Chapter 47

Akira replied with a little sigh, pushing his glasses up his nose a little, "We aren't as nefarious as that, but you are not wrong."

"No hard feelings." I said, "But lets assume I know everything that was televised during 'the invasion' up until you closed the Gate due to the encroaching Apocrypha."

Aside from the (very well disciplined) driver, the rest of them went a bit wide eyed. "For that you'd need..."

"You already know I lived in Japan a while." I shrugged, "However!" I held up a finger, "That's as far as I'm going there."

Akira nodded, his hawkish face giving me a thin smile, "I can respect that." He nodded, "So you know all about how her and I... met?"

"Including the involvement of the butler." I nodded.

The Humvee went over a little pothole, and I peeked me head out of the cupola to see where we were. If it wasn't already slated to be fixed, it would be in about a day or so if I told someone.

"Well, since you're well informed, I can skip most of the lead-up to my actual question." Akira said, "You mentioned mercenary work, is that still on the table?"

"Maybe. Personally, I don't do jobs that involve collateral damage by default. Everyone at the Manor is much the same." I replied with a smile, "Now, other Familia you might ask, will vary. We're generally good people, and we get along, but we do have people with 'Big Man' complex in the city."

Delilah gave me a bit of a head tilt, then looked to Akira, "Big...man?"

"People who are used to getting their way, because they are bigger than those around them." Akira replied, "Interesting."

"Do you want me to guess what the job is? Or are you going to tell me?" I asked.

"As you know, Zorzal and his supporters have fled north of the Imperial Capital. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the local map, but a little north of that is a wide river, the Row Stream. It's a natural divide and there are very few bridges that cross it. Fewer now, that he's fled that way."

"Row stream... Goes through the Romaria Mountains?" I was trying to remember a brief look at a map I'd seen while I was in Rondel. "Okay, so he goes up north, burns bridges, and gathers up support of people who were probably, quite literally, left in the cold by their Emperor before all this kicked off?"

"I can't confirm that. But probably. From what little we can gather, Zorzal has near total support of the Empire north of the Row Stream. Territory wise, it's not a very large place, maybe a fifth of the total area the Empire has laid claim to. But, a good part of the Empire is underdeveloped. Villages, small towns, much like old rural Japan."

"But up north..." I hmm'ed, thinking of the map. "Mountains. Ah, stone and iron."

"Indeed. The northern areas of the Empire control a great deal of the stone and iron supply of the rest of the Empire. Now, that's cut off. It matters... less to us, but it is hurting the rest of the Empire like a slow bleed."

"Okay, so Zorzal flees to what is probably the best stronghold of the Empire, minus the capital itself, and starts doing little things that annoy you, while you are tied up by local politics and orders from back home to not just drive the tanks through?"

"Basically yes. You were involved in one of those... 'things that annoy us'." He said grimly, "They've even managed to strike at Alnus, a little before you arrived through the Gate from the Jungle."

"Meaning they've figured out, at least, black powder weapons. You know, we don't actually have those. Or rather, we don't have them in that capacity. Alchemists make all kinds of stuff like that, but the penalty for using them out of the dungeon is... rather steep."

"It's odd. It's like the city is a small world all its own." Mari commented, "Except you have a governing power that actually works."

"You're welcome." I said with a smile, "So, you want... what?"

"We'd like a little help securing our own front, to stop the attacks happening on our side of the river." He said after a moment.

"Why?" I replied.

"The JSDF is too... distinct. No matter how well we try to hide it, they see us coming long before we get there."

"Well you do all look kinda the same." Delilah mumbled, "In a good way! But yeah... And even if you speak the local language, you all have this weird accent."

"We do?" Mari asked.

"Yeah! All of you! It's the weirdest thing." She nodded her head, making her ears swish against the Humvee's ceiling, "If you know what to listen for, its a dead giveaway."

I tried my luck and spoke in the local language past the Gate, "How about me? Any odd sounds here?"

Her ear twitched, "Less with you. But... you speak Japanese like a natural..."

"Maybe it's because Japanese was my third language? Or that I've learned... um..." I counted on my fingers, "eight? Yeah, eight languages, and gotten a toehold in yours?"

"You also have a knack for them, Ryuu-san as well was well on the way to speaking like a pro before you returned here." Akira said, "Aisha-san was doing well too."

