Chapter 87

On a suspiciously empty street on the way towards the ramp up to the JSDF base, I little red and black comet dropped out of the sky. Rory herself made no sound, had no battle cry. But her frilly dress told me who it was long before she dropped on me, and attempted to cut me in half with her silly plank weapon.

The rest of the party took a hopping step back to get clear (out of my kicking range, since no one wanted THAT accident to happen in the dungeon everyone knew to get out of each other's weapon range), but instead of attacking, punching, kicking or even headbutting Rory, I took a half step to the side to avoid her axe/spear/thing, took another step forward and wrapped her up in a hug.

Just to show her I was a tiny bit annoyed, I made it one of those all enveloping hugs, like a mother to a child. One arm around the small of her back, the other diagonal with that hand holding the back of her head. Her much smaller body indeed made her look like a child, and I just kept walking with her now pinned immovably to my front.

Oh, and because I could, I said, "There there. No need to feel sad." And gave her head a pat as she tried to struggle. Even her chin was pinned firmly to my shoulder, and she couldn't even bite me. "Why is little Rory upset?"

"Let go you... sigh..." And to my surprise she played along, letting my tails take her weapon away and hugging me tight (she tried to crush me for a moment, but yeah, that wasn't happening either). "You met Sol, correct?"

"He didn't give me his name, but yes. We didn't fight either, though I'll admit to telling him exactly what was on my mind." I said as Rory wiggled a little to get comfortable. "One of the nice maids told me he left, but that he was heading west, not south towards Alnus."

The others, seeing there was no danger, or at least, the 'danger' wasn't going anywhere until I let it, fell back into place behind around me. "Urg... I hate that one. Since there's so few of us, and our ages are so varied, most of the time we never interact. He and I especially don't get along." She wiggled a little more, "You are surprisingly comfortable."

"She's really good at hugs." Delly said brightly, "Why don't you and this Sol person get along?"

"He's the Apostle of the Sun god, Ember." Rory grumbled, then said in the same 'under payed voice actor' voice that Itami used to introduce her, "Everything under the sun belongs to him, from the grass to the trees, from the grains of sand to the clouds'."

Ryuu, figured out the rest on her own apparently, "And you are the Apostle of Death, that takes those things away."

"Correct. He doesn't like it when I get bored enough to hunt bandits. Says I get too zealous and take too much." Rory giggled a little crazily, "He should be thanking me for getting rid of those useless sacks of flesh who don't do anything with the 'land and grass and blah blah blah'." She sighed, "What bothers me, is why he showed up in front of you, and why he didn't come here while you were away."

"Think we should stand guard or something?" Maki asked, "I mean..."

I gave Rory's hair some thoughtful pats, "I can set things up with the Guild and Odds from this side." I said, "Hmm?"

I looked over my shoulder as Spot got close enough to crowd my tails. Since I (and my tails) loved Spot, they just swished over him and made way.

Rory, with head still on my shoulder told me why though, "Hey... You better not get any ideas!" Her hands left my back, and I felt her flail around a little to ward Spot away. "Oh right... Sometimes it's hard to forget how smart you are, yes I will pet your head you silly mutt. Might as well do something while I'm here... sigh..."

"Rory-san?" Momiji started, a little nervously as Spot started making little happy grumble noises. "Have you considered..."

"I don't know..." Rory said after a long moment, "It's a cruel offer, Fox." Rory said, poking the back of my head with a finger, "All I have to do, for the next thirty seven years, is not lose the favour of Emroy like Giselle did with Hardy."

"After that though..." Kaede replied, "You'll end up being just like them, right? Only ever able to interact with people if you're summoned? Sounds... kinda dull really. I mean, just how much power do the Gods here have?"

Rory paused her timid abuse of the back of my head, and went limp in my arms, "It depends on their domain. Though, to be honest, after your little... lesson..." She poked me again, just once though, "I realize the world doesn't really need a Goddess of Love." She giggled, though it had no joy in it, "Seeing the camp down there, people don't need any help with love."

