9-4 Interception Preparations

First, as Safe Evacuation Site No. 1, I boldly drafted the royal palace as my first overall pick.

I pressed His Majesty the King for it, and he approved it without fuss.

Magic was suppressed there, and it was packed with the Kingdom’s Knight Order, ducal-house knight orders, and the national army—reassuring.

Evacuation Site No. 2 was the Grand Temple.

I’d have Lady Jessica act as intermediary and make the request.

That place had a special barrier—no entry without permission.

It even repelled my powerful teleportation magic, which could enter the palace despite its magic-suppression effect.

Before I knew it, the spirits were slurping my mana again, and Jessica’s angry shouting echoed once more.

Evacuation Site No. 3, outside the Royal Capital, would be Elmia.

For now, I’d ask the church.

It had been a while since I’d come here, so I’d increased the variety of souvenirs by a lot.

The children’s cheers rose the moment they saw them.

This place lacked firepower, so it was evacuation-only, strictly for emergencies.

Elmia’s main fallback was the Adventurers’ Guild—worst case, maybe even the first village I’d started in.

I made a quick circuit of nothing but familiar places.

Next, I reviewed my equipment.

I’d made so many things that it was a messy tangle.

Since it was convenient, I’d turned all sorts of things into bracelet-type items, but I put off changing that.

Takeshi also used bracelets.

Personally, I worried the wrist was the body part most likely to get cut off, but…

For now, bracelets it was.

Takeshi probably did it because poor usability could mean death.

I’d even modified a wristwatch to use at first, purely for ease of handling.

If it was some odd-shaped item, I might drop it.

That was part of why I went with bracelets.

Rings felt like they’d slip off quickly, and if something was too small it felt unreliable.

A stylish bracelet design wouldn’t be bad either.

But I always ended up with simple, sturdy-looking bands that wouldn’t break.

That was probably the influence of growing up in a region that prized “plain practicality.”

Other options were pendants and necklaces.

I’d been thinking I wanted to distinguish those shapes from bracelets, using them for status-resistance or anti-poison items—so I was really torn.

Since I separated item box and teleportation functions, maybe for people who get teleportation magic I should unify them into one item.

I’d be upgrading versions and handing out added gear too.

Having a bunch of bracelets jangling on one arm wasn’t great.

I’d mix them up.

So first, I teleported to Eri.

On MAP, she was at the vocational training center.

So she was there as an instructor.

“Yo.”

“Huh? Al big bro. What’s up—?”

Eri asked, looking puzzled.

I almost never came out here.

“Stuff happened. I want to add teleportation magic to your item-box bracelet.”

“Eh, why?”

Fair—this was a big deal.

Normal people didn’t carry something like that.

I hesitated, then explained properly.

“Your family is connected to me, so you might get targeted. The enemy is the neighboring Empire. They’re trying to invade this country. They plan to kill me and the other S-ranks before any war.”

“I see…”

She frowned slightly, thinking.

She was probably worried about her family.

“Also, let me add something called a marker to your bracelet. A marker lets me see your location at a glance with my skill called MAP. The downside is there’s a limit to how many I can use. I want to use that limit on enemies. If I add a marker while that bracelet is inside my item box, it can function as a marker. For family like you, I want you to use this method instead.”

“Okay, I got it. Thank you. Please.”

I embedded teleportation magic into her bracelet, and after asking permission, I also embedded healing magic.

I’d have her practice using it.

This bracelet was set up so only Eri could use it.

So I also embedded Besmagil power and God-type healing magic.

“And—here. I’ll give you this too.”

It was a smartphone.

More precisely, a magic communications device.

I’d modified it so insanely that there was no trace of a smartphone left inside.

By using the simple method of fusing phone numbers into each device, I succeeded in giving each one a unique identity.

That was the convenience of magic tools.

When I taught her how to use it, her eyes sparkled.

Yeah… she really was a girl after all.

She had two younger siblings too, and one of them was a girl.

I had a feeling I’d be dealing with a barrage of calls for a while.

I also gave Antonio a new smartphone.

He said he wanted one for his wife as well, so I handed that over too.

It was convenient for checking safety.

Though I suspected that household would be nothing but lovey-dovey calls—well, they were newlyweds, so fine.

It also had email.

It worked in this world’s writing system.

Mari helped me with that part.

Apparently she’d even been made to assist Takeshi, so she was multi-talented in that direction too.

Then I moved to the Adventurers’ Guild in the Royal Capital.

“Is the guildmaster in?”

“He’s in his office.”

Legg-san, the sub-guildmaster who greeted me, told me.

I still knocked, just in case.

“Enter.”

“Hey.”

“Hoh! You actually came in through the door—let’s hope it doesn’t start raining.”

Armon replied, looking a bit sleepy—maybe work was piling up.

“What’s going to rain is blood.”

Then I handed him the smartphone.

“What is this?”

“It’s called a smartphone. It lets you contact someone who’s far away. Please—carry it.”

“You really do go around scattering these things.”

“I want you to have one. And lend me your item box. I’m upgrading it.”

“What are you adding?”

Armon asked, a little wary.

“Teleportation magic and healing magic. And I want to add a marker. Things look dangerously bad, so let me do it.”

“Hmm. That’s not a simple matter… but at this point, it can’t be helped. What’s that marker thing?”

“My radar will show your location clearly. It won’t work on enemies who can’t be made to carry magic tools. My original skill can only use ten markers. For enemy small fry, I can just make them carry something like a transmitter—but for allies, I want them using this.”

“Fine. Do it.”

After getting his consent—even though it meant the risk of me always knowing his location, like a criminal forced to wear a GPS tracker—I took the bracelet and modified it inside my item box.

While I was at it, I stuffed in my own spells.

I also added a special-made orichalcum sword.

When he checked the bracelet’s new contents, the guildmaster frowned slightly, but said nothing.

He must have understood what my preparations meant.

Then I returned to the Beast-Ear Garden and fully refitted Ars’s bracelet too.

He didn’t ask for explanations.

That was just the kind of guy he was—and he wasn’t S-rank for nothing.

With no complaints to deal with, it was even faster than with Antonio.

Of course, I gave him a new-model smartphone as well.

Now SS-rank me, S-rank Antonio and Ars, and Guildmaster Armon—formerly S-rank and still more than active— could contact each other anywhere in the world, and gather instantly via teleportation magic.

Even inside a dungeon, conversation worked by smartphone—except in certain dead zones where mana was disturbed.

After thinking it through, I decided to entrust one to “Old Man Ruba” as an emergency contact too.

I hesitated to give one to His Majesty the King.

If he asked to use them for the army, I’d resist.

I wanted these for our inner circle only.

I also loaned smartphones to Team Ed.

I’d give them new-model bracelets equipped with teleportation magic and more as well.

That way, if it came down to it, they could get the children out.

That was a trust-based handoff.

Of course, I could disable the bracelet functions anytime, and retrieve them via homing.