Chapter 68
Ritual.
Ritual was one of those magical 'things' I generally didn't spend much time on. But, it didn't have to be 'magical' to be 'ritual'. Like my morning stretches. Or washing your hands exactly the same way every time. Or wishing someone a safe trip when they leave every morning.
But those were all so mundane, they'd been given a new name. Habit.
Magical rituals however, built up towards a purpose, and fulfilled it (or failed), and weren't done again unless you wanted to accomplish whatever it was you were doing once more.
Like now for example.
As per what I myself knew of a purification ritual, I knelt in our big bath room, and slowly dumped water over myself. Once, twice, three times.
Once done, Aisha, Momiji, and even Aisha, brushed my tails. There was no... personality to their actions. Just slow methodical swishes with the brushes to make sure they were groomed properly. While they did so, I remained kneeling, keeping my mind on the goal and nothing else. I was reducing myself to as close to a 'natural' state as possible. Free of dirt, with thoughts directed towards nothing but success.
Once they had finished, I once again dumped water over myself, once twice three times.
Then, Haruhime and Momiji patted me dry with towels that were free of dye, drying me from ear tips to tail tips. Once done, I stood, and Aisha wrapped me up in a house robe made of the same plain, dye free cloth.
From there, the four of us walked to Takemikazuchi's meditation spot, just outside his Dojo and facing the zen garden. Here, Nanami was waiting, with two small smoking braziers. I knelt again, facing the swirls and islands of the garden, and Nanami placed the gently smoking pots on either side of me.
And so began my twelve hour meditation, my mind turning inward and trying not to think.
Once or twice, I may have drifted to sleep. Once or twice, I may have started to hear the Manor wake up and move around me. At least once, Loaner curled up next to me for a time, offering his support as only a peerless messenger could.
But it was only when the sun was nearly directly overhead, that I stood, finding myself already standing among Aisha, Momiji, Haruhime and Nanami (who was wearing one of Momiji's not-quite-Miko outfits). And in Nanami's hands, was a small wooden box.
It was hard to ignore the looks from the people of the city, as the five of us walked towards the tower. But I did. I also ignored the fact I was bare foot. In a robe that would be almost totally see-through if it got wet. I also ignored that I'd skipped breakfast, and would miss lunch too. No, I had my eyes firmly locked on the back of Nanami's head, ignoring everything but my breathing and the slow pace of my feet.
I couldn't ignore the cheerful ding! of the elevator, but we all kept our silence as the door rattled open. I almost almost lost my trance however when I spotted both the Oni waiting for us, kneeling in front of the East and West balcony doors. Before my mind slipped back into an almost March of 1000 demons haze again, I knew why they were there.
But then I was kneeling between them in the middle of the room, my mind looking south towards the sea. Around me, Momiji and Haruhime placed objects down on the floor around me, while Aisha drew a circle around me. On the second pass around me, without lifting the thing she was using, Aisha drew a smaller circle around the objects. A feather, flower petals, a fresh not-apple, a bit of coral... Then, just before the third pass, Nanami placed the rectangle prism of Sky-blessed divine dragon scale in front of me. Once encircled, Aisha lifted her lump of white stuff off the floor, and stood someplace behind me.
"Your left hand." Nanami said.
I held out my left hand, palm up without looking at anything but the glowing green in front of me. There was a tiny speck of pain from my thumb, hardly more than an unpleasant tingle.
"Cross the circle between you and the vessel." Nanami said.
I put the bloody pad of my thumb over the tiny spot of white in front of me. The blood soaked into the powdery stuff Aisha used, opening the circle to me and the Vessel, yet leaving the four objects around me to contain us. The curse, should it be expelled from my body, had only one place to go now.
At the same time, to my left and right, there were tiny little 'bong' noises, from very small gongs, and I closed my eyes, breathing in a thick fragrant smoke that smelled familiar, yet...
My inner world, where my once caged Kitsune nature, and my currently contained corruption resided...
Was shattered.