"Okay. So you want me to find some of their operatives and...?"

And in true 'secret agent' fashion, he replied with an official sounding, "Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find... what?"

I was laughing, "I thought that was only in the movies..."

He sighed, "I've always wanted to say it like that, and now it's ruined." Delilah was giving his shoulder a pat, "Ahem!" He touched the Warrior bunny's hand, then regained his composure, "Any operatives you find may be dealt with as you see fit, so long as you are absolutely sure they are agents of Zorzal. If you can turn them in alive, we would be thankful. If that is unreasonable, at least try to gather information from them first."

I nodded, understanding that his wording, while 'official' was a very clear declaration that the JSDF was taking off the gloves.

"We will not accept undue civilian casualties. And if your mission takes you past the River, we cannot offer any aid. If you run afoul of the local authorities, we will never have heard of you. If you are the cause of undue civilian casualties, we will assist in your capture."

"So, be subtle, take prisoners if reasonable, and stop them from wrecking the place without wrecking the place ourselves." I smiled, "And if we screw up, you'll deny you knew what was going on to appease the nobility, and offer aid in bringing us 'to justice'."

"You are taking all the drama out of it." He sighed, "Do you do this with everyone?"

"When I want to be clear, yes." I laughed, "I take contracts seriously, and one of my best friends used to be a European Fairy." I extended my left hand, just so he didn't have to turn in his seat any further. "I accept your offer."

He still had to wiggle around so he could reach for my hand, but he stopped just out of reach, "Without discussing payment?"

"Oh, that's easy. I want the Gate off my lawn. This world already has a world ending disaster waiting to happen under our feet. I know the limit is about a half year before the first signs of Apocrypha happen. You giving me access to your side of the Gate means I can petition Hardy for a way to remove it."

"And if she doesn't? She was... uncooperative, if Lelei-chan's report was any indication."

"I've dealt with uncooperative Gods before." I replied dead serious, "I'll do my best to fix your little problem, and I get to try and get the Gate out of my world, and hopefully connected back to yours. Deal?"

He nodded, and we shook hands, "Deal."

"When you accept your first 'tourists' from Orario to your side of the Gate, I will start the operation. Otherwise, Lelei will be the only one who will know how to contact me." I smiled at his raised eyebrow, "What? I've always wanted to play as a spy too."

He nodded, then with a little difficulty he turned his body back to facing forward, "How much further?"

I watched the driver's eyes look down at the little screen with Orario's map on it, "Another five minutes at this pace, Sir." A pause, "The roads remind me a little of Italy..."

Akira's first reaction to I AM GANESHA was... predictable.

"This looks... silly." You could tell he was trying to be diplomatic, but Delilah, who was making sure he was buckled into his wheelchair, was just barely able to contain her giggles.

And of course, the two guards looked apologetic, understanding, and helpless at the same time.

"Hey boys." I greeted them as I wiggled my rear a little and 'regrew' my other eight tails with a 'fwish' of fur, "The doctor should be expecting us?"

"Yes'm!" One said, "He said to send you in as soon as you arrived."

"I know the way." I said, then looked to our driver, "Can you park this thing by the horse hitch over there?"

"I see it." He nodded, then looked to Mari.

"We'll be a little while, take a break until we radio you." She said/ordered.

"Ma'am." He nodded, put the Humvee into drive, and carefully drove forward towards the mostly unused horse hitching posts just down and off the road.

"Oh, they have an access ramp." Delilah said, wheeling Akira up the little side ramp next to the stairs.

I was allowed to enter the Doctor's examination room, but matching even modern standards I wasn't allowed to actually see the patient. He and Mari had gotten Akira up on a nice comfortable bed, then closed a thick cloth screen around it. Delilah and I could listen, but that was all.

There was some shirt ruffling, the sound of a belt being unbuckled, a zip, another bit of fabric, then a couple of grunts as Akira lay down on the bed. Ganesha's Ace Doctor (who even the Gods had nicknamed 'Doctor') 'hmm'ed and 'hum'ed for a few moments, then with a little sigh (never a great sign with him) said...

"It can be done. But it won't be pleasant."

"The doctors did their best but..." Mari started.