"Offer is still open." I said, our party moving to the side as the first wave of wagons and transports from the JSDF base turned onto the street we were on. We got all kinds of looks, either because we were a weird looking group, as adventurers usually are when you aren't say... Apollo Familia or some other Familia with a uniform. Or because Rory was still being held to my front like an adorable sack of depressed frilly potatoes.

I was kinda starting to like her being there. Kept her quiet, and honest, and after all that political rubbish she was kinda therapeutic. Like a very dangerous squeeze toy.

But to save her from what would probably be heaps of embarrassing rumours and teasing from the JSDF, I let her go, putting her beside me. Of course, she chose that moment to go right back to being her usual self, "I don't mind women on occasion either you know."

Momiji blushed, Kaede, Maki and Delly giggled, Ryuu sighed and facepalmed, Hagane shook his head, Chime hid her face behind her fluffy paws, and Spot made a surprised, "wuf?" Noise.

I however, looped an arm over her shoulders, "How's this. If you survive asking my wife and Aisha for permission, I'll steal you away on a full moon."

Hagane had to stop Delly from giggle/hovering into a wall. Kaede and Maki were fighting for breath they were laughing so hard. Ryuu gave me a 'you're hopeless' look of admonishment. Chime and Spot again repeated their actions (though Spot was a little louder in his surprise). Hagane used his new hands to facepalm just like Ryuu had... And lastly, Momiji looked like her ears might catch fire.

Rory however stopped in her tracks, got a sly grin on her face, and said, "I just might. But I think I just saw Itami go by... Oh! I'd nearly forgotten. Little Lelei wanted to talk to you."

We all stopped to wave, and I had to give poor Momiji a headpat to reboot her into motion again. "Seriously?" Maki asked, "You know the rule you know."

"Rule? I mean, it's not really a secret about the three of them... What rule?" Kaede asked.

"You never stick it in crazy. Not that anyone I've known in ten thousand years ever listened to that advise of course... Why would the Fox? Sigh..."

After a little waiting for traffic to clear at the ramp leading up to the base, we made our way up. A little wave, a return salute, and we were allowed to enter the Base proper. After that, we split up. Hagane followed me, as usual, while the others made their way to the Mess Tent. Even Ryuu was looking like she just wanted to sleep. But none of them would skip a meal if they could stay awake for it.

A couple of questions later, Hagane and I were directed to the same dorm room as before, and inside I could hear the shuffle of little feet and the occasional scratching on the walls. Lelei must have run out of paper again.

I knocked, "Lelei?"

The footsteps didn't get closer, but instead there was a little whisper of magic and the door opened on its own. "Kodori, Hagane." Lelei greeted, lowering her hand, "Please don't step on the notes."

"You do know what paper is, correct?" Hagane didn't enter, but I did, carefully stepping, almost on my tip-toes, in the little gaps of notes and magic circles fragments.

"This is important... Not enough time to wait." Lelei said, still without looking, her hand moving over the wall in gentle precise curves and lines, drawing out another circle fragment, "I am close to making it work."

"What work?" I asked, maybe understanding like... five percent of what I was seeing. Her style of magic was almost like 'human calculations' back on Earth, while mine was 'instinct and ritual'. "I... this is..." My brain tried to latch on to something, and for a moment I thought maybe I could figure it out, but the next thing I looked was beyond my comprehension.

"A dimensional anchor." She put one last touch on the circle fragment, moved her hand away, started to move it back, but then let her hand drop. "It's..." She paused, very carefully turning in place so she didn't step on her own floor writing, "In case the portal does what it has done already. If I am ever on Earth, I can reconnect here... Maybe."

She said maybe like it tasted bad, as she looked to the side, seemingly unsure of herself.

"You just need a test, don't you?" I asked, resisting the urge to headpat, but settling for a hand on her shoulder.

"Not just that... Materials as well. This is a... complex working, and will require a lot of Eter to work. The object must be able to not just hold the energy, but maintain its integrity while doing so." She gave my hand a pat with her own, then brushed it off her shoulder, "I've checked with my sister, and none of the materials we salvaged from the transportation circle in your jungle are good enough."