The ground, smooth and grassy, was laced with cracks and fractures similar to a field that had suffered severe drought. The sky, thick with clouds and back lit by the sun, now looked like a blocky poorly rendered skybox, almost exactly like you'd see from Minecraft or the like.
Unnatural broken shadows drifted along those clouds. Weird candle light flickers slithered in the cracks on the ground...
But only two things were 'the same' as I'd left it, before Hardy had been ejected from my body. The bird cage styled prison I'd put the corruption, and the angry static ball it contained. I realized now, just how easy it would have been to let the curse out. All I would have to do, was relax my hold on it, and it would remove the Godly influence from me. It would grow, fill the cracks Hardy had left, and in the end, become just a little more powerful than the curse the Goddess had put on me.
But it wouldn't heal me. It wouldn't fix this shattered low polygon mockery of my inner world. The recovery of my mind would be put on my own shoulders, and I would be fighting against what amounted to an abscessed infection in my soul.
If I ever saw Issei again, I was going to have to find a way to get him away from his women and kiss him. His suggestion likely saved me fr-
Bong
A gentle resonant sound vibrated over the twisted landscape interrupting my musings. Before me, the little angry static ball of my own Curse shivered as if in pain, and from the corner of my inward-facing perception, something else twitched.
Was it a bit of grass? A fragment of deeply shadowed cloud? I turned my inner eye away from the cage, and tried to spot what had changed. But the sound had faded just as quickly as it happened.
Bong
Again, that small vibration rippled over my imagined landscape. And this time, I saw a piece of cloud twist, the chunky uneven surface becoming smooth and natural for an instant.
Broken or not, this was my domain, and with a single step, I appeared there, next to the only other moving object in this space. But again, as fast as it happened, it stopped, and I lost track of it.
Bong!
The noise was a little more urgent this time, but now that I was looking right at... whatever it was, I spotted it again as it resonated with the sound.
And I grabbed it.
PAIN!
Lancing, searing, jagged, twisting, throbbing PAIN! Through my hand, up my arm, over my shoulder, around my spine, down my legs and in my head.
I might have screamed, I might have recoiled. But I had my hand on it, and pain did not scare me. I knew something was wrong, and while alarming, shocking, sudden... It was not surprising. And compared to my near death with Fenrir's power. This was only Ten out of the Twelve that had stopped my heart and left me dead until Akeno had revived me.
Bong!
The pain faded to something less paralyzing, and I pulled backwards on the squirming, disgusting, foreign parasite that Hardy had left behind. The purifying sound of sacred living Jade had guided me towards the root of the infection, and now...
The sound faded, and the pain returned in full force. My imagined muscles, here in this inner world of mine, locking up like iron.
Iron? Jade? Ha!
I was starting to remember, my repressed memory and skills were coming back. And even though my jaw was clenched so tightly my teeth were hurting, I started to laugh, to pull backwards, to move and bend my body and peel away Hardy's curse. Each bone grinding step returned more memory, more vocabulary, more skill...
Bong!
This time the noise was not gentle. It crashed against my inner world like a wave against a mountainside.
Bong!
The writhing mental parasite in my hands shrieked in agony, almost making me let it go. But no. This was my inner space, and this thing Hardy had left behind... was not invited. It was unwelcome. Unwanted.
Bong!
I screamed with anger, effort and pain, but still, I pulled the wriggling thing away from my soul. And with a final glass shattering shriek, it came free.
All at once, my inner space snapped back into 'normality', the poorly rendered horizon smoothing out into full HD, the soil of the grass underfoot looking healthy again. But overhead, something had appeared. A green glowing sunlight that stood apart from the light behind my cloudy sky.
"OUT!" I demanded, just as one final bone jarring, mind shattering BONG! Echoed through my soul.
I had no strength. My body slumping forward, my eyes staying open just long enough to watch Nanami get caught by Aisha, and the angrily pulsing green block of Divine Jade between us.
I was out for maybe a few seconds. Hardly enough time for the sound of my tails flopping to the floor to fade from the nearly silent room. Silent enough for me to hear a quiet 'plip' noise as a bit of blood dripped from my nose and the corner of my mouth.
