Trapped in Another World With No Magic
Chapter 175: Glowing Coals of War

“Daniel!”

It’s not a voice that the mechanic would normally expect to be calling out to him so suddenly. He looks to find Heralesse lifting her dress as she ‘runs’ as quickly as she can towards him. The dress is one of the new ones made by Aramellianna’s tailors using a fabric that his best attempts to translate for himself comes to ‘cuddlewool’. According to Aramellianna, it is the single most expensive and luxurious fabric known to Zenkon, harvested from a species of ‘hairy serpent’ known as a glalia. It has a feel somewhat like silk, but even more comfortable. The Stalvaltan Grand Duchy had a not-so-small stockpile that Aramellianna chose to use for the summit, though Daniel urged her to convince her merchants to try to find a way to shear the beasts without killing them, which is easier said than done.

That said, the ones already slain can’t be brought back, and she decided to make their sacrifice worth it.

Heralesse is wearing one such dress, but the mechanic has a pretty good idea what she’s really upset about.

Adorning the young Queen’s shoulders, neck, wrists, and even her waist are strings of pearls. Heralesse has some of the smallest ones, but there are easily 200 or more pearls on her person, accented by light blue diamonds that match her eyes.

Her face is red and her eyes are desperate. “What is this!?” shrieks the young Queen as Gold follows a ways behind with a cheeky grin.

Heralesse emphasizes the multi-string necklace. Daniel holds his tongue from the joke being left on the table, which he’s pretty sure doesn’t exist on Zenkon yet, giving an innocent smile. “It appears to be a necklace,” replies the mechanic dryly.

“Obviously! I’m asking how this is reasonable!” She gestures behind her, where every woman that’s part of the convoy that’s about to head out is wearing similar elaborate strings and even mesh adornments made of pearls. Wenlianna, Aramellianna, and Yanidere are all wearing mesh hair pieces that combine the gold chains, diamonds, and pearls as if to represent their command of the greatest wealth in the world.

“I’m not a noble myself,” starts Daniel with his same sarcastic edge. “But, I believe it’s quite common to demonstrate one’s wealth, as well as to support local economies by doing so.”

“You know that’s not the issue! Where did you get so many pearls!? The diamonds were one thing, but pearls!? PEARLS!? And, they’re all so… perfect!”

Gold snickers deviously as she approaches. “I told her it’s a secret. After all, if we revealed where our source of pearls is, we’ll undoubtedly be invaded again.”

“Hrk!” grunts the Queen, knowing that it’s not a completely unfounded assumption. If the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy didn’t have the known backing of the Fievegal after all but officially declaring their separation from Mornistae, they would have almost immediately been invaded by one of the other kingdoms in hopes that their military would be too small to defend against a full kingdom, even if it is the Stalvaltan Guard.

Daniel avoids her question by saying, “Don’t forget that you’re a captive at the moment, Queen Heralesse kos Mornistae. I do believe we’ve been above and beyond generous and hospitable to you.”

She deflates a little, looking away from him. “I know… I just… It doesn’t seem… fair. How can the Fievegal be so lucky?”

Daniel gives a soft smile as he appreciates the irony. He’s not sure how life might’ve gone if he had never been banished from Mornistae. He might’ve eventually led the Grand Duchy to making pearls the same way, especially after they claimed the gulf-accessible land from Bromlund. Even the technologies he allowed Heralesse to steal via her own observation and, if she worked hard enough, reverse engineering would have been among the things he would have worked towards for Mornistae. The only difference would be the level of urgency being much lower, and the limits of the Stalvaltan wealth and the world’s technology without the Citadel allowing him to shortcut some of the problems that would have taken much longer to deal with.

“One might call the Mornistae family lucky for having a long and storied legacy that has not yet been destroyed while its youngest generation of daughters still lives.”

Heralesse’s urgent expression softens even more, and Daniel puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks at him in response, and he adds, “The dress and pearls you’re wearing are yours.”

“I… what’s the catch?” asks the young Queen nervously.

“I think that’s pretty obvious. I’m bribing you to prevent any further conflicts with the Fievegal, including any disputes over the Stalvaltan territory.”

She takes the pearl necklaces in her hand, studying them for a moment. “A bribe, huh?”

