PSA: I know some of you have said the chapters are a little short, but Id rather release shorter chapters more often than longer ones less often.
Steel and Sorcerers - Chapter 3
One can hardly blame the JSDF taskforce for deciding to make a hasty retreat. Itami and the majority of the soldiers sat in a way so they could look backwards, facing the village as they sped away.
Initially, they had been on the fence about leaving. While terrifying, the monstrous undead creature hadn't attacked them, choosing to re-enter the confines of the village centre. Whether that was just because more humans were there for it to slaughter, or if it had some other objective in mind were both ideas fielded by the soldiers. At one point in the conversation they had actually considered pressing on into the village, motivated by their desire to fulfill their mission. However, any resistance to departing immediately was evaporated by what they witnessed happening to the corpses of the slain knights.
'Zombies', Itami shuddered. He had seen the creatures plenty of times in various media and knew they were often a staple of the fantasy setting. However, seeing them in real life was a whole lot different, and knowing that they were a product of that powerful undead knight made them seem even more intimidating.
Since most of the knights that had been killed were dismembered in some way, the zombies were quite slow, allowing them to make a hasty retreat without gunfire attracting any attention. Squinting back into the distance he could just make them out milling around in the fields.
"Oi oi, we've got company!" yelled the driver to Itami's vehicle. Everyone snapped back around to see what was up ahead. A two robed figures blocked their path.
The taskforce commander ordered for everyone to stop, but be ready for combat. The two people that stood in their way, if they even were people as a bizarre hood covered their entire head and face, wore grey and black garb. At their waist was a belt which held various satchels, and glass vials that Itami presumed to be potions.
"Hey, what do you think?" the squadron commander asked Itami. The commander knew that Itami was an otaku and gamer, but still. 'Such oppression' thought Itami, 'Us gamers and otaku being stereotyped as being into the fantasy genre. Although, he is right.'
"Judging by their outfits and lack of any visible weaponry, I'd guess they are some kind of mages" explained Itami.
"How strong do you think?" replied the commander.
"Their outfit looks fairly unique, so I'd say they're fairly powerful."
"Well we were going to go with the diplomatic route anyway, but thanks for the useful info. Itami, I'm counting on you once again. Take you and your squad to figure out what those mages want" the commander ordered. "Go get the diplomat of they're willing to talk."
Itami's boots thudded against the hard earth as he disembarked from the LAV. His 4 other squad members followed suit. Just like the knights from the last encounter, the mages seemed to view them with caution, making very few movements as they approached. The mages were also the first to speak, the one on the left calling out to them "You there, who are you! State your purpose!" He must have used some kind of magic to amplify his voice, since it wasn't muffled at all by his mask.
Itami was getting some Deja-vu, so he waited for a few moments just in case that incarnation of brutality burst out of nowhere and suddenly cut them down from behind like the knights from earlier. After a few seconds, it was apparent that it wouldn't show up again. Also, the mages seemed to be getting irritated at him for delaying his response, one going as far as saying "Are you stupid, or deaf?"
Putting aside the secret pride in himself at deceiving these magic casters into thinking his special forces trained self was actually a fool, Itami announced "We are the JSDF. We come here in peace as representatives of the nation of Japan, and wish to establish diplomatic ties."
'Nice' thought Itami, 'Nailed it.' After all, he had rehearsed this line hundreds of times in preparation for moments like this since the incident at Ginza. However, the mages didn't give the glowing response that he expected.
"What the hell is Japan? Are you guys making fun of us?" exclaimed the one on the left. The one on the right whispered something to him, which seemed to cause them to calm down. "Right, well do you have a map or something? Where is your country located?"
This was the question that Itami had been waiting for this whole time. A deep smirk overtook his face as he placed a hand to his chin as if deep in thought. "Well, going by the usual pattern it would have to be an island nation located to the east."
"Oi, why are you smiling!" exclaimed the left mage. "Hey, do you have a map I can look at?" he asked the mage on the right, who shook their head fervently. "Right… all our maps are pretty useless anyway. Wait, actually I brought one with me."
Reaching into one of the satchels on his waist he withdrew a folded-up piece of parchment. Opening it up he mumbled to himself "I drew this myself based on one I saw… but this should give us some idea…" He stared at the map for a few seconds. "Hey! There isn't even an east coast on this map!"