I wanted to move, to sit up, to check my nose and mouth to see how bad it was. But no, my body was well past running on empty. Still, I managed to say, "good riddance."
Nanami, even as she was lowered to the floor, her borrowed Miko outfit soaked through with sweat, was already showing signs of recovering, her hands gripping Aisha's forearms to steady herself. Just as quietly, she said, "it is done."
Haruhime, since Aisha was occupied, stepped into view (well, her ankle did, since my chin was resting on the floor) and her unmistakably familiar hand scrubbed the lump of raw chalk over the little spot where I'd 'crossed' the main circle and the containment circle, cutting me off from the nose contained curse.
"Did it work?" Haruhime asked as she stood, but didn't yet step over the circle around me.
"Skin made of iron, steel in my bones." I said, my voice a little harsh and breathy, "Our rings are made of an alloy of braided Ha-steel and Ko-steel, and set with Jade."
I hadn't heard them move, but the Oni were beside me, one massive hand gripping each my shoulders, while another rested on my lower back, and the back of my head. I was still on my knees, but at least I wasn't looking at the floor. And again, Haruhime was in front of me, using a bit of cloth to wipe my face. You know, fussing over me.
"The Softy battery is made of melted quartz and contained in iron. Si-O2, Fe." I continued, fighting through the sharp pain behind my eyes to make sure I just... remembered stuff. "Tempered glass is made at temperatures just over 600 degrees..." I wanted to laugh, but speaking was just about all I could do. "My wife's eyes are the colour of peridot. Okakai's eyes are like lapis lazuli framed in obsidian ..."
"I think she does well." Okakai chuckled, the vibration of his laugh making my shoulder tingle.
"Fukawa's eyes are garnet set in obsidian..."
"Indeed." Fukawa said, "Can you stand?"
"I feel like I haven't eaten in a week, or slept in a month." I replied, "And that I bit my cheek. Maybe screamed a little too."
"We were quite worried." Momiji said, taking the bloody cloth from Haruhime, vanishing from view, then returning a moment later, "But..." She put one of our standard dungeon canteens to my lips, "Gently now."
Whomever had their hand on the back of my head, tilted back just a little. Thankfully, none of my automatic reactions were 'off', and I swallowed without getting any down the wrong way. A little more water, a pause, another sip, then a potion pill, a mind pill, and a boop on the nose.
Nanami was getting much the same treatment from Aisha, though she was simply accepting things and drinking under her own power. "Not bad for my first real ritual." She said, wobbling to her feet. "Now there's one more question. What do we do with it?"
All eyes (even mine since the hand moved my head to look) went to the angrily glowing block of Divine Jade. "Well, we shouldn't put it down a mine shaft and forget about it." I said.
"Wise. Even if Ouranos-sama blessed it, putting the curse in its place of strength, and the Jade's weakness, may erode its effectiveness." Fukawa said.
"The tower here would be ideal. Yet you said it was expensive." Okakai added.
"Why not just bring it back through the Gate?" Nanami said, "Heck, give it back to their temple or something."
"You might risk offending Hardy again." Momiji said, "Isn't one curse enough?"
"When I get my strength back... I think I know exactly what I'm going to do with it." I said, plotting a little extra revenge, "But we'll have to make something special for it beforehand."
Haruhime knew the look on my face, but was no longer content with fussing over me. So, she looked left and right, then hugged me tight as the Oni let me go. "You get to recover first."
"Of course, Ha-chan." I said. "How long do we have this room rented anyhow? I could do with a little nap before dinner." Something occurred to me, "And where did those gongs come from?" I seen them and certainly heard them, but I didn't 'know' what they were at first. Stupid Hardy.
"Master Welf made them for us."
"Out of Yu-Long's scale."
Then together, "We hardly need special weapons to subdue a crazed beast in a small space like this. Even one as strong as you."
"No teasing her." Haruhime said firmly.
"Of course, Haruhime-sama."
Just to be absolutely sure, before I left the tower I made sure to look down the circular staircase that led into the dungeon. And just as I'd hoped, I could in fact see to the bottom, where even now small parties of adventurers were either leaving or returning for the day.