“I’m not asking you to surrender the Kingdom of Mornistae to our will, but you must realize by now, you’re a long way off from actually holding us off if we commit to an invasion.” The mechanic suddenly remembers something he can purchase from her. “If you want something tangible to trade, I’ll take the artifact.”

“Th-... The artifact?” asks the Queen, suddenly startled.

Daniel nods. “Yes. The one located in the basement of your castle, where Wenlianna’s lab used to be.”

“But… I… The artifact… W-We… It’s…”

“I have no intention of summoning anymore otherworlders. In fact, my intention is to prevent it. I don’t know if anyone told you yet, but Rikuto worked with Grand Prince Yaulander summoned a young woman recently, and she panicked and fled.”

“I…” She looks down. Admitting that she had no idea looks bad for royalty, but it’s also partially her responsibility. Because she foolishly ran off on her quest to get answers from Aramellianna, she was immediately captured by the Fievegal and held as a diplomatic prisoner. If she hadn’t, she might have been able to convince Rikuto not to use the void artillery, not to continue hostility against the Fievegal, and not to summon another otherworlder.

“That… shouldn’t have been possible,” replies Erimaya from nearby, having approached close enough to overhear that part as everyone makes their way towards the large trucks they’ll be travelling in. When everyone looks at her, the blonde princess continues, “The historical records I originally read about it suggested that it can only be used once every few decades at most. O-... Otherwise, I don’t know… It’s probable there would be many more summoning rituals.”

She’s right, confirms Kaeralegier’s voice in Daniel’s head. The artifact stores magic over time. It was a failsafe I put in to prevent it from being used too often. Otherwise, a normal summoning requires so much magic power, that typically, the denizens performing the ritual wipe out a sizable portion of their mages or their population as sacrifices to try to summon one person, simply because the draw is too much to handle imprecisely.

Daniel thinks to himself, which Kaeralegier can hear, Why such a cruel requirement?

Ripping people away from their homes is NOT cruel? retorts the goddess. Considering what’s being accomplished, it’s a gift to worlds such as this that Chaos and Order allow it at all. But, as with all things, any power used comes at a cost. One that must be offset one way or another.

Taking Daniel’s prolonged silence as him brooding over it, or possibly trying to control his anger, Erimaya adds softly, “S-... Sorry, Daniel. I-It was my idea when you were summoned…”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t stewing. I was just thinking. I imagine Yaulander and Rikuto put a lot of people at risk by doing it without the artifact, if what you said is true. Which, of course, we have no reason to doubt you, since you sound like you’re the most well-read.”

“Ahem!” calls out Wenlianna. “I’ve read the historical documents as well. While I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t oppose the ritual as I probably should have,...” She blushes, adding softly, “I don’t regret that.” The brunette then adds, “But, I’m fairly confident Princess Erimaya speaks the truth. The artifact did have far more mana in it prior to the summoning, though it’s generally unnoticeable because of how it contains its own mana. I was looking for it when they did the ritual, and was able to confirm it.”

“Hundreds of mages perished,” states Senn’s voice coldly. “They were not numerous or powerful enough to sustain the spell on their own.”

“N-... No, that…” Heralesse tries to deny it, but she has no idea. Senn is an elf, meaning she is automatically one of the strongest mages in the world. Even without having been introduced to her formally, Heralesse knows an elf is in-tune enough with the world’s mana to know things well-beyond the easily knowable for anyone else.

It’s said that Dawnseers, particularly human and human-kin Dawnseers, are descended from elves far back in their ancestry.

“Rikuto…” murmurs the young Queen.

The elven sage says sternly, “Regardless, we should depart. This conversation can largely be continued on the road, yes?” She starts for one of the trucks, and Daniel asks, “Lady Senn,...” He notices Heralesse make the realization, since this is her first time hearing Senn be addressed, suggesting she is the Senn everyone knows.

“Yes, Daniel?” asks the silver-haired woman.

“Are you willing to help us send that summon home if it’s what she wishes?”

“Of course,” replies the elf. “But, only after the artifact recharges.”

Daniel nods in agreement. Once it’s under their control, he has no doubt Wenlianna will gladly take part in experimenting to understand the device more, especially with the goal of helping someone.

