The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

That night, the entire town was in celebration.

According to a scout's eyewitness report, the ice giant Jotunn that appeared in the north was defeated by a mysterious black-haired girl.

C-rank adventurer Zamza reported that the wolf monsters gathering in the west, along with Marcosias, were defeated by an unknown person.

When both areas were immediately checked, the facts were confirmed: a giant's head in the north and a peaceful ravine devoid of monsters in the west.

"We've been saved by mysterious people!" The townspeople rejoiced.

A grand feast with drinking and merrymaking began throughout the town, lasting until dawn.

We departed from Freia on a morning filled with hungover people. Of course, being children, we had quietly gone to bed at night and hadn't drunk a drop.

Before leaving town, we stopped by the Adventurers' Guild, but unfortunately, the members of the "Demon Warding Book" weren't there. They were probably sleeping off their drinking. We left greetings with the hungover receptionist and a message of thanks for Zamza-san before departing.

Normally, it would take about 6 days by carriage from here to reach our destination, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Stoania.

However, Roze didn't seem to have any intention of making detours. As soon as we left town and the soldiers were out of sight, she said:

"Ruruk, try teleporting."

"Huh?"

There it is, the unreasonable demand from my master.

"What do you mean, 'huh'? If Ruruk could have used teleportation yesterday, Elenora wouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place, right?"

"Well, that's true, but..."

"Then do it. Are you saying it's okay if your cute senior apprentice gets kidnapped again?"

Hey, didn't you boast yesterday that you'd prevent that?

I wanted to say that, but talking back would only lead to an even more Spartan result.

I changed my mindset with a sour face.

"'Relative Teleportation' is a royal-class technique of the Substitution Method. If you fail to strengthen the information or get the location wrong, your body could be torn apart or crushed, so make sure to strengthen that part before activating. Don't make mistakes in coordinate calculations either."

"Don't say such scary things!"

"Of course I have to say it, or you might carelessly teleport and get hurt."

Well, that's true.

Strengthening and calculation. The two basics of the introductory Substitution Method, the copy technique.

What Roze always does is called "Relative Teleportation," where she creates a point at the destination in her line of sight, connects her current location with that point, and appears at the exact same distance on the opposite side using the Substitution Method teleportation.

Unlike long-distance "Spatial Teleportation," this is teleportation within visual range, so the technique composition is simple.

It's like moving from one end of a balanced seesaw to the other.

However, because there are many steps, you need to manipulate multiple spirit elements simultaneously to activate it. That's why it's a royal-class technique.

Also, you can only move up to twice the distance of a place you can accurately gauge in one go. That's why she usually uses it multiple times to cover long distances.

Hmm~

It's troublesome, but risking teleporting to an unfamiliar place is out of the question, so I'll follow this method.

Next is calculating the distance—coordinates—based on visual observation.

While I was staring intently at the country road ahead and calculating, Roze was talking to Elenora.

"Of course, there's teleportation in magic too. Do you know about it?"

"Mm-mm."

"Well, I guess not. It's considered royal-class magic, and even above that, it's extreme-class magic. Teleportation magic is actually classified as forbidden magic."

"Mm... forbidden?"

"It's magic that, due to its extreme danger, the 'Central Magic Academy' has uniformly prohibited teaching to others. It's a set of techniques not to be shared outside. Since teleportation magic was registered as forbidden over 500 years ago, there's probably no one who can use it now."

"Mm, what about Roze?"

"I can't do it. Teleportation is a composite magic of holy and light attributes. The previous Demon King could use it, but apparently didn't like using it much."

While they were chatting like this, I finished my distance calculations.

Next, just like the basics of the Substitution Method, I calculate the environmental differences before and after teleportation, construct a flat structure with spirit elements, and adjust with information strengthening to prevent effects on the teleporter's body—

"'Relative Teleportation'"

My vision blurred, and before I knew it, I had moved.

My feet were a bit off the ground, but that must be because the planet is round. It's the same on Earth. It's definitely not because I made a small mistake in coordinate calculation. This is a success. There's no way you could feel the curvature of the planet at such a short distance? You're right, I made a small mistake. I'm sorry.

Well, the teleportation itself was successful.

I turn around after confirming there's no discomfort in my body.

I could see Roze and Elenora at the very edge of my vision.

"Hey! I did it!"

As I shouted, Roze teleported right next to me with Elenora.

"Not bad. I thought you'd lose at least one leg before getting the hang of it."

"Please stop joking about that."

But I'm glad. The seesaw image seems to have worked.