"Oh, I understand fully. Your people lack the magical healing we do. And before I came to Orario, I did as well. The problem with treating him now, is the wounds are old." He explained, his shadow moving about slowly behind the curtain.

"We were told about that. But what would be involved now?" Akira asked.

"Old wounds must be made new again, the scarred tissue must be cut away so that the body remembers where the wounds started, instead of 'making do' with how they are now." He continued, "I see..." Akira grunted a little, "Hmm, front lower abdominal, wide bladed knife... Did they remove any of your intestine?"

"No." Mari replied, "It was perforated, but sew closed and healed."

"Bone fragments?"

"Small chips removed from the front face of the lower spine, and a little from the hip."

All the while I was watching Delilah. She was looking at the white curtain between her and Akira as if it were made of stone, and actually seemed to be on the verge of tears. Good. That's what I'd expect from someone who was actually sorry for what they did. Still, I put a hand on her shoulder and did my best to give her a confident smile. She didn't look any better, but accepted a tail to hug.

The Doctor continued, "Well, that makes things slightly easier." He said, "This I'm afraid will hurt. I can give you something for the pain, but the recovery will be much worse."

Akira sounded a little panicked, but he asked, "What exactly do you need to do?"

"I need to cut open your belly, move your intestine out of the way, cut a small amount of your spine away, then apply a regenerative agent to reconnect it." There was the opening and closing of a few drawers and cupboards, "Then, I will apply several applications of healing salve to put your insides back in, then one last one to close your lower abdomen." A hand, weathered and wiry poked out of the white curtain, "Kodori?"

"Here you go." I handed him the lizard tonic.

Akira sounded FAR less sure of things now. "You do this often? Fix spinal injuries I mean?"

"Good sir. Most things that cause those injuries don't leave the legs attached. But the procedure is much the same for arms and legs. We generally have to recover lost bits of those too when we put them back on. Now, would you like to be awake for this?"

I was running out of tails for Delilah to hug at this point.

"Give me something to bite and some local." Akira said, "I want to be awake when my toes get feeling in them again."

"Very well. Ma'am Mari? The blue box there. Let's clean our hands and get started."

We, Delilah and I, didn't have to stand outside the curtain while the Doctor and Mari worked on Akira, but we did. Brave and Manly as it was to be awake for something like this, the sounds were very... disgusting. Part way through the operation, I found myself clinging to Delilah just as much as she was to me. I knew, mentally, why the sounds were cutting through my mind like they were. But thinking about it only made it worse. The smell too, blood and the 'all purpose' antiseptic that was hardly ever used in Orario was sharp against my sinuses.

And our roles reversed, the Warrior Bunny tugging me by the tails to a chair. Between eyeblinks, I was standing, then sitting, then in a mutual hug with the orange haired warrior. Proximity to the sound seemed to be the trigger, and now that I could only hear Akira quietly grunting occasionally, my panic receded, and the roles reversed again.

Operations with the best potions in Orario, minus the Elixirs, didn't take long. And ten minutes later, with Delilah's head tucked against my shoulder, her ears pinned between us to keep them 'closed', the curtain opened again.

We must have been a sight, the two of us looking like we'd just been crying (we had been), looking at Mari, the Doctor, and past them to Akira. Thankfully, the two who were standing were smiling, and going about calmly removing bloody aprons.

"I'll take that, Ma'am Mari." The Doctor said, wadding up the two aprons in one hand, then firmly catching Delilah's shoulder as she tried to zip past him to see Akira. "Ahem." He said, "He needs sleep. Our medicine cannot replace blood, and he will need quiet. Do you understand?"

Gentle mannerisms aside, the Warrior Bunny was not going anywhere with his hand on her shoulder. So she relaxed, "Yessir." She said.

"Good. We'll be moving the bed into a recovery room once I've put these in the wash." And he shuffled out of the room as if he'd just eaten dinner and not repaired a spinal injury.

I had to take a deep breath before I could stand, but once I could I moved towards the bed as well. "Kodori-san?" Mari put a hand on my shoulder, just a light touch.

"I'll be fine." I said quietly, "Now it's up to him." I looked to Akira, who even after all that was just barely keeping his eyes open.