Xyreko informed him of the young woman’s plight, and that she’s currently imprisoned by another elven sage, making the situation extremely dangerous for anyone to simply try to extract her.

More than likely, she’ll be forced to come after Daniel and his allies, meaning he can try to capture her and free her. Until then, he has to bide his time and try to prepare for the next move his enemies make.

“We… We can send her home,” replies Heralesse finally, trying to restore the honor of her kingdom. “I’ll make sure of it. Whatever it takes. Th-The artifact is useless to you otherwise, isn’t it?”

“It’s useless to you as well.” retorts Daniel. “As an otherworlder summon brought to this world by the device, I have a personal interest in preventing its misuse. The Citadel will be a much more secure location for it.”

She is quiet, searching her thoughts.

“Let us rephrase,” interjects Ryuogriar as she approaches, carrying a conscious and cutely dressed Jieka, while Reignleif carries Tekten. “You can sell us the artifact, or you can make us take it. All you need to know is that we want it, and that you should not try to keep it.”

“Think about it,” adds Daniel. “I don’t want to have to threaten you, but Ryuogriar-Mukori is right. I will gain access to it one way or the other, and Rikuto has already demonstrated that he will misuse it, regardless of what influence Yaulander had on that decision.”

She is quiet, but she nods. “I… I’ll… think about it.”

“Good.”

“Daddy!” exclaims Jieka, squirming out of Ryuogriar’s arms, who crouches to let the princess down. Her dress no longer seems to be the illusion that Doephluev cast, but instead, a dress that is a little too big for her, and she runs haphazardly towards Daniel with it dragging along the ground.

Treia explains playfully, “She’s a proper princess. She demanded a dress like the rest of ours.”

“Is that so?” asks Daniel, trying to be ready to catch Jieka if she falls.

“Mm-hmm,” replies the gatonine, watching the little half-goblin run towards him.

“Before you hug Daddy, Jieka,” starts Ryuogriar. “What did we talk about?”

The princess stops right in front of Daniel, and Aramellianna ushers everyone to their respective trucks while the little girl sways nervously, watched over by the Dragon Empresses, Hekate, and Doephluev, who will be riding with Daniel.

“Um… D-Daddy… Jieka sowwy…”

“Sorry?” asks Daniel.

“Apologize properly, Jieka. Daddy will always love you, but you have to be honest with him,” urges the platinum dragon matron.

“Um… Tekten and Jieka… We sneakeded onto the fwyie tingie wiff Hektay and Doefeev. But, it was Jieka’s… Um… my idea… Pweeze don’t be angwy at Tekten or Jieka. I’m weawy sowwy.” Tears are forming in her eyes, and she sniffles, struggling to say the words, let alone make eye contact with Daniel.

Daniel sighs. He places his hand on her tiny head, and she looks up at him finally. “Jieka, Daddy was really worried about both of you, because you could have gotten very sick or hurt. That’s why it’s important that you tell Hekate or Doephluev, or even Mommy Shek or Mommy Skloe.”

“B-But-!” starts the goblin princess urgently before deflating a little and mumbling childishly, “But… Mommy no let come be wiff Daddy.”

“Yes, that was probably true,” replies Daniel. It was most certainly true, but more important is the fact that she and Tekten came to the conclusion at all.

“I’ll make a promise with you right now; Daddy will teach you how to talk to me no matter where I am, so if we ever need to be apart again, you can talk to me, alright? And, I can tell you exactly when I’m coming home.”

“Pwomise?” asks Jieka.

“Yes, I promise. But, in exchange, Jieka, you and Tekten both have to promise never to sneak off like that again. Mommy Shek or Mommy Skloe, or Hekate and Doephluev. They’ll bring you along next time.”

“Reawy!?” exclaims Jieka. She looks at Hekate and Doephluev, who both smile. The feldrok girl giggles, crouching down as well. “Yes. Because, I know how important it is to be with the ones you love.”

“Otay!” Jieka jumps to hug Daniel’s neck, and he lifts her up.

“Daddy! Daddy! Tekten want be wiff Daddy too!”

 She reaches for him, and Reignleif hands him over without complaint. She does tease, “I see how it is, Jieka. I’m just a convenient source of snacks, hmm?”