"Then let's keep practicing and move ahead."

"Before that, let me confirm one thing. If there's something at the destination of the relative teleportation, what happens? Doesn't it get embedded in your body?"

I remember there was such a setting in a world-famous bestseller story with a villain whose name shouldn't be spoken.

"Ah, that. It's what beginners always worry about first."

Roze answered with a laugh, as if it was a familiar question.

"First of all, there's no such thing as empty space. Even here, there's air and dust. If a human-sized volume of air got embedded in your body, your internal organs would burst, you know?"

"Ah, that's true. They say even if a large amount of air enters the blood vessels, it can be fatal."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is."

I answered naturally, but oops. This is knowledge from Earth's modern medical level.

It would probably be considered theoretical science here, but I wasn't supposed to be good at that.

Let's try to cover it up.

"I heard it from the family doctor back home. More importantly, what happens to things at the teleportation destination?"

"With the Substitution Method, you calculate and fix—strengthen the information for environmental changes before activating the technique, right? So when you appear at the destination, objects not fixed by spirit elements are repelled on a coordinate basis. In other words, they're pushed away by the force of existence as matter. Of course, if the information strengthening is insufficient, both would be repelled."

"Ah, so that's why there's a slight breeze when you teleport, Master."

"You catch on quickly. But even if you teleport into a place with a tree, you won't die from that alone, but you might die from being crushed by the tree afterward, so make sure to go to a place without objects."

"Understood."

So as long as I make sure not to hit objects, it's basically safe unless the destination is similarly fixed with spirit elements. In a place with good visibility like this, I can use it freely.

...Wait a minute.

That way of thinking seems like it could be applied to various other things?

"Come on, stop worrying and let's go to the next spot."

"Ah, yes."

For now, I put aside the idea I was about to have and we continued moving, repeatedly teleporting.

As we kept teleporting continuously, partly for my training, we completed what would normally be a 6-day carriage journey in just half a day.

□ □ □ □ □

We arrived at the royal capital of the Kingdom of Stoania.

The Kingdom of Stoania is quite a small country, with a total population of about 400,000.

However, 90% of that population is in this royal capital, making it quite large and bustling.

The outer walls are high, and there are unusually many guard soldiers. It might be because it's my first time in a royal capital and I don't have a point of comparison, but there are at least 10 people at each gate. I wonder if something happened.

"This is normal for Stoania. There's a dungeon in the city, and it's surrounded by the three great nations, so security is quite tight."

As Roze said, Stoania is surrounded by the Kingdom of Mataisa to the south, the Magu Empire (the second largest on the continent) to the north and east, and the Dragon Duchy of Bargia (the largest country on the continent) to the west.

The reason this small country can exist is solely thanks to the dungeon.

"The dungeon here has over 100 underground floors and is said to be the deepest dungeon on land in the world. The number of monsters inside is also incredible. If a stampede were to occur, the royal capital could be destroyed in an instant."

"Stampede?"

It was an unfamiliar term.

"You don't know? It happens sometimes in dungeons or areas where monsters live. Monsters explosively increase in number and overflow outside the dungeon. If that were to happen in a dungeon of this scale, it would cause massive damage to the surrounding three countries as well."

"Why would they build a royal capital in such a dangerous place?"

"That's precisely the reason why this country isn't attacked by the three great nations."

Roze wagged her finger.

"This country is a rare theoretical science powerhouse. When a stampede occurs, bulkheads close off each upper level, and only the successive kings of Stoania can operate these bulkheads. That's why the three great nations can't invade Stoania for their own safety. There's also a rumor that they can intentionally cause stampedes."

Oh, that's amazing.

So this country has an incredible weapon that can involve other countries in its self-destruction?

No wonder they can't touch it.

"That's why Stoania, despite being a small country, is one of the continent's leading theoretical science cities. You'll be surprised when you enter."

While we were talking like this, the line for entering the city moved forward, and it was our turn.

As usual, we showed our adventurer cards, Roze paid the entry tax, and we were granted permission.

As we passed through the large gate and stepped into the city—

"Wow! It's a different era!"

I couldn't help but exclaim.

Until now, the civilization of this world had the image of early modern Europe. It was the typical fantasy world setting, with remarkable cultural development due to magic, but no steam engines or electricity.

However, this place was different.

The ground was covered with synthetic limestone, three and four-story buildings were common, and streetlights lined both sides of the streets. Large streets had something like railway tracks, and small box-like vehicles slowly moved along them.