And at my words, those almost closed eyes looked at me, his lips turning upwards a little at the corners, while under the blankets I could see his toes curling and uncurling slowly. Delilah noticed too, but just hugged his hand to her chest a little tighter.

I gave Akira a nod, then looked to Mari, "I'm going to head back. Things to do. See you tomorrow?"

"I've been told to stand by at Floor Zero of the dungeon." She nodded.

"Ah, the nice lobby. The city will be watching, so remind whomever is going in to fight smart. Don't show off, but show what they can do."

She nodded, gave me a little bow, and I made my way out of the clinic and I AM GANEHSA.

On my way out, I made sure to report the potholes the Humvee had encountered, but otherwise, I made no detours. I was a bit shaken, and needed to find my happy place before I could accomplish anything else for the day.

When I got home, while I made my way to the my room, I gave the usual greetings to everyone I passed by. I let out a little of my extra sense to find out who was on property. Well, it was a school day, and Haruhime and the children were all in class. Hestia was working with another class. That just left...

"Fen-chan?"

He slipped out of my shadow, gathered a little solidity from the marble walls and floor, and simply stood next to me with a silly fox smile. So, without wasting time, I started to scroofle the absolute heck out of him.

This must have sent out some kind of signal, because after I'd reduced Fen-chan to a happy shadowy carpet on the floor, our resident Hellhound Spot scratched at the door (exactly once) and 'wurf'ed quietly.

He joined Fen-chan on the floor a little later, one hundred percent scroofled into submission. But I wasn't done. Chime, her kitten, Loaner and Maki's unnamed fox were all waiting their turn for my attention.

By the time I'd gotten every single furry critter on Manor property pet/scroofled/brushed/hugged, I was feeling much better. All it needed was...

"Hagane." I greeted the metal cat as I entered the workshop. As soon as he'd rolled to his feet, I gave him a hug too.

"Bad day?" He asked.

"How can you tell?" I didn't deny it.

"You have everyone's fur on you." He replied, though he moved his head just enough so that I could get my arms around him a little better. "And now you are in the workshop."

"Yeah. Just some flashbacks." I nodded, "Want to see some of the preliminary drawings?"

"I'll admit, I'm very curious." He admitted, sitting like a good catto so he could look over the desk as I unrolled some paper. "I am also wondering, if that human magic can mimic the self repair function."

"HIDA-lite is working on it. But it will be difficult to apply. It would make you look like someone tossed you down a hill of knives."

"Hmm. I may pass then. I am a dragon, and I have certain standards for my appearance." He looked over the 'arms' I'd drawn, "Those look almost like Issei's."

"It looked good. And covered everything. Since you move without muscles, I can make certain allowances but the organic design...

Haruhime peeked her head into the shop several hours later. Her appearance had snapped me out of 'work mode' with Hagane, and my stomach reminded me about dinner.

But, in that time I'd gotten a bunch of modelling done. Using scrap leather, with glue to stiffen it to mimic metal, I'd gotten most of an arm put together. With what I'd learned putting together 'doll bodies' to test and make the Golem, it wasn't too difficult. But this would need to be precise work without the modern machines I used to make Hagane v1 and v2, or the 'model' of my old black armour.

"Ko-san? You're not going to skip dinner are you?" She asked, getting closer and doing a slow semi-circle around the workbench, "Is this going to be for you, Hagane-san?"

"It is a model of something that will be made of metal." He said, leaning his head down as Haruhime reached out to pat him, "I do enjoy being a cat, though, my inability to turn pages for the books is... bothersome."

She smiled, "It's good you enjoy reading. You'd be able to play chess with us too."

"Another thing to look forward to." He admitted, "But, unlike me, you must eat." He stood properly and very gently nudged me towards the door, "I may not be Akeno, but if I must remind you to eat and sleep, I will."

"Thank you Hagane." I said, "I'll be sure to work on it more after food. Oh, come to the living room after dinner, we have a meeting."

"Very well."

After dinner, I made sure to get all Haruhime and my children together for a giant group hug. There was a little 'aww O-ma'ing, but I still got hugs back. Then, and only then, did I let them go and do what ever it was they wanted until bed time.

But once done, I gave Jiru a pat, made some fresh pots of tea, and got to the living room.

"So!" I started, noting that everyone was here. "Earlier today, I met with the JSDF's head of Intelligence."

