—
Focused—
Prepared—
………
“““Huh?”””
Nothing happened?
……No, that’s not right.
From inside the tent… there was a sound.
Tururururun. Tururururun.
It wasn’t a magic chant. It was a regular melody.
Was the “Pseudo-Smartphone” making it?
“I’ll go check. You two stay here.”
“Agnis is Thor Canaan-sama’s bodyguard!”
“As Chancellor, it’s my duty to witness this with my own eyes.”
The three of us nodded at each other.
Then the three of us entered the “Temporary Simple Storage.”
Inside the storage space, loud music was playing.
“Wow… The ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ can play music, huh…”
It was a short melody.
It seemed to be looping the same phrase over and over.
Furthermore, the surface of the “Pseudo-Smartphone” was emitting a strong light.
Tiny markings were displayed—these looked like… letters?
“The writing displayed there… belongs to the Heroes’ world.”
I said it so that Kelve-san and Agnis would understand.
Then I removed the “Electromagnetic-Wave and Magic-Interference Gloves.”
I needed to confirm what was happening.
After asking Agnis and Kelve to “touch the ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ with the gloves if anything happens,” I leaned in to read the floating text.
As expected, it was a message.
Its contents—
──────────────────
To the person in the other world,
This is a message from the homeland of those once called heroes.
This is a warning.
A faction of extremists has sent smartphones containing dangerous information to your world.
Though we have apprehended the culprits, the two devices had already been sent using “Dispatch Magic.”
Their goal is to abandon ‘Hard Creatures’ in your world.
They want the people of your world to deal with these ‘Hard Creatures.’
To achieve this, they tried to transmit dangerous magical knowledge to your world.
We call this magic the “Army Art.” The Hero’s—
──────────────────
The message ends there… no, there seems to be more.
How can I read the rest?
Shake the “Pseudo-Smartphone”… pour in magic… no reaction.
…Ah. So just touching it’s enough.
I see. In the Heroes’ world, text could be scrolled merely by touching it.
Amazing. With this, even a small surface can hold massive amounts of information.
Truly worthy of the Heroes’ world. I had to try reproducing this technology.
Now then, continuing the message—
──────────────────
We, the descendants of heroes, intend to defeat the ‘Hard Creatures’ with our own power.
After all, it was people from our world who summoned them from another world.
And it must also be people from this world who take responsibility.
The kind of “Hero” I admire stands for justice in that way.
They work together with allies to defeat great evil.
That’s the kind of justice I strive for.
As Red, leader of the Heroes’ Descendants Team, I can’t overlook evil.
Once again, this is a warning.
If you find a smartphone, destroy it.
If you find suspicious writing, delete it without touching it.
It’s a trap. This is what we call phishing.
If you don’t understand, consult someone knowledgeable, or a family member.
I hope that someday, after peace has returned to the world, I can meet someone from another world.
Like the mysterious people from my ancestors’ tales. One day.
—From a descendant of the heroes
──────────────────
That was the end of the message.
Nothing else happened. The text could only be scrolled up and down.
In other words, the person who sent this “Pseudo-Smartphone” simply wanted to deliver this message… and nothing more.
…Amazing.
Someone from the Heroes’ world had gone this far merely to communicate with us.
They even added a timed mechanism and loud sound, just to make sure the message wouldn’t be missed.
This “Red” person—the supposed descendant of heroes—went to such lengths just to pass their message to us…
“Thor Canaan-sama.”
“What happened to the ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’?”
Before I realized it, Agnis and Kelve-san had come to my side.
Agnis stood protectively in front of me, and Kelve-san had deployed an Anti-Magic Barrier.
“Please don’t worry,” I said to them both.
I said to them both.
“It appears the sole purpose of this ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ was to warn us.”
After completing its message, the Pseudo-Smartphone stopped making sounds.
As I continued watching, the light dimmed.
But when touched with a fingertip, it reacted and displayed text.
It seems to conserve magical energy by dimming when not in use.
…This technology might be useful for something.
Perhaps I could create a “Firewall” that spat flames when someone approached, or a “Robot Vacuum Cleaner” that detected people and produced a deafening alarm. Or perhaps not…?
“What warning did the Heroes’ world send?”
“…So it won’t explode or summon magical beasts?”
“This message was meant to warn us. It seems like it was sent by someone kind. So I don’t think it’ll explode or summon any monsters.”
I said.
“As for the contents of the message specifically—”
Then, I told Kelve-san and Agnis what the message said.
“—That’s everything. In short, the Pseudo-Smartphone was merely a messenger.”
I finished explaining.
Kelve-san and Agnis froze after listening.
I could understand how they felt.
Being contacted suddenly by the Heroes’ world would shock anyone.
They probably realized that our two worlds are connected.
They must also know that Hard Creatures were summoned here from the Heroes’ world. That was why the extremist faction mentioned in the message had sent a smartphone to this world.
To get people here to summon Hard Creatures.
That means, after all, they might not be able to send large things from that world through Dispatch Magic.
…That makes sense.
If they could send large things, they’d have sent over some super destructive magical item already. Also, the radical faction could have sent the Hard Creatures directly.
Since they didn’t do that, it likely means they can’t open a big gate between worlds.
Maybe the connection between worlds has compatibility limits.
This needs to be studied further.
“This ‘Pseudo-Smartphone’ was harmless. It didn’t explode. I also don’t think it’s going to send over a giant magical beast. We may not have needed such strict security…”
Outside the tent, the elven magic soldiers were keeping their distance.