"Use more than one?" I offered.

"No. The anchor must be a singular item, or it may distort the location of the gate appearing."

"Distort how?"

"Make it appear underground, or in the air, or any number of directions." She explained, "Or have two gates, and either shatter the anchors or set off the Apocrypha instantly."

"Oh... Okay! Yes. One object." I nodded, since 'become explodes' was apparently the least bothersome of the possible failures that might happen. "Well... Did you see Cato's new staff?"

Lelei paused, "That may work, yes." She nodded, "Can you make gems in any shape?"

"Sort of. They still grow like crystals, so there will always be certain shapes they form into. But we can cut them to what ever shape afterwards." I nodded.

"More debt, Fox?"

"If she can do this... It might solve their problems of getting back to Earth." I said.

Hagane sighed, "Fair."

"I'll help." I nodded, "And if you need any gem cutting done, ask Maki. It's going to take a little while to get the migrants settled in, and we have a heap of stuff to make for the coastal defence, so the Gate will be left open for now."

"Enough time for one last caravan or something at least." Hagane said with a cat-shrug.

"Have you eaten?" I asked.

"No-oh..." She paused as I picked her up, and looked like a sad puppy as I made my way back out of the room, "But..."

"Nope, dinner time." I said, putting her down on Hagane's back.

"If I don't let her skip meals and sleep, I won't let you either." Hagane said, "Oh, pleased to meet you." And also shaking hands with the mini-mage.

While I was incredibly thankful I no longer had to deal with Local politics, I now had to deal with the Guild. It was, for the moment, final setup and prep. Making sure they were ready for what ever spectacle they were going to make of the migrant's arrival. Assuring me the train was ready for the bulk transportation of 'the heavy stuff' as well as any of those who couldn't endure what would be almost a week on foot. Making sure there were enough guards to go around.

Thankfully, very little needed my 'final word' and everything was in place. I told Royman to 'expect us just after breakfast', and that was it.

But, since I had him 'on the phone' so to speak, I asked him (very nicely) to have the Hephaestus Gem Works free up a pressure chamber for me if they could, and to tell Odds to start making thin cable. LOTS of it. When asked, I assured Royman, it would be 'the last favour we'd be doing the Special Region' and it would be instrumental in keeping our new friends safe.

He of course could read between the lines, and was up to date on the situation here, so he didn't need to ask further. However, he asked me about the Mer-folk, reminding me that yes, there were a bunch that were coming over. He was quite pleased about that, and told me to expect a few of Njord Familia there to help them get to the ocean.

Royman mirrored my sentiment that these people should be given time to adjust to their new world, without the Gods jumping up and waving hands at them to join. But in the case of the Mer-folk, and the much more dangerous ocean, it might be unavoidable. However, we also agreed that the majority of these people were all adults, and could make their own choices. It was just our job to make sure they were informed choices.

I stepped out of the empty 'apartment' that I had been using while chatting with Royman, and sighed. It had taken a while, and I figured all hope for dinner in the Mess Tent was lost, but to my surprise, Nanami Kuribayashi seemed to appear out of nowhere with a polished wooden box in her hands. Not only that, the box said 'Take Out!' in both Japanese and whatever the native language was called, stencilled in bright friendly colours.

She seemed to know I hadn't noticed her, and smiled with a hint of a mischievousness in her eyes, "Seems I am not out of practise after all. Good evening, Kodori-sama."

"If you're going to share that, I'll forgive you for calling me that." I said with a smile, "Though, if you're bringing it to me...?" I turned to re-enter the dorm room, since it had a place to sit and eat.

"Most of your party is having a last tour of the town, and it seems they don't expect to come back here." She said, following me inside, tapping off her shoes and walking past me towards the table by the window. "I thought I might get one last interview from you, you know, since I'm still a reporter."