The second princess bashfully tries to hide her face in Daniel’s collar, shaking her head. “Mm-mm… But, Tekten wuv Daddy most…”

The four gathered around Daniel snicker, and Reignleif pets her head. “I suppose I can accept that, sweet little Princess. You’ve chosen well.”

“Jieka too! Jieka wuv Daddy most, too!” exclaims the First princess.

“And, you did very well apologizing properly,” replies Ryuogriar confidently, cupping her cheek. “But, remember that Daddy was very worried about you, and don’t upset him again.”

“Mm-hmm!” nods the princess agreeably. Daniel hopes they truly understand, since they are very young. But, they are pretty smart, so he’s a little optimistic at least.

And, thankfully, even they seem to have bought the current plan.

The mechanic lets the golem take control, though he keeps his helmet on in case he needs to speak on his own behalf. Xyreko is managing the golem as it boards the truck with the first four empresses and the princesses, and he looks at Leiwelles. “Thank you, Commander, for helping us.”

The brunette smirks at him. “I don’t much enjoy being party to such a massive deception, but I believe my office is the safest place for you to hide out for now. Do… any of them know?”

“I informed Senn. She’s the least invested in my wellbeing, and she’s the most likely to have seen through it anyways. Vaergraes probably suspects something as well, but as long as the Princesses are fooled, then our targets should be as well.” He suddenly blurts out, “Yes, Jieka. I think your dress is very pretty. You should tell me how it was made.”

As the toddler starts explaining excitedly, Leiwelles snickers at him. “I’m surprised I’ve reached this stage in my life, but I’m glad to find at least a couple of goblins I can definitively define as cute.”

“Thank you,” replies Daniel.

She takes a seat at her desk, remarking, “The handful doesn’t get much easier for a long time, though.”

“I… am aware. Whether or not I’m actually ready,...”

She chuckles more softly. “Yes, well, you handled that pretty well. In the meantime, please get comfortable. Though, I do wonder how you intend to get to them if need be.”

“It’s costly, but Xyreko will make it happen,” replies the mechanic. “I’ll be watching over them once they leave the valley, since I suspect that’s when the attack will be launched.”

“And… your rifles will be able to reach that far? The fortress is probably four, maybe five miles from the nearest cliff face.”

“More important is that I see the source. If they can’t be captured, I’ll try to take them out.”

“Hmm… Well, far-be-it for me to tell you how to defeat enemies, hmm?” She winks at him. 

“I do what I can. I have a large pool of ‘unprecedented’ things to try.”

“Very true,” murmurs the Commander. She then toasts her rose milk, saying warmly, “In any case, here’s to hopefully making my job unnecessary.”

“Amen to that,” agrees Daniel, toasting his water. “And here’s to hoping I don’t actually have to traumatize my daughters.”

“Indeed.” They both take sips of their drinks, settling in for the mission.

Now, it’s a waiting game.

***

Bellphine snaps her eyes open. She was in the middle of cleaning Hekate’s room when she suddenly fell into a sort of trance; one she is quite familiar with.

Unfortunately, it has only just begun.

As she looks around, she must resist the urge to panic. She is suddenly outside, and the sky is distorted with a strange blend of colors. There are screams all around her, and she can see a castle collapsing under its own weight.

The implosion of the castle generates some dust in a plume, but much of that is pulled back downwards, and it’s finally revealed.

A chill crawls across Bellphine’s skin.

The thing consuming the horizon this time is a fire, but it is unlike any fire she has ever seen.

The flames are jet back with bright white edges that seem almost unreal, and there is no smoke. Instead, there are licks of rainbow-colored waves that roll off of the flames as they consume everything. A crater is slowly growing as the flames convert the solid matter of every kind into something else.

A wave of tingling passes over the young woman, and she clutches the bedsheet she has been holding all the tighter. It’s not the same as the mana dip from Daniel’s weapon, which he sincerely apologized to Bellphine for. He offered to give her a high station, but also to simply pay her a luxurious wage for simple work so she isn’t bored, but also can afford to live as she pleases. She chose the latter, and when she completes her maid training, she’ll be granted a position as either a lady-in-waiting to one of the Empresses, a governess for the children, or an attendant for Daniel; whatever she wants to be.

