In a Different World with a Smartphone Chapter 334: The Black Butterfly, and the Shadow Lily.

Its a hard-to-believe story to say the least However, if we accept it, it would solve a lot of our questions.

Wow I thought you were a weird guy already, but youre even weirder than I had ever imagined

Leave me alone.

The abandoned fortress which serves as the hideout of the [Red Cats]. Currently, Im talking about various matters regarding myself and the world within a large tent set up in the inner courtyard.

The fact that Im from another world, that Im the sovereign of a dukedom over there, that the variants have appeared in my world before and are now laying waste to this world as well, and that Im now moving in order to stop them, I spoke about all that.

Surrounding a table in the center of the tent, four peoplethe [Red Cats]s chief Nia, the vice- chief Est-san, and two executives, the ponytail girl Yuni and the fluffy wave girl Yurisat there with a dumbfounded expression.

Then, those golden monsters Variants, as you called them. They will continue appearing in this world from now on?

Im afraid so. In our world, weve made a cooperative structure where each member is informed of any appearances in advance. But over here, theres absolutely no countermeasures. Id like to do something about that. This time the numbers were on the small side, but if a larger group appeared they can easily destroy a country or two, you know?

B-by larger group, how much larger would it be-ssu?

It could go up to the ten thousands, at worst. Its not something any one country can deal with by themselves, no matter in this world or in ours. Thats why we took to cooperating to deal with them.

When facing invaders from another world who is bent on destroying this world, countries have no choice but to work together. If we do not cooperate and match our steps, the only thing awaiting us would be the destruction of the world.

Its not gonna be easy to start getting countries to cooperate over here too. In fact, there was already that war between Primula Kingdom and Trihalan God-Empire that I had to deal with.

Wait just a minute, ten thousands Oi oi, things like those with that number!? Theres no way in hell we can win!

You remember that Frame Gear thing that you guys saw earlier? Those were originally developed to defeat the Phrase The originals of the variants. We have several hundreds of them standing by to defeat those variants if they ever appear.

Several hundreds of that thing earlier Is it.

Well, its not that we have a few hundred Reginleivs, though. Unfortunately, since the only Frame Gear I have in my [Storage] is Reginleiv, I cant show them other models.

And, what do you want to do now?

To put it simply, I want to meet with groups who can help me gather information on this side, as well as countries that would be willing to lend me its strength. Ive already made connections with Primula Kingdom and Trihalan God-Empire, but thats only a portion of this worlds countries, so.

But, would the other countries believe your talk so easily? Even if you tell them youre from another world and stuff, I think theyll just laugh at you

What Yuri said is true. Excluding special cases like Primula, I dont think theres a country out there who can easily believe my talk.

Still, they will be forced to believe in time. When the variants attack their own countries, theyll have no other choice.

But that is too late a solution. If the country perishes before I get them to cooperate, theres no meaning in my actions.

Lets see Its not like we have no ideas of an information dealer that could serve your purposes

Hoho. As expected of Est-san. Seems like she has a few thoughts.

Was there such a place? Is it a place I know too?

Its the [Papillon].

[Papillon] The organization which runs the black market we went to the last time?

The black market where I bought the three legacy golems, the Etoile group. Im pretty sure the name of the criminal organization running that gig was called [Papillon].

Nia said it was an organization that does anything for money last time

Actually, that [Papillon] is in a divided state at the moment. Apparently, after that attack at the black market by the purple [Crown], assassins were sent after her in retaliation; but all of those attempts failed, and the top of [Papillon] were even hunted down and killed by [Purple].

The purple [Crown] Fanatic Viola, was it. And its master, the lady of madness, Luna Trieste.

Those guys are a mass of chaos, basically. A pair I would very much like to avoid.

As a result, [Papillon] split into two groups. Broadly speaking, they are the surface group and the underground group, respectively.

According to Est-san, the surface group operates inns and brothels as their main business; under that cover, they do works such as information collection, manipulating public opinion using rumors or news reports, and spy activities.

And the underground group, as its name suggests, mainly deals with assassination or destruction activities, thievery, and illegal businesses. The black market which deals with a lot of stolen goods fall under their jurisdiction as well.

The executives in charge of the surface works and the underground works respectively have been openly opposing each other for a while, and the tension between the two groups are high. A fight over the inheritance of the organization?

As the previous leader had, unfortunately, no children, its expected for the next leader to be one of those two executives. However, apparently they are opposed to the ideas of each other, and the situation is only turning worse, or something like that.

I see. And l should approach the executive in charge of the surface group

Exactly. They should become a great strength in terms of information gathering. The inns which [Papillon] has ties with are spread out basically everywhere within all the countries after all.

That is indeed very attractive. With a network that large, they can probably acquire information with a speed and quality that isnt inferior to the Adventurers Guild back in the Surface World.

Wait a minute, Est. Isnt the executive for the surface group of Papillon

Yes. Silhouette Lily. The Kageyuri. (Note: Shadow Lily. I felt that it looks more natural this way instead of typing the English meaning out every time. If you guys think otherwise, let me know.)

N-no no no! Try letting someone like Touya go to that womans place! Hell be sucked dry in one night, you know!?

Nia waved her hands around in a flustered way while voicing her objection. Whats that supposed to mean? Also, the surface group executive is a woman?

Is she a scary person?

In a sense. The woman called Kageyuri is the manager of [Papillon]s brothel business. Shes a hell of a woman, apparently. Its said that theres no man who would not fall to her charms

and wiles. Ive met her once before, and Im certain the phrase devilish woman exists to describe people like her.

A brothel, is it Umumu. I feel a bit daunted, but for the moment I still feel like I should have a talk with her anyway.

Kageyuri, whos leading the surface group, doesnt have much in terms of direct combat power compared to the executive leading the underground group. However, their number of personnel is far above the underground group. Im sure they can become a great help for you if you manage to pull them to your side.

And how should I meet that executive?

We can probe around for the location of Kageyuri using [Red Cats]s connections. After that, well I think you can just go and meet her forcefully.

Shouldnt we go about this in a steadier way Id like to avoid as much trouble as I can, you know. Well, Im used to getting into troubles so I dont really mind, but

In the northern lands, the second capital of Strain Kingdom, commercial city Cantarre.

I arrived in front of the Moonlight Parlor, the citys premier high-class brothel situated in the center of the pleasure district.

The large pavilion-like building was lit up by various lights giving it a gleaming look, and neon decorations (which are really just magic light stones) glow in all seven colors of the rainbow around, creating a fantasy atmosphere around the building.

This place definitely looks expensive

I wonder just how much do they take for one night? One platinum coin (around 1 million yen)? Its not like I cant pay that much, but I didnt come here for that kind of purpose