Everyone had put up Anti-Magic Barriers and was watching us cautiously.
“I apologize for causing concern. It seems I was worrying too much.”
“No. I believe this degree of caution was necessary,” Kelve-san said, shaking his head.
Kelve-san shook his head.
“There are supposedly two more smartphones sent to this world, correct? In that case, we were just lucky to find the harmless one. If we had found one of the others, there might have been serious damage.”
“…I see. That does make sense.”
“‘Beware of smartphones. Don’t touch strange messages or images’—this should become a motto throughout the Demon Lord’s Domain.”
“I agree.”
“We’ll need to prepare countermeasures against dangerous smartphones as well.”
Kelve-san said seriously.
This defensive formation had also served as valuable training. When we searched for dangerous smartphones, the “Anti-Smartphone Formation” would prove useful.
“Also, thanks to our caution, we developed the ‘Electromagnetic-Wave and Magic-Interference Gloves.’”
Agnis nodded while still wearing the gloves.
“With these, we can safely delete suspicious messages and smartphones.”
“Thank you, Chancellor, and you as well, Agnis.”
They were right.
We’ll be searching for the other two smartphones from now on.
To do that, both the Anti-Smartphone Formation and the Electromagnetic-Wave and Magic-Interference Gloves would be essential.
In other words… the defense measures against the Pseudo-Smartphone were necessary after all.
“Still… where could the other two smartphones be?”
“Could the ‘Robot Vacuum Cleaner’ find them? Perhaps it could use this ‘Smartphone’ as a clue to locate the others… Hmm. The names are becoming confusing.”
“This is the ‘Justice Smartphone,’ so how about calling the other two—sent with malicious intent—‘Cursed Smartphones’?”
“‘Cursed Smartphones’… that might make things easier to understand.”
Chancellor Kelve nodded.
“Understood. From now on, we’ll refer to them as ‘Cursed Smartphones’ throughout the Demon Lord’s Domain. Thor-sama, can the Robot Vacuum Cleaner or the Magical Power Detector be used to find them?”
“Depends on the distance. If they’re nearby, we might be able to find them with the ‘Magic Detector’…”
The Robot Vacuum Cleaner tracked people and monsters through traces they left on the ground.
But Cursed Smartphones don’t move.
If someone picks one up, there’ll be no residue from the smartphone itself.
The Magic Detector might work, but its range is limited.
…This is going to be tough.
However, we do have a clue.
We have the Justice Smartphone in hand.
There might be a feature that allows smartphones to track each other’s locations.
Smartphones are small.
They might get lost during battle.
The Heroes’ world had probably devised a countermeasure for that.
If we can find that function, we might be able to track the Cursed Smartphones.
But it’ll take time.
Let’s start with what we can do now.
“I have a proposal regarding the search for the ‘Cursed’ ones.”
I said.
“How about asking Her Majesty the Demon Lord to issue a proclamation throughout the domain? Something like, ‘If you find a suspicious smartphone, don’t touch it. Report it immediately.’”
“That’s a good idea,” Kelve-san said with a nod.
Kelve-san nodded.
“However, there’s a possibility that a ‘Cursed Smartphone’ fell into Imperial territory. In that case—”
“I’ll speak with Princess Sophia. I’ll deliver the warning,” Agnis said, raising her hand.
Agnis raised her hand.
We could have asked the winged pixies to deliver a letter, but this was a serious matter.
It would be better for Agnis, who actually saw the Pseudo-Smartphone, to explain.
“I agree. We’ll need the cooperation of Princess Sophia in Noza Town and the Omawarisan Unit.”
“Why don’t we ask Princess Sophia to issue a proclamation like, ‘If you find a smartphone, turn it over to the Omawarisan Unit’?”
“That’s an excellent idea, Thor-sama.”
If the Cursed Smartphone tries to force suspicious magic without warning, it’s incredibly dangerous.
Honestly, the people of the Heroes’ world caused an astonishing amount of trouble.
Sending unnecessary Cursed Smartphones across worlds—
If they’re doing it for profit, we might as well call it ‘unsolicited delivery business’.
“Let’s begin the countermeasures.”
Chancellor Kelve looked at me and Agnis and declared.
“As Chancellor, I’ll devote myself fully to dealing with this issue. If there’s anything you need, come to the Chancellor’s office. I’ll make arrangements immediately.”
“Understood. Then—”
“Let me clarify. I mean ‘anything necessary for Cursed Smartphone countermeasures.’ Only that. Not alchemy supplies. Strictly ‘Cursed Smartphone countermeasures.’”
Why did he have to say it twice, Chancellor…
“Understood, Chancellor.”
I bowed to Kelve-san and stood up.
“I’ll investigate the Pseudo-Smartphone and the dangerous spell mentioned in the message—something called the ‘Army Art.’”
“Understood. I’ll report to Her Majesty the Demon Lord.”
“I’ll depart for Noza Town immediately,” Agnis said.
And with that, Kelve-san and Agnis stood and rushed out of the tent.
The elven magic corps waited outside.
I would ask them whether they knew anything about the Army Art.
Still… what was happening in the Heroes’ world?
I’d like to send a message to them too, but… that might be reckless.
It seems there’s a malicious radical faction over there.
If the message or item I send falls into their hands, it would be a disaster.
Anyway, let’s begin the investigation immediately.
Where are the other two smartphones?
This isn’t just the Demon Lord’s problem anymore. Perhaps—
—To deliver a proper warning, I may need to meet with someone from the Imperial Capital.
As I spoke with the elven magic troops, such thoughts ran through my mind.