"Lilly likes 'best supporter' better." She said quietly.

"Me too." I nodded, "But sadly, most armies are super serious and just don't have much fun." I chuckled with everyone, "Akira Yanagida, the same one who was injured saving the rescued slave, is that officer."

"Ah, you healed him then?" Takemikazuchi asked.

"No. I supplied the tonic, but the Doctor did the surgery. Once it was over, I left him to recover. He was wiggling his toes, so it went well." I smiled, "But, he also offered me a job."

Ryuu gave me a raised eyebrow, and I nodded. Aisha was more vocal, "You did say we did mercenary work. Something to do with that explosion then?"

"That's the one." I nodded, "They are too well known, and they apparently have a particular accent. So the locals know who they are before they arrive. This makes what they want done much harder."

"You've told us about it. The explosion at the bakery?" Bell asked.

"I hope you beat those bread haters up." Weine grr'ed like an angry kitten. I suddenly had this mental image of Asia sitting next to her doing the exact same kitten grr's.

"The idea here, is they want to clear off and better secure the territory they protect. This isn't an isolated incident, and they are apparently getting worse. What Akira wants is to root out the people doing it, and shake them a little to get a little information out of them." I continued.

"And you were going to accept?" Hestia asked, "But why get involved?"

Ryuu answered, "She wants to get the Gate out of Orario."

Since myself, Akeno, Ryuu and Aisha had told everyone in the Familia about everything, they knew all the dangers of the Gate being open too long. "You wish to petition the Gods on the other side of the Gate then?" Mikoto asked, "As well as bring down this shadowy group?"

"Yes." I nodded, "They are just like I was, trapped in a world with no way back. If we can talk to this 'Hardy', the one Lelei talked to who actually made the Gate, maybe we can get it away from our world, while connecting the JSDF back to their own. It just so happens that the JSDF have a problem they need solving as well."

There was a moment of teacup study. This was what we did. We solved problems, ours, other people's, people we knew, didn't know... "So who will you bring?" Mikoto asked, "And when?"

"Aisha? Still have that little book?" I asked.

"I think so. Wait, no, gave it to you."

I hmm'ed, "Right, I remember." I nodded, "At some point, soon, the JSDF will be accepting guests from our side. When that happens, we will slip in. The thing that worries them, is of course, politics. They have all kinds of eyes on them, and if we are caught, they don't want to spoil relations with the other nobility."

"Ah, they have their leaders to think about as well, correct?" Takemikazuchi said, "You are to act as their left hand then?"

I nodded, while some of the others gave the puzzled head tilt.

"The right hand holds the cup, the left hand the dagger." Maki said.

I nodded, "We've been given a boundary where they can offer us very limited help. If we are outside of that, or we are too heavy handed, they will deny they know us, and help bring us down if asked. So we need a light touch. As for who..." I paused, "Well, anyone who can learn the language well enough can go. We won't have much trouble passing for 'locals', since they have a wide variety of races there. But we'll be found out if we can't at least hold a conversation."

There were nods, a couple of sighs, and silence. "So, once I find that book, give it a look, and if you think you can do it, Ryuu, Aisha, Maki, Shinkage and I will help as best we can. I'm guessing we have a couple of weeks."

"It took me about two days to start speaking it, so no excuse for not being smart enough." Aisha grinned.

"From there, simply volunteer. Though we can't all go." I said.

"Sadly, this is one I can't attend." Hagane sighed metallically, "So I will join the dungeon teams."

"Speaking of, the JSDF are going into the dungeon tomorrow. Mr. Marius? Did you get invited?"

"Oddly, yes. Even though I was technically quite late in applying. There were people getting out of line for me instead of signing up." He scrubbed a hand over his short hair, "Being popular in Orario is... weird."

"She's strong," Welf pointed at me, "You're a party animal. Both are popular." He grinned.

"A party animal?" Asfi raised an eyebrow.

"You have to admit the beer is much better here." Marius said.

"Fair." Asfi nodded.

"But yes, they go in tomorrow. I plan on watching how they do at least. So does most of the city I'll bet." I sighed, "I hope nothing really bad happens."

"I think they'll do okay." Maki said, "I mean, even without falna they're well trained. And they'll probably have some of Itami's girls with them."