This feeling is almost the opposite. It doesn’t cause her searing pain, but it gives her an ominous feeling. The unnatural black fire absolutely radiates power, not unlike when the dragons are present, or even moreso, Hekate. Just being in Hekate’s presence tends to give Bellphine hallucinations that make her doubt reality, but she hasn’t told anyone yet. She doesn’t want them to blame themselves, since the leaders of the Fievegal seem burdensomely sincere and determined to see a sort of balance to everything they do.

And, as if to confirm that, she notices a streak of bright fire, enveloped in powerful mana, which stands out as a brighter white color, often tinted with its core element’s color. It’s coming from a dragon hovering in the air as it tries to burn away the fuel before the black flames reach it. Unfortunately, the black flames are burning everything.

Then, another dragon joins the first, seeming to appear out of nowhere, but Dawnseeing is an art, not a science. There is rarely a solid logic to the visions, but sometimes, they can be strangely easy to comprehend. This one seems to be the latter, but not everything is visible.

No… They aren’t visible… because they’re being drowned out.

Bellphine looks at her hand. Her own delicate fingers are barely visible to her, like she is a gossamer spirit or ghost. She can see streams of white, mist-like particles racing across her fingers, like she’s caught in a powerful wind that has yet to clear a thick fog.

The ‘mist’ has no feel on its own. It’s neither cool nor wet. But, it does leave behind a strange tingle. Bellphine never dedicated much study to magic in the normal sense that mages do. Everyone in the world is born with inherent mana, but that ranges from barely enough to interact with certain magic devices to an actual ability to cast concentrated magic spells across a countryside and destroy solid structures, so long as there are no counter-mages present.

Bellphine was discovered to be capable of Dawnseeing and was trained to hone her attunement to the special ability.

Ever since the doomsday weapon, she has lost some of her ability to control Dawnseeing, but she enters far more lucid visions of the future and past, whether she’s ready for it or not.

Since she has seen the black flames intentionally once before, she knows she is seeing the future.

And, whatever the full extent of the fire is, it has something to do with an unimaginable amount of mana.

As if the world itself were burning itself to produce pure magic.

Suddenly, a pitch black figure is standing near Bellphine. She recognizes him with ease, since he appears virtually the same as he did before he was ever brought to this world.

Only for a brief time did Daniel truly look like his normal self, which rumors suggest he had mana for a brief time. Both lacking inherent magical energy and gaining it are unprecedented, but more importantly, it almost seems like Bellphine is standing next to him. “D-D-Dan-niel?” asks the young woman without thinking. She knows the Dawnsight is a hallucination, and she’s still in Hekate’s room, meaning anyone that walks in will overhear her as if she’s talking to herself.

Though his appearance is ‘lifeless’ compared to actually seeing him, she can tell he looks at her and has his usual level of quiet determination and kindness, though his mind is on the black fire as well.

“If I don’t do this, everyone will die, won’t they?” The man’s voice sounds slightly distorted, almost trembling in tone, but that’s not quite right. It could simply be a distortion from the Dawnsight, since it’s rare that she hears a voice even this clearly.

And, the young Dawnseer can feel it in her soul. For some reason, she feels a need to answer, in spite of the fact that it’s a lucid Dawnsight. “Ye-Yes…”

“Thank you, Bellphine… You saved us all.”

Daniel starts to dissolve, and she cries out, “Wait!? H-How!? H-h-how d-d-di-did I s-s-save you!? Wh-wha-at did I d-d-do!?”

Rather than a slightly inexpressive shadow for a face, she can see his usual smile as he looks over his shoulder, walking into the mist of mana. “I see… I am not as mercurial as others, am I?” He faces her as the mana consumes his shadow. “Tell me what you see, and what will happen if we fail to act. If I try to keep a promise, they’ll all die. That’ll be enough.”

“But, what am I seeing!? How are you answering me!? I… M-My stammer…!”

“You cannot force the future, Bellphine.” Daniel is almost completely gone, but his voice reaches her from the fading distance. “But, you are connected for the briefest of moments. Look into the past while you can…”

His words are confusing, and Bellphine is reaching desperately for him as the raging black fire continues to consume all of the physical matter before it. At the last possible moment, there is a flicker of light, and Daniel’s shadow seems strange. It’s not the shape of a human, but something else. Something with triangular horns or ears, and a large fan of tentacles numbering fourteen obscuring the majority of the shadow’s shape. “Wait-!?” she cries, but she can tell Daniel is gone.