On the way home we got almost as many looks as on the way there. But I blamed the Oni, since they were basically walking statues with scary faces. I was also wearing an all black mana cloth cloak, now that I had the mental capacity to think about modesty.
But, once we got home, with the angry feeling box that was covered in weird looking paper tags, I was told quite firmly to take the rest of the day off. Considering that just the walk home had felt like the hardest thing I'd done in years, that's exactly what I did. Aisha didn't even have to threaten me with ropes either!
Of course, before I went to my room, I made sure to tell everyone I was okay, give them all a hug/shoulder pat/thumbs up/headpat.
But an early sleep just meant I was up far too early. Maybe just after midnight? This is about the only time an adventurer's ability to always get a good sleep would backfire. Sleeping in was really difficult. But, after extracting myself from my two lovers, I slipped from the room to go find something to eat.
No surprise that no one was awake at this hour, so I had the kitchen to myself while I poked and prodded at some cold leftovers. I didn't want to actually cook, since it might wake people up.
Except, as I sat down with my just barely warm Orario styled BLT, I remembered that not everyone in the manor was a daytime creature.
"Loaner, Sir Skitters, Nameless Fox we all love." I greeted them, setting my food down, making sure my hands were clean, and giving them some well deserved attention. "Sorry for worrying you all."
"If you stopped worrying us, we'd wonder if we were dreaming." Loaner said, leaning into my hand.
"Master Welf thought you might wake early, so we are technically on the clock right now." Maki's Nameless Fox said, though she was leaning into my hand just as much as Loaner.
"Thank you for your hard work. Please, tell me?" I asked, giving Sir Skitters a pat too, then letting him scurry up my arm to perch on my back in his favourite spot and nuzzle into that spot between my shoulder and the side of my head.
"Ahem." Loaner started, then in Welf's voice continued, "Sister, we're basically done with the tents. They're all loaded up on the wagons, and really just need to be driven there."
"Reliable as always." I nodded, 'paying' Loaner with scroofles.
Maki's black fox pawed my free hand, and in Ouka's voice, said, "Kodori-san, a Guild representative came by, letting us know all the deliveries from Demeter-sama have made it through the Gate." A pause, "A little later, he added this." Another voice change, "Mikoto-san also sent her gift through, and we'll be building it tomorrow while you give the tour. Don't worry about labour, we've got a bunch of people from the smaller Familia who want to take a peek on the other side coming with us."
I 'paid' her as well, "Thank you both."
Loaner replied only with crazy happy tail flailing, while the Black fox accepted a few extra seconds of ear scroofling before ducking away from my hand. This left only Sir Skitters, who I could tell was eyeing my half eaten BLT.
"If any of you three are hungry, I'll warm up something from the cold room?"
I spent the rest of the super early morning doing a little inspection of the tents. It certainly wasn't for quality, just quantity. There were quite a lot of them, and hopefully, it would be enough. It might have been wishful thinking, but maybe some of the expected refugees would bring shelters of their own?
While I inspected the 'merchandise', I thought of what I might say, how I might say it, and more or less convince a bunch of people who had been fighting, likely for most of their lives, to move away from 'revenge' and come here.
Hate was a great motivator after all... But, if I could convince them that they were welcome, and no one would hunt them down, then maybe this would work. Otherwise? They were doomed.
I also made the special box for the block of jade. I had to get really creative with the materials, since I couldn't, or rather, shouldn't use anything from underground. So, with salamander wool, hellhound bones, and fireproofed spider silk, I encased the 'angry wooden box' in something that looked a little like a big rugby ball. Or an extra large tank shell.
Haruhime joined me in making breakfast, though probably just to pout at me for not sleeping more. Otherwise, it was just a normal start to the day. Breakfast, a very brief 'what we're doing today' meeting, sparring, cleaning up, and going about things.
I called ahead to the JSDF, just to make sure things were ready, and to my relief, they were. All of the supplies we'd sent through already, were set aside and stored properly. All of the prisoners had been delivered to the JSDF brig and were awaiting 'pickup' for the tour. About all that they needed was for us to get off our butts and get them off the base so they'd stop clogging up their empty hangar.