"Well, maybe I was wrong" Itami grinned even harder, "Perhaps it was the west coast instead?" At this point his squad mates began looking him nervously.
"Lies!" shouted the left mage, "Everyone knows the Re-Estize kingdom lies to the west, and there aren't even any islands. Come to think of it if you came from an island, then where's your boat? Where is it? I don't see it anywhere! Explain that!"
Ignoring that last bit, the mage seemed to have them figured out. Itami didn't want to tell them about the portal, but at this point they had little choice. Looking around at his squad, they stared back at him wondering why he didn't just tell them about it in the first place considering they were supposed to be establishing friendly relations.
However, something convenient happened. The two mages looked away for a moment, each putting a hand to their head like they were using telepathy. "Understood, I'll be there right away" they both said in sync. After whispering to each other as if to confirm what they had heard, they suddenly straightened back up. "Well, it looks like we have other matters to attend to. You may pass this time, but know that we will be watching." They then started walking away some over to the left, ominously staring at the JSDF. Once they were about twenty metres away, they dropped the act and broke out into a jog.
Upon returning to the convoy, the commander called Itami over. "Itami," said the commander, "Things may have worked out yet again, but I'm starting to have my doubts about you. Also you do realise that everything we do and say is being recorded right?"
Meanwhile in the distance, an invisible eight-legged creature watched everything unfold. It placed an appendage to its head as if mimicking the mages from earlier.
"Aura-sama, I've spotted some suspicious individuals to the north of the village."
By the time Itami and the rest of the taskforce made it back to camp it was nightfall. As they passed through the tunnel linking the new world to Earth, Itami reflected back on his earlier actions. "AAAARGH, why did I say some dumb stuff like 'jUdgIng bY the UsuAl pAtTErn'! When we get back to Japan all the people looking over the footage are going to think I'm cringe."
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to his left, he saw Akira, who was now in the same LAV as himself and Kurata. "Don't worry, this kind of thing happened all the time for me back in Afghanistan. I'd commit some minor war crimes and then forget I'd Ieft my helmet-cam on, it happens to the best of us. I know some guys in the editing department who process all the footage so we can just say there was some magic-related interference or something."
"Thanks" replied Itami, "That really means a lot."
"Hey now, careful with that kind of sappy talk around Kurata, he might get jealous" grinned Akira.
"What! I'm into girls, I already told you guys!" Kurata yelled, flailing his arms around. Some of the girls in the other vehicles must have overheard him because they turned red and looked away.
Seeing this, Kurata abruptly stopped and slumped over, depressed. "What are they going to think of me now?" he sobbed.
Itami answered him, a sly grin on his face "You know Kurata, if they're embarrassed like that, then that means they must be into you."
"Really?" replied Kurata, looking restored.
"Yeah sure, maybe in one of your animes," said Akira.
Upon return to Japan, the recordings and testimony of the taskforce were analysed, and strategic planners concluded that in order to exploit the region more effectively, more resources would be required. As it so happened, there was an ally to Japan who had large amounts of resources in their possession, and was more than willing to put them to use for this new cause.
The incident at Ginza had been subject to a massive cover-up campaign by the Japanese government, but due to the sheer number of eyewitnesses it was only a matter of time before they would be forced to make an official statement. Thus, time was of the essence.
It was in the middle of the night just a day after Itami's return to Japan. The streets of Ginza, once a bustling hub of commercial activity, had been converted into what was effectively a military base. Illuminated by the streetlights and additional floodlights that had been brought in, personnel in camouflage clothing were busy at work unloading crates full of supplies and renovating the nearby shopping centres to accommodate more soldiers.
There was a faint rumbling in the distance. The workers looked up from what they were doing to see what was going on. The ground began to shake as a massive convoy of vehicles rounded the street corner up ahead. Japanese Type 74 main battle tanks and numerous infantry transport and logistical vehicles could be seen driving through the streets of Ginza. In addition, the evening after and following that, Yokota airbase became a hive of activity, with numerous C-17 heavy transport aircraft landing and taking off under the cover of night unloading equipment and personnel from overseas.
Unfortunately, none of those supplies would reach the JSDF's base in the new world in time for what was coming next, as that region of the Great Forest of Tob happened to have a ruler. A wise king, who was beginning to grow tired of these trespassers on their land.