Japan is Scary!
It took three days since then before the Sawadas got a thin, carboard box from the JSDF.
'Mom, package from the army!' Mizora called out as when she checked the mail before breakfast, the box that cannot fit in their mailbox, was instead tossed into their backyard, thus she saw it lying around.
'Package from the army?' Nana gasped out as they looked at the package Mizora put on the dining table with trepidation.
'Might as well see what they had to say about what they know...' said Soran as he tore open the package, to see a softbound book, aptly titled in english 'Report: Sawada Soren, written by: Major Higaki Wataru'. 'Kids, due to school, Maman and I will read it first. You can read this book after school.'
'It'll be a long wait...' the twins groaned.
'Maa, it can't be helped...you two have midterms today...' said Nana weakly, understanding her children's anxiety about their sister. 'You cannot skip today.' today, was Midterm Exams for WINTER, before break.
Thus after the twins left for school, Nana and Reborn shared the book, with Reborn going along Nana's pace as she wasn't a fast reader like him.
Childhood under Archmage Mimoza La Mer who has the Lelena sisters as senior students. Wacky childhood due to a just-as-wacky and scatterbrained, carefree mentor who was careless with her home and financial life her students HAD to manage her as she was nuts outside research and teaching her girls.
Mages are 'rich in dollars but poor in financial sense' that got the girls annoyed, and Soren taught what Kakeibo is that since then, livelihood is comfortable! But also have an extremely high moral ground and very justified fears that left Rondel mages frustrated. Soren's education was basically the study of Physics, and how to use magic through 'false principles' of Physics. There's also Astronomy, Geography, and other fields of science they made magic versions of, not just researching it...
By how Lelei talked, Soren is already a PROFESSOR worth a Ph.D and so was she, if both girls are given Modern Earth knowledge.
1st Lt. Itami Youji, a self-proclaimed 'proud anime otaku' described Soren's magic as 'heavily influenced' by anime she watched as a child, which she taught to her adoptive family which they swore to keep to their graves when even they can see the horror of what a naive child taught them back then. Physics Magic, plus standards of fighting her child-like mind believed in back then? Dear lord! She was comparable to Servants in Fate anime series as a fighter! This was why she was brazen enough to travel the world on her own, at ten years old and clearly survived and thrived, if she visited Coda Village four years later with many seed packets in her possession of medicinal herbs, and fully-written books. That was BEFORE the Dragon Incident happened three months after that visit.
Species of medicine are very valuable and welcome, a prospect the government is eyeing. They WOULD want some of that and study it!
However, Soren's magic powers are up for debate, if she can bring home her magic...or lose her powers over time should she move into Earth again by laws of nature and divinity or something as magic exists in Special Region, magic doesn't exist in Earth so that was a topic for debate...she was also a very capable hand-to-hand fighter and staff-wielder, and influenced life as they know it, being a dang good cook as well that made life a lot more 'interesting' thanks to her psychometry.
And due to justified fears, Soren refuses to go back to Japan, citing Alternate Reality and Parallel Worlds theory, making the other side she fears 'a world without her parents' that Japan isn't worth coming back to as orphans have a tough life in Japan and treat her as 'incapable of getting a job and fending for herself' even if she was a very capable researcher. Heck, she never met grandparents on either side of the family or other relatives, who'd take her in?
Though once found in Italica, a commercial town not far from Alnus Hill, the JSDF will reassure and convince her to come home as her parents are VERY MUCH alive and has younger siblings, making Nana burst into tears, making Reborn hold the book as Nana was emotionally compromised.
That, and Soren was financially well-off that she was chill and casual about her farmland rent...which was...about the equivalent of purchasing a small mansion...
The equivalents were because of how high the natives see their money...as dictated by the Empire of course.
But Soren feels that given the amount of metal used on coinage, it should be...less.
Well, what can she expect of war-freak meatheads anyway? Coins are so small, the size of 500-yen coins and just as flat! Value is disproportionate. Reborn felt Viper would rage in fury at financial incompetence. A 10-gram piece of gold should be 70789 yen. Computations all wrong, but Empire mathematics either is baffling, or resources are THAT scarce, that value is high?
Well, with Leon copying everything he reads, he can send a softcopy home.
xxx
Lelei La lalena fully-understood her junior's words in how scary Japan can be.
Construction speed that should take a year, they did in days.
Those huge machines were rides instead of horses.
Instead of people with tools, machines are used to process trees for wooden planks before things are propped up and hammered by hand.
Giant shovels that dug up so much land in a quick pace where a hundred men would take hours.
They work fast.
Japan specializes in hi-speed construction as Japan is in a 'ring of fire' beneath the earth, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are strong as a result thus for the sake of economy, people must bounce back fast.
In truth, she was growing jaded to these surprises.
The children and elderly who knew nothing had been shocked into silence. They gave thanks in earnest and sincerely accepted these benefits. As for Lelei, who was wiser but still could not make sense of these unreal circumstances, her brain had long since overheated.