Yes, the Commander was still in a sour mood.
Most of the Alliance came with me for the trip to the Gate. Not just that, but many of the smaller Familia had a person or two join us as well. People were in high spirits, with those who had gone across telling those who hadn't what to expect. Or Mikoto leading her own little posse of 'hot spring enthusiasts' on a little pep rally.
But there were two people who were not filled with cheer, and I was sitting between them as I drove the lead tent-filled wagon towards the Gate. Seemed I had some 'big sister' duties to attend before the crossing.
With Cato and Kaede to either side of me, it wasn't hard to tell they had something heavy on their minds. But, as the saying went, 'Age before Beauty'.
"Cato? What's the problem? I mean, aside from the bumpy road?"
As if to punctuate the comment, we hit a little bump and he winced, holding his back, "I am uneasy about our asking for favours." He said, "The entire point of establishing Rondel, was for us to figure stuff out on our own." He grumbled, "And we have been! Rondel is much like your Orario. The Empire may be strong and populous, but Rondel is where the real progress happens."
He looked back towards Orario with a sigh, then ahead again.
"At least, in my world it is. Seeing Orario first hand, I... I want to change things. Not just on my own, but push the other scholars. Your little lab has more answers in it than the entire academy! And that's even before your 'builder's almanac'!"
I gave his shoulder a pat, "The book isn't really a short cut. For the most part, the stuff inside is simply one step ahead of where your world is."
"I know... but even then you said that those were the most basic machines and devices! Just past the stone age! Even I haven't heard of distilling tree barks for medicine!" He raved, then sighed again, "I hope... I hope they understand. I can't just ignore my age anymore, not when I have an actual goal again."
"And if they don't?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"I'll do it anyhow, just to spite them." He grumbled, "They want us to find our own answers? Then I will." He laughed bitterly, "I'd just feel better about it all if they understood."
He fell silent, his eyes focusing on the road ahead again. So, I turned my head to look at Kaede, "How about you?"
"I feel kind of bad for them." She said, "So I want to help you convince them."
I nodded, "Good." But my big sister senses were still tingling. "But?"
"I still feel kind of bad for deceiving them. I know, it was part of the mission. And through that, what we're doing now is possible. But it still kind of hurts." She scratched her shoulder, the one that had been shot, "Back home, we far enough from the Imperial Courts of the East to fall outside of their politics. But we heard stories. People like the Black Fox Clan were are the lucky ones."
I nodded, wondering if I should... I dunno, go on a vacation in that direction and maybe try fixing that.
Kaede continued, "But, it seems we have a good shot at fixing this problem. Take these people and their families out of a bad place, and give them a new life here. It won't be easy, but it will be theirs."
She also got the 'shoulder pat of encouragement' from me, "You can follow me around on the tour, help keep them together and explain things when they ask questions. Be glad to have another person helping."
"Thanks."
The JSDF base was... not in 'chaos' exactly. After we went through that blue/black dark tunnel, I could feel a certain air of urgency on the other side. Even in this backwater outpost of an 'exotic assignment', the JSDF were very professional.
As soon as we left the Gate, we were being directed with lour firm voices. Tents over there! Builders over there! Two rows! Stay on your wagon!
That kind of thing.
Thankfully, even a rookie adventurer understood how to take orders, and being in a bottom ranking Familia made you humble to authority. The guild was also here, and watching, ready to ahem our little caravan of world crossing adventurers into line.
And, there had also been a promise of a bit of a tour on this side, once the work was done, for all those who behaved. Those who didn't would be escorted back through the Gate, and given the standard fine for trespassing by the Guild, payable to the JSDF.
Somewhere on the way to the main gate of Fort Alnus, I spotted a familiar looking lazy ant and his entourage of owners. I met eyes with him and waved him over, prompting him and the Girls over. We weren't going very fast, so they had no problems getting helped up into the wagon bed.