The past!? How am I supposed to look-... Connected! Can I? I…

The young Dawnseer focuses, putting her hands together.

Suddenly, she feels the plunge that she is used to; the dive into a dream-like state that puts her into contact with the ‘Dawn’, as it’s called, though she has learned that it’s more accurate to describe it as the overwhelming mana of the world itself that she’s connecting to, thanks to Vaergraes the former ‘Demon Tyrant’.

This time, she’s seeing something else. It seems like the same castle, though Bellphine only really knows the Citadel and Castle Mornistae, so she’s not sure which one it is. But, she’s willing to bet that it’s the same castle she saw earlier.

What am I looking for?

“Daniel? A-Are you here?” She’s not sure why her stammer has alleviated itself for the moment, but she’s thankful. However, she doesn’t see or hear anything of note, and the view of the castle isn’t obscured by mana the way it was, but it’s still hazy.

A pressure like a blast of wind hits her, and Bellphine stumbles before she is able to whirl and look. She sees something terrifying.

Two separate machines seem to be generating large, pitch black orbs that are so perfectly and unyieldingly black in color, that they look painted onto the world. Each machine is generating two such orbs, and magic circles and mana orbit and crackle as the orbs grow in strength and concentration.

Both of them fire, and a moment later, a blinding flash startles the young woman.

When the light dims, the misty-white haze has started to billow out away from a tiny spot of darkness, which slowly sinks downwards towards a crater that wasn’t there before.

And, that’s where it ends.

Bellphine gasps, coming to on the floor of Hekate’s private quarters on the airship. Tembly is leaning over her, exclaiming, “Bellphine!? Miss Bellphine! Are you alright?”

“Y-Y-Yes,” replies the young Dawnseer, feeling her voice betray her thoughts and falter as it had been. Her short alleviation from her curse is already over.

That said, he has a duty. She’s not sure how Daniel from her vision was able to speak with her and answer her. He seemed to immediately figure it out, as if he was expecting it.

Could it be me? If I tell him, will he know to talk to me? But, why didn’t he tell me what to look for. Surely, he means those machines at the end, but… No, I won’t figure this out alone. I need to inform the… uh… Imperial family?

“Oh good!” replies Tembly to Bellphine’s positive response. “I found you on the floor, like you fainted, and you wouldn’t wake up.

“S-S-Sor-rry… I w-was… Da-Dawns-seeing.”

“Oh… Um, maybe it’s not my place, but shouldn’t you have done it somewhere else?”

Bellphine is trying not to reveal that her ability is partially out of control. But, that said, she has never, ever been able to converse with her visions before. It’s strange.

“N-N-Next t-t-time. P-P-Please, E-E-Emp-er-er-eror.”

“Our Imperial rulers departed for Castle Northwall,” replies Tembly. “You were at the staff assembly, weren’t you?”

Castle…!? No! I have to warn them! I have to warn Daniel!

Bellphine scrambles to her feet. “X-X-Xy-Xyre-reko!”

Summoned by the maid’s voice, but a little perturbed because of their difference in stations, Xyreko appears, arms crossed. “Daniel told me to be mindful if you have something to say because you’re a Dawnseer, but…”

“P-P-Please!” cries out the young woman, which halts Xyreko. Bellphine kneels and bows her head. “V-V-Vision… N-N-Need… D-D-Da…”

“Daniel? He already left,” replies the golem. “If it’s a message, I can deliver it to him.”

“N-No. M-Must… M-M-Me.” Bellphine is struggling to say anything at all, and it’s getting harder and harder to form any words, let alone sentences as she gets more agitated.

Xyreko’s golem appearance gives away nothing, but it’s clear she’s deliberating, since she could likely get Bellphine fired immediately if she so chose.

Assuming she can’t make the call herself.

“This better be worthwhile,” replies the Prime Minister of the Fievegal after a long silence.

Bellphine feels a little relieved, but she still has to convince Daniel while he already has a lot on his plate.

***