"Some of the magic is simple." Delly said, "But simple doesn't mean weak." She poked Bell's shoulder, "Right?"

Bell smiled, "Simple is best when you're fighting. Let's wish them well tomorrow and see how they do."

The next morning, after waking up, doing the usual morning things (you know, stretching, getting hugs, making breakfast, booping noses) I started to get ready for a trip to the Tower. I wasn't diving, since today would be 'the day' where the JSDF went in. No, I was going to see how they did. I suspected there would be a few ways to actually watch them live. Not using the 'God Windows' that Ouranos used to talk to the city, but through other methods. Occulus, maybe actual camera or GoPro video. That would get a little unreliable as they went deeper, but even if they went to the fifth floor, there shouldn't be any difficulty.

But. I also didn't want to steal any thunder from them.

"Ko-san? A cane?" Haruhime asked as she watched me set out a few props for my disguise. "You're doing it again?"

I nodded, looking into the mirror and slowly thinking myself different. Brush my fingers over my cheeks, squint my eyes a little to make little wrinkles at the corner of each eye, roll my shoulders a little to slowly change my posture...

I was looking older by the second. Face, hair, skin... it wasn't drastic, or ugly. Even the elderly in the city had a certain beauty to them. But over the course of a few minutes, I'd gone from 'The Demon Fox', to 'related to the old lady who sold us our vegetables'. And with a final deep breath, my ears and tail vanished.

"Well deary? How do I look?" I asked Haruhime, putting on various 'old woman' clothes. Simple underwear, easy to put on summer dress, a shawl to ward away any chill a wind might bring, and lastly a summer hat. I still couldn't hide my eyes, so a nice wide hat to keep the sun from my old skin would have to do.

"It's a little shocking every time you do it." She said, raising a hand to touch my cheek, "You're skin is still soft though."

"We have to take care of ourselves, as we age." I said, leaning my cheek a little into her hand, but also changing my voice little by little to make it match my 'age'. "Such lovely warm hands you have." I smiled, "I hope you understand why I'm doing this?"

She nodded, booping my nose. "But wouldn't you not showing up also cause a problem for their reputation?"

"No no. I've already been there, given them my endorsement, but today it would be best if the Demon Fox stayed home and watched from there, trusting those she's given praise to." I picked up the cane, made sure I was 'hunched' properly, and put the end of it to the floor, making sure to lean on it a little as you would normally.

And it didn't vanish. "Hm, at that pace, you may miss the event." Haruhime giggled, "Perhaps you need an escort?"

"I think I know just the person for it, provided he didn't eat too much for breakfast."

Already feeling the 'mysterious Kitsune' thing, and now the 'secret agent' vibe, I made sure to be just out of sight of the manor, before, surprise! Spot shows up from around the corner and spots me. Like a good boy, he walked next to me, then just ahead of me, and got on his belly.

And like an old lady who has just been offered a ride to save her poor feet, I sat on him carefully. He then stood, looked over his shoulder, said 'wurf' quietly, and I replied, "To the tower please. Such a wonderful boy you are." And applied ear scroofles as payment.

Now going at a much faster pace, I would arrive more or less on time with the 'big event' announcements.

Speaking of, just as we were getting within a normal person's stone throw from the Tower, I felt that little tingle of magic ripple over my senses.

(City wide view)

Ouranos, his wizened face appearing on massive projection screens around the tower, waited a moment before speaking. "Gods, Goddesses, Adventurers and Citizens." He started, his face smiling ever so slightly, "Today, we bring you a new experience. We have always dealt with the dungeon ourselves, the Adventurers going in with the blessing of falna and suppressing the monsters within. Rare is it that someone without the Gods Gift goes in as anything other than a supporter."

This was quite true. Be it actual insanity, the urge to make money without the Guild putting you to work cleaning out the sewers, or an 'initiation' ritual to be allowed into a Familia, Citizens almost never went into the dungeon.

"But today, our Guests from another world, the JSDF and some of their followers, are entering the dungeon. They understand the risks, they say they are ready. And despite my doubts, many people think they are capable." Ouranos said, closing his eyes for a moment, "But, they are still guests. The Guild has put together a small escort party. This is not to protect them directly. Instead their being there is to make sure the dungeon does not play any tricks on them."