"You wanted to talk?" Itami said, "Ah thank you." He added as Kaede hopped back to join the Girls to give him her seat next to me.
"I have an object I need you to protect while I'm doing the thing today." I said, handing Cato the reins (though, an Orario horse was smart enough to follow traffic, no matter what world they were in).
"Oh? Not dangerous I hope?" Then sighed, "It is, isn't it."
I turned in my seat so I could include the Girls, "Hardy left a little something behind before she left my body." I said, "She basically cursed me to be unable to work with her domain. I couldn't remember metals, how to smith, I couldn't even say the word 'rock'."
Tuka, Lelei and Rory went wide eyed, Itami squinted at me for a moment, and Yao made a sound of disgust. Sharp as ever, Itami replied with, "But you can now. So you fixed it?"
"The curse has been removed, and put into another container. And it's in that box there." I pointed to a hastily made wooden crate with 'Danger do not open' written in every language I knew in bright red wax crayon.
"And... what do you want us to do with it?" Itami asked, looking at the crate without emotion, while the Girls inched away from it subtly.
"Just leave it here until I get back from the tour. I have to make a trip to Rondel after the tour, and will be back for it this evening." I assured, "Don't open the box, and don't let it touch the ground. Otherwise, it's just a heavy box."
Lelei spoke then, "Rondel? Something new?" Her usual flat voice held a tiny bit of eagerness, and I had to resist giving her a headpat.
Cato replied for me, "I am going to petition them."
That seemed to be all that he needed to say, and Lelei nodded.
Rory on the other hand, "Oh? Finally going to ask your Gods for answers? Isn't that against the rules?"
Cato looked Rory right in the eyes, "Not answers. Permission." And without waiting for a reply, he turned away.
"I've also got another box, that just happens to be perfect for putting my cargo on, that I want you to keep in a cool dry place. Again, just for the day." I said to Itami.
I could see it on his face he knew exactly what was in that second box, but again his lazy 'not paid enough to care' face slipped back on in microseconds. "We can just leave it in the guard station, and I doubt anyone past sergeant will need to know."
Itami and my cargo were let off at the guard station at the main gate, but to my surprise Yao stayed behind on the wagon while the others got off to do... what ever it is they did. Cato did as well, likely to chat with Lelei.
"Yao?" I asked as she hopped into the seat next to me, while Kaede returned to her spot on the other side. "Something on your mind?"
She nodded, but didn't get into what ever it was right away. "It disgusts me how careless the Gods are." She said, looking like she wanted to spit off the side of the wagon. "We trust them, worship them, and in return we get nothing, or worse."
"The Gods of Orario are a little more personable, to be sure." I replied, "The ones who aren't among the Children are basically doing paperwork in heaven. Either because they want to, or they've been sent back up and need to catch up."
Kaede giggled, but with Yao still looking like a very pretty storm cloud, she suppressed it quickly.
There was silence for a minute or so, just long enough for us to get the wagon to the base of the ramp, "I have a request, Lady Kodori." Yao blurted out, sounding nervous.
"I'm good with those." I said, trying to dispel her hesitation with a joke, but seeing I'd misjudged when her face twisted a little. "Sorry. If I can help, I'll try. It's why we're doing this." I motioned with a thumb back at the heap of collapsed tents.
She sighed, took a deep breath, slapped both her cheeks at once (a very Japanese expression), and blurted out, "My people want to leave!"
"Oro?" Kaede and I blinked at her.
I shook my head, recovered, and felt a sudden need for clarity, "Wait, what?"
"My people, the Dark Elves. They want to leave." She repeated.
"How many?" I asked.
"All of them."
Again, I blinked at her, but repeated myself, "How many?" I smiled.
She seemed just as shocked at my reply as I was to her request, "My village held just over a thousand. And those clans we've been able to reconnect with recently, may total ten thousand."
For a moment, I just couldn't believe it. But then my slack jawed expression went back to smiling. "You're familiar with what's going to happen in the next month or so?"
"Yes, Itami has mentioned it, many times, and with great sighs, since it will likely fall on him to keep the peace in the new camp."