Lelei was envious.
She couldn't bear to watch any more. All she wanted to do was curl up under her blankets. Well, she had already forgotten that she was supposed to be a guardian of the forest, and watched in mute surprise.
However, since she had chosen the path of the sage, she could not leave these difficult-to-explain circumstances as they were. After all, a sage's ambition was to conquer the mysteries of the world with wisdom.
After properly motivating herself, she set forth.
As she got close to the moving iron-skinned carriages, the workers there looked at her with a mix of surprise and fear. They seemed to be shouting something along the lines of 'it's dangerous'. If she were run over by such a large vehicle, she would probably be squashed into paste. Because of that, they were probably trying to keep her away.
Just then, a vehicle puffing plumes of smoke rolled up from the corner of the construction site. Lelei proceeded to study its structure carefully.
She understood with a single glance.
That being said, a 'mobile kitchen' was a great idea. Its advantages were obvious for the military, but even trading convoys that travelled long distances would appreciate it. After all, it took a lot of effort to set up cooking fires...until Soren pioneered it that their small class no longer has to deal with Fire-Watch duty when before, every home has to deal with starting fire from a LONG and TEDIOUS method and after that, flames are carefully kept alive...or else!
Yet these people...! Twist and click on their cooking stoves and there it is!
She thought about what the man had said to her with a smile as she stood in front of it.
'Please wait a while, we'll be done soon.'
Sadly, Lelei could not understand his good intentions.
Lelei could tell that they were trying to learn the local language. They repeated their words, and were eagerly trying to talk to her. While the results were not very obvious, at the very least, they could communicate. However, if Lelei waited until they learned how to speak the local language, she would not be able to learn anything. She wanted to know about the tools and technology they used, as well as what they thought about. To do that, she would have to learn their language.
SPEAKING of language, they learned theirs, fast after the Mayor taught them! So not fair...
Thus, Lelei steeled herself, and began speaking to the man.
Leading Private Furuta smiled to her as he showed off his knife skills, which he was proud of.
His nickname of Shopkeep was not for show. He had joined the JSDF to earn enough money to open his own shop. The pension he would get after his contract expired was important to accomplishing that goal and began talking about how things work...
However, she also worries about Tuka's unusual behavior. She asked for two shelters for herself and a father that was never there, including perks.
From what she heard, she lost her village to the Flame Dragon but she's deluding herself to cope with her grief. She has no idea how to deal with grief, even when one of the army women approached her out of worry for Tuka.
Then there's more worries.
They can't be freeloading beggars forever. Luckily, they know how to fend for themselves, too.
There were twenty-five people in the refugee camp right now. Twenty-three of them from Koda village, one from an Elven village, and the Goth Loli priestess who joined mid-way through their journey here.
The housing itself was originally just a trailer, but considering the possibility that it might grow in the future, a building made to last for ten years for four families was also built. That might be so, but the people in the building weren't family or relatives. They just came from the same village, and the older ones cared for the younger ones.
Out of the three daily meals, lunch and dinner were provided by Itami's group. Those Em-Ar-Ees thing are so fascinating! Meals inside shiny smooth packs with a sort of powder in a packet that makes water hot when put in water, all for reheating packed food without the cumbersome need to make a fire!
As for breakfast, they prepared it themselves with ingredients which were provided to them by the JSDF. In reality, the portions were a bit lacking, so the children and elderly would wander into the forest to find wild herbs to eat. Lunch was type-two combat rations while dinner was a huge pot of soup cooked by Furata and the other team members while they chatted with the children.
If they wanted to, the JSDF could provide all three meals for them, but they didn't so as to preserve their ability to provide for themselves. The JSDF wanted to support them in providing for themselves. Such was the basic principle of the JSDF when they were deployed in Iraq. If they could provide for themselves adequately, the next target would be for them to provide all three meals for themselves. If they could find some work, they might not be able to pay for their accommodations, but they would at least be able to pay for their meals.
This was something they're used to though, though with these unfamiliar vegetables Lelei wished Soren was here.
Come to think of it, Rory's with them...maybe she can help her out with magic?
She explained the trick to Rory.
'That's an interesting idea!' Rory looked thoughtful. 'A way to communicate through thoughts!'
'Yes, but to quote Soren, she will only teach to absolutely trustworthy people.' said Lelei. 'She fears what her knowledge would do in wrong hands who would gladly sell lives of innocents for their greedy ambitions that won't care if they get people killed or not as long as there's a hefty reward. This spell will be handy in military tactics and strategy, making the enemy army an unpredictable foe and for us at the mercy of the empire, that, is bad.' she said. 'Only Master Mimoza, my sister and I and Master Cato knows this skill, until we find people we can trust with this ability.'
Rory looked approving, Lelei thought. But also there's a strange smile there that made her inwardly shiver.
'Very well, I'll lend you my energy to reach Soren in Italica so she'll come here!' thus, the two teamed up to get Soren.
xxx
Italican Territory, Romalia Mountains, the Hidden Farming Villages...