Another array of screens appeared under Ouranos's wizened face. Loki, her cheerful face in its usual 'closed eye' way, spoke, "Hey guys!" She greeted, her total lack of 'gravitas' just as charming as ever, "Now, because of the ban in place against Gods using their power in the dungeon, we can't show you how they do. BUT!"

There was a quiet, 'Is this thing plugged in? Yes? Then turn it on!"

Loki moved out of the way, revealing a small crew of technicians (in the JSDF 'slightly lighter green' camo uniforms) setting up a big array of flat screen computer monitors. They'd made some simple tube and bracket clamps, and they were set up in a neat 4X4 rectangle. With a little 'fizz' they all blinked white for a moment, then displayed a bright friendly ACER logo.

Then one by one, it showed different views. Some were pointing at people, others at walls or the floor, there was even one pointed in Loki's direction.

"As you can see, our guests have their own magic to show us what they're up to. I have no idea what a GOPRO is, but it's pretty neat!" Loki laughed, "So, I'm just going to move this over here..."

The view slid closer to the monitors, until the 4X4 rectangle was taking up the entire view.

"So let's get you introduced to everyone, using this cool thing they brought!" Loki said, her face appearing between the video feed for a moment, then vanishing again, "You! Yeah, with the sad face! Yes you! Do that thing!"

One of the monitors showed the view wobbling around crazily, until it was pointed at a 'rather not be here but meh it pays' Itami. "Ah..." A pause, "Sorry if you don't understand me." He spoke in Japanese, slowly, just in case there were people who 'sort of' understood it, "My name is Yoji Itami, and I am the squad leader for this expidition." He glanced away for a moment, sighed just a tiny bit, "We are bringing a mixed group of our own JSDF, and some of our best talent from the locals we work with on the other side of the Gate. Let me introduce you..."

(Kodori)

The best place to watch the massive screens varied by their height on the tower. I doubted it was coincidence that the Hostess of Fertility was exactly the right distance away to watch the screen Loki was on.

Of course, that was where I went. It was a popular place even in the pouring rain, so it was no surprise it was pretty crowded for this event. But again, no surprise that Mia had set up a bunch of extra 'out door' tables.

My arrival on Spot, as Itami moved his GoPro around to introduce everyone, wasn't... unnoticed, but not significant. Eyes were on the screen, and Spot was not just well known in the city, he had a reputation for helping people get around. He wasn't just a good boy, he was the official Best Boy of the city. At least, Ganesha said so, and unless they didn't like dogs, the people agreed with him.

So, he knelt down next to a table with empty chairs, and I very carefully got off him. I used my free hand to apply scroofles, and he sat like a good doggo to watch as well.

But in a place like this, with so many people here to watch... you might think 'why would any of the spots be empty?'

I hung my cane on the back of a chair, but before I could pull it out, a huge hand, attached to an equally thick arm reached out and pulled it out for me. "Honoured Elder." Ottar said softly, "Allow me."

His hand left the back of the chair, then offered itself to me so I could brace on it and get my 'old bones' into the chair. "Thank you kindly, Mister Ottar." I replied.

He 'hmm'ed, then with that same big hand tucked the chair back in for me. "Good work." And behind me I heard Spot getting a bonus scroofle.

"wurf." He said quietly in thanks, but also because Itami was still speaking and he didn't want to draw attention away. He'd already been told about 'phone etiquette' while people talked over the crystals and occulus, so he knew about this kind of thing.

Itami, up on screen, was finishing up the JSDF introductions, "And this is Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi." He pointed his camera down at Shino, who gave a smart salute and her trademark fierce grin. "Next we have..."

Ottar wasn't paying me any mind it seemed, but I was looking at him through the loose weave of my woven summer hat. Glancing at the screen, then back to him as Itami listed off Tuka, Yao, Delilah, Lelei... But not Rory. Since this would be underground, she likely didn't want anything to do with it.

"Did someone catch your eye, Mr Ottar?" I asked, "They seem like a good lot, but I wonder how they'll do? The Gods gift makes the adventurers so much stronger..."

"They are warriors." He replied quietly, "And the dungeon will tell us what kind they are."

NOTES!

And so the dive begins!

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See you in five days.