"I would like your people to help." I said, "Not just with keeping the peace, but gathering refugees. Are any of them here?"
"Some, yes... We wanted to know your answer before packing up our entire culture..."
"Smart. But yes, I will certainly make the extra effort, so long as your people do the same." I nodded.
"The Dark Elves are not afraid of hard work!" She grumbled.
"Good. And I want you to remember you said that, because at this moment you are representing all of them." I said seriously, "The more people we can get from this world to mine, the better chance for survival they will have. How many are here?"
"Possibly a hundred? No less than fifty."
"You are now mercenaries. Have them help with setting up the camp and the like until I get back. If the plan goes well..."
After I gave Yao her 'orders', she nodded and hopped off the wagon to tell her people. Kaede, silent until now, nudged my ribs, "Eina-san is going to kick you, you know."
"If we don't earn the trust of the prisoners, I'll happily accept Yao's people. And if we DO earn the trust of the prisoners, Yao's people will help get them back here to Alnus with their families." I grinned, "For that, I'd let Eina kick me as many times as she wanted."
"Remember you said that. But make sure to take your shin guard off first." Kaede laughed, "Wow... They've already been busy." She added as we rounded the last corner to the former 'killing field' outside of the town around Alnus.
Busy indeed. Since I had other things to do, I wasn't staying to help the efforts here on the field, but in the past week, the JSDF and the townsfolk here had levelled the field a bit, dug trenches (likely for super simple plumbing/latrines/garbage disposal), and had actually started to divert a small part of the nearest river so it ran a bit closer to town. Without 'bored adventurer' power, this looked to be a good thousand man hours of work.
It felt good, great even, that I wasn't the only one who was serious about rescuing these people. I'd have to find something nice for the JSDF... Maybe get Chandra from Soma Familia to brew up a vat of beer or something.
But, once Kaede and I had seen to it our wagon was parked, and given one last wave to the other adventurers staying back to help, we made our way back up the hill to the Base again, and were escorted to the air field.
The Commander as well as Itami, Tuka and Rory, joined our little escort at the edge of the airfield, and we headed towards the only guarded hangar in sight.
"They're a rough bunch." The Commander commented, not sounding angry now that it looked like the problem was about to be taken away, "I don't like keeping them all in one place, but a large prison wasn't part of the original setup here."
"Understandable." I nodded. "Any problems? Aside from a bunch of rough people in a small space?"
"Oddly, that wasn't a problem. They've been... grudgingly respectful towards us." The Commander replied.
"Mostly because a bunch of them were saved from the chopping block." Itami said, getting a full force glare from the Commander, but a giggle from Rory.
"He's not wrong." The Commander sighed, tugging the brim of his cap down over his eyes for a moment, "We've had a little trouble with sickness, a couple injuries, but your Guild helped with those before they got out of hand."
"That probably helped a lot too." Kaede said.
"I wonder how well this will all work." Rory said to no one in particular, "Who's to say they don't all just run off, with information about your base, or your world of Apostles?" She smiled her 'going to kill someone smile', "Most people would run as far away as possible."
"That's why we're doing this." Kaede said, a little anger in her voice, "So they run to us, and away from the abuse they've suffered here."
"Ooo so scary-ow my ear!"
I pulled Rory's ear just enough to get her closer to Itami before letting go, "But yes, that is why we're doing this." I ignored Rory's pout as well.
We all stopped a few paces from the guards in front of the huge hangar doors, some salutes were exchanged, and a nod from the Commander to the guard who hadn't moved, or saluted. At the nod, the guard pulled an old fashioned lever, and somewhere in the wall behind the big sliding double door something went 'ca-lunk'. "Opening! Step back!" He shouted in the local language, which was repeated from inside a moment later.
Then with a smooth sliding motion only modern machining and synthetic grease could create, the big sheet metal doors of the hangar slid apart just wide enough to allow, maybe, a Humvee through. This revealed a neat organized space, with many simple cots for sleeping, blankets, and several dozen people in 'commoner clothing'. That, and a half dozen JSDF along the walls, keeping watch over them.