Soren was cooking lunch when she felt Lelei's presence in her mind and 'someone else who's crazy strong', to make communications from Coda to HERE possible?
I'm borrowing her highness Rory Mercury's power at the moment. Lelei spoke up. We are currently in a refugee camp built by the jay-es-dee-eff for us.
What happened? Soren frowned, worry passing through. Bandit attack? Rescue from forceful conscription?
Worse. Flame Dragon. Soren did a spit-take.
WHAT?! That calamity sleeps for fifty years and it slept when Master was 35 years old! Why awake so early?!
Don't know. But anyway, come to Alnus quickly after you help us make lunch...I have no idea how to use these earth ingredients provided to us, though they give us these em-ar-ees for breakfast and I don't want to cook something disgusting due to lack of knowledge.
Alright. Imagine in your mind the food. I'll come up with something, and do as I say afterward as I'll show you how to do it.
Right...
Lelei showed her rice, vegetables, meat and condiments she nearly forgot.
Lelei and Rory felt Soren's deeply-shaken feelings of nostalgia.
...b-been a while since I last saw those... she choked out and they end up seeing a childhood memory by accident, only, with different dishes based on what they have on hand on the dining table with her parents. The dining room was gorgeous by Lelei and Rory's standards for a family of three, but how it looks is normal for a well-to-do japanese home. We'll begin.
Based on the provided-for ingredients, there's stuff for Miso Soup, and Oyakodon, when Soren, connecting herself to Rory to boost her power, probed the nearest JSDF member to get how to make it.
By showing images, the two wind up learning how to make oyakodon for 25 refugees and how to cheat with cooking rice using magic when normally, it'd take a while to make it.
When it's done, they all marveled at how savory it was, after waiting for Oyakodon to cool down enough, lest they burn they tongues for being too excited...
Go see Furuta during dinner and ask him to tell the JSDF to provide you donburi ingredients every lunch. He seems to serve hotpots in dinner.
Alright. Will you come?
Even if I want to, not yet...I have to deal with tons of check-ups here as not long ago, the beast-folk have their ruts and heats, some women are pregnant after several days of going at it with their partners and have morning sickness! I have to use up my magic to grow medicine by force to accommodate all these!
Yikes...
M-maybe next month...poor fathers of next kids are dealing with cranky mates too so tension is very high...it's crazy up here! Unlike humans, beastmen have shorter pregnancy periods. As in, half the time. I'm the only doctor here! At least they're stronger than humans and don't need midwives, that's a small mercy I've got...
OK... Lelei and Rory sweatdropped as they put an end to the communication. 'Well, that's that...we have a very good lunch today and we learned something new.' Rory mused, smacking her permanently-rosy lips for what remained of the taste in her mouth, as if she has permanent lipstick on.
And at night, Lelei told the JSDF about Soren coming after Pregnant Beastmen issues are dealt with.
'Eh? Is that right?!' Itami's unit squawked at Lelei who talked to them as a group.
'Yup. She's dealing with it all as the only doctor in the farms.' said Lelei. 'She can't leave a village full of pregnant beastwomen until everyone gives birth.'
'Well, since she's a pharmacist, she would know how to treat...' Kurokawa mused, amazed by a girl a decade younger than her.
'Her parents will have to wait a bit, this is a spanner in the works...' said Nishina, scratching his head.
'I'll have to inform the bosses that retrieval will have to wait...' Itami said wearily.
'I wanna be on the team when we come pick her up...a village of beastmen!' Kurata squealed excitedly at the idea. 'What's it like?!'
'Beats us and we'll know when she's done.' Itami grinned. 'Well, let's get reporting.'
xxx
'So Lelei requested we give donburi ingredients on lunch time because Sawada-chan will teach her...and we can't pick her up yet because she's doctor for a village of pregnant beastwomen on morning sickness?' Major Higaki looked like he wanted a bottle of tequila for the latter and swallow it whole. 'Kids here grow up too fast! What's childhood now?'
'Yeah. Lelei borrowed Rory's power for miles-long telepathy connection.' said Itami. 'Kids here are forced to grow up too quickly.' he said glumly. 'That's kinda sad but alas, money makes the world go round. The sooner they can work the better for people in this world. Anti-Child Labor and Child Protection Acts don't exist here.'
'And that's anathema to us.' Higaki frowned as he began typing in his laptop. 'Sawada-chan cursed the fact that this world is way behind in medicine after all...' he sighed. 'What a sad world. Any other concerns?'
'Oh yeah, they asked if they can have the dead wyverns on the hill...apparently the scales are valuable as armor so its a livelihood sideline.' Itami piped up. 'The price can go from 13 denari to a sinku based on size.'
'Well, we ARE teaching them to be independent after some days, why not?' Higaki thought aloud. 'And we can get information on where Sawada-chan is, other than 'she's in the mountains'.' he snorted. 'We'll have to outfit airplanes with various types of cameras to find her faster.'