Glittering shops lined the streets everywhere, and the clothes and shoes of the passersby were much cleaner than in other towns. There was no dirt or water channels on the roads, and hardly any smell of sewage.

Artificial structures filled my entire field of vision.

It was like a scene I had seen in history textbooks.

It might be close to post-industrial revolution modern Europe... no, with the fantasy elements, maybe it's more like steampunk? There are trams running, after all.

As I stood stunned at the entrance of the city, Roze spoke into my ear.

"Fufu... This is the reason I chose this city for your training. A country where only intelligence matters due to the development of theoretical science. As a result, discrimination between races is prohibited by law, and everyone is allowed to live equally. And above all, almost all the equipment in this city is theoretical science devices that use neither magic power nor spirit elements. In other words, Ruruk, this is a city where you can flush the toilet by yourself!"

"Master! I'll follow you for life!"

At that moment, I thought:

This is the moment I've been able to respect my master the most so far.

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Author Notes:

  ～Afterword Tips～

  【A Brief History of the Kingdom of Stoania】

  〇 About 1200 years ago, the Stoania territory, which was part of the Magoo Empire, was physically cut off due to a large-scale natural disaster. Consequently, it began to self-govern with the support of the Kingdom of Mataisa. For the next 300 years, there was no interference from the Magoo Empire.

  〇 About 1100 years ago, the Kingdom of Damuren (located in what is now the eastern part of the Bargia Dragon Principality) invaded the Stoania territory. The Stoania Autonomous Region requested support from the Kingdom of Mataisa, which was accepted. The same year, the Stoania War began.

  〇 About 1050 years ago, the Kingdom of Damuren was defeated. Through mediation, the Kingdom of Damuren became a vassal state of the Kingdom of Mataisa, and the Stoania Autonomous Region became independent as the Kingdom of Stoania. That same year, a special ordinance was enacted to abolish all tariffs on the import and export of food from Mataisa and dungeon resources from Stoania. This ordinance has been maintained, with modifications, to the present day.

  〇 About 950 years ago, the first Stampede occurred in the underground dungeons of the Kingdom of Stoania. The royal capital of Stoania fell to monsters. The joint forces of Mataisa, Damuren, and Stoania successfully reclaimed it.

  〇 About 900 years ago, the border road between the Magoo Empire and the Kingdom of Stoania was restored. The Magoo Empire applied for the return of the Stoania territory, which was refused by the Kingdom of Stoania. That same year, the Magoo Empire began to advance to reclaim the Stoania territory but was struck by an unexplained disaster near the border (known as the "Incident of the Cathedral Mountains"), resulting in the annihilation of tens of thousands of troops. As a result, there was no war, and negotiations with Stoania failed.

  〇 About 850 years ago, an economic war broke out due to the conflict between the Magoo Empire and the Kingdom of Mataisa. In Stoania, prices for all resources soared, leading to economic crises with deteriorating public safety and rising unemployment rates. During this crisis, the second Stampede occurred. Once again, the royal capital faced the threat of collapse, but a figure believed to be the Mystic King suppressed tens of thousands of monsters in one night (the origin of the fairy tale "The King of Kings"), admonishing the over-interference of the Magoo Empire and the Kingdom of Mataisa.

  〇 About 830 years ago, the previous Demon King was born in the demon territory. Leading the demons, they invaded human territories, affecting the Magoo Empire, the Kingdom of Damuren, and the Kingdom of Stoania. The three countries formed a coalition army and, with the help of a hero and their companions, defeated the Demon King.

  〇 About 800 years ago, the Three Sages founded the Adventurers' Guild. Although the exact time is unclear, the Sage of Logic provided technology to the Kingdom of Stoania to construct defensive barriers in the dungeons. This began a 100-year plan.

  〇 About 600 years ago, the third Stampede occurred, but due to the completed defensive barriers, the monsters did not spill onto the surface, and control was successful.

  〇 About 400 years ago, the Kingdom of Damuren was destroyed by the Dragon King, leading to the birth of the Bargia Dragon Principality, and Stoania's territory expanded by about 10%. Consequently, the former Damuren Kingdom's Freia territory was annexed to the Kingdom of Stoania.

  〇 About 150 years ago, the small southern countries of the continent unified to form the Kingdom of Restamia. Consequently, Stoania and Restamia signed a mutual technology provision treaty, which continues to this day.

  〇 About 70 years ago, an S-rank adventurer party reached the 100th floor of a dungeon for the first time. With the confirmation of the 101st floor, it was recognized as the world's deepest dungeon on land.

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