The next thing I noticed, was the smell. There wasn't really much of one. Usually having a heap of prisoners in one place would make for a bit of bad hygiene, but nope. Not here. As two of the guards outside went inside, rifles at the ready, before myself and the rest of us stepped forward, I was also pleased to note that all the people here (who were not JSDF) didn't instantly look at us with anger.
This made me hopeful. But for all I knew, they were just waiting for a chance to escape or something. But, the first major obstacle seemed to be already past.
That said, the Commander wasn't joking when he said 'a rough bunch'. Almost every race I knew of in the Special Region was represented here, big and small. Most of them looked like they'd had a rough life of combat, with scars, missing fingers, minor deformities... All things we really didn't have much of in Orario. But as mixed as they were, they all had that look of a survivor. They were here in this room not because the JSDF were keeping them here.
No, they were here because letting the JSDF hold them here, meant they weren't going to die. For now.
Once we'd filed in, all eyes went not to me, but to Rory.
And here's where the problem I thought we avoided came up. "Was wondering when the interrogation was going to start." One said, a cat-folk with most of an ear missing and a nose that had been broken some point in the past (and not set properly, like mine).
So, as a bit of a flex, I looked to Rory and said, "Out."
She looked at me sharply, but she knew what I was doing. So, with a little 'humph' she turned and left. I watched her leave, and only turned back to the prisoners when she'd cleared the doors. Staged or not, that had gotten everyone's eyes on me.
So, I smiled, did a little Japanese styled bow, and started speaking, "My name is Kodori of Hestia Familia. And I am from the other side of the Gate. And if anything, all of you will be asking me the questions."
There was a pause, and most of them seemed to realize something weird was going on. And exactly as I said, they started to interrogate me. "If that's not why we're here, then what's going on?" One asked, a harpy who had more than a few missing feathers.
"I am going to bring you all to the other side of the Gate for a brief tour. Maybe half a day if you all behave." I replied calmly.
Most of them seemed to just... short circuit. Then the little questions started, not asked to me, but to each other, in those hushed classroom voices. 'The other side?' 'Why?' 'What's really going on?' 'Are we going to be killed anyhow?' 'Who is this person?'
I waited patiently. I wanted them to get the confusion out of their systems, and was hoping one of them would perk up and ask me directly. The Commander, wise old man that he was, saw what I was getting at and didn't try and assert order either.
About a minute later, one of them, a Volralden who seemed to have suffered burns bad enough to leave his fur mostly missing over parts of his body, stood above the others, "Why? Why have us all brought here to take us through the Gate?"
"Because I want your help." I said, "But nothing comes free, so, I want to show you what I'm willing to pay you for your service."
Even in this world, the word 'pay' had far more weight than it should have. But it wasn't quite enough, not yet.
"Half a day of your time." I said, "You will not be harmed, and when you return to this side of the Gate again, you will all be let free. And so long as you cause no trouble on this side of the Row stream, you will be left alone."
"Will there be something decent to eat?" A little kobold asked, "The hard-tack here tastes terrible!"
At this Itami mumbled, "Calorie Mate isn't supposed to taste good..."
I ignored Itami and nodded, "Yes, it's part of the tour."
"Is it..." A nervous looking woman, maybe an elf(?) started, "The same world the green men are from?"
"No." The Commander said, since I (technically) wasn't cleared to answer that exact question.
That answer though, caused a bit of a stir, a ripple of of realization. That was important information, and it was just given out to a roomful of potential spies. I would have to make sure to convince them to work with me.
But, fox out of the bag, I clarified, "No, the Gate has changed worlds, as it does. And we've been working with the JSDF in small ways. Some of which you've benefited from already, such as medicine." I smiled, "We are wasting time. All your questions will hopefully be answered, but the only condition I have, is you don't run off. The only language our two worlds share is, oddly, Japanese. But that said!" I spoke over someone before they could question me, "I will leave no one behind. So will you come with me?"
NOTES!
Inspiring speech and everything. Or not? Next chapter? Well, a tour, obviously, and a few (I hope) surprises. :)
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!
And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.