"Saves me from talking to that... thing you call a boss." I said, "Though, full marks for not passing out when he tried to sneak up on Takemikazuchi-sama."

"This isn't his first 'war zone'. If he as any good features, it's an iron will." She set the box down and slid the lid off, "Today, is the Special Region's attempt at a cheese omelette." She set a little glazed pot in front of me, then a little fork as well, "For your approval." And then one for herself, sitting down and moving the box out from between us.

"Huh, well at least they know what cheese is." I said after a little nibble and finding that it tasted pretty good. The cheese was a bit mild, but I could at least taste it. "One of those weird things I'd never thought I'd research, is cheese making."

She finished her mouthful, "But, Orario has cheese right?"

"Yeah. You have no idea how thankful I was for that." I chuckled, "But the local cheese is close to Gouda. I had to figure out and experiment a little to 'invent' something closer to Cheddar. Meanwhile, Rakia's local cheese is almost exactly like Parmesan." I waved the topic off, and went back to my food. Now that it was in front of me, I felt really hungry.

After a minute or two of paying full attention to our food, she asked, "Do you think I should try joining a Familia?"

"Up to you." I said, not surprised she'd ask, "There's a good chance you won't be able to go back to Earth though, if you do. Well, not unless you wanted to have the karma of abandoning who ever took you in." I raised an eyebrow, "What brought this on?"

She took her time with the next mouthful of food, then replied with, "After revealing what I am capable of, I'm almost certain someone will remember I can use magic once we get back."

I looked towards the door, then out the window, "Do you know about the communication with Earth?"

My change in tone make her perk up a little, and she also looked at the door, then the window, trying to sense any hidden listeners. "Only that it worked."

I nodded, "A little too well." I said, "I am saying this in confidence so until someone in command mentions it, you tell no one."

She nodded, and I saw her suppress a little shiver as well, the same thing that happened to me when I promised something.

"The crystals Lelei was using, got multiple successes. But, when verification was requested, there were multiple failures."

Being a reporter, who took her job seriously and did well at it, it was clear she put the pieces together almost instantly. "That would mean other parties had gotten their hands on the materials from here..." She went pale, "And can use magic!"

"Correct. Make of that what you will, but that means your abilities won't be all that 'strange' but you may end up in a career not of your choice when you get back. Maybe." I warned.

She put her fork down and held hear head in her hands, "Damn! I knew it!" When I didn't reply, she continued, "After a little training with Kurin, and spending time in Kuoh, I knew there had to be more magic in the world than what I was seeing. Even with training." She looked up, "Do you know if the JSDF have been able to figure out who they are talking to?"

"I..." I hmm'ed, "May have given a suggestion to someone, on how to have the one they should be talking to, let them know they are legitimate."

"Can't confirm or deny. Right." She nodded, "Suppose I might hold off on hiding out in Orario..."

"You'd be welcome. You've got rare talent, even without falna, and I said you'd have my backing when you got home. And if you make Orario your home..." I looked down at my plate, "Ah well. Anything else?"

"My boss" she said 'boss' like it tasted bad, "and I will be watching the migrants leave. He'll probably report it as 'fleeing from abuse' or whatever, or 'from one war zone to another' since Orario isn't as safe out in the wild as this place. That's not saying much, but still, he's that kind of guy."

"I'm almost curious what he wrote about Orario."

"World of Irresponsible Gods and Super Soldiers." She grumbled, "If I could get away with setting his office on fire when I got back..."

"Talk with Maki. She can turn invisible. Or Delly. She can too, but does it a different way."

"Not a bad idea. Oh, speaking of, they told me once you'd eaten, to call home and get some sleep." She put the dishes back into the box, then closed the lid again, "I'm going to take this back down, and get some sleep as well. You adventurers don't like sleeping in, and you aren't letting the migrants sleep in either."

The call home was... short. Not because Haruhime was upset, or busy, or anything like that. But she was sleeping in the children's room. My call had woken her up, and when the Tarot of her gained depth and colour, her picture changed to one of her holding a finger to her lips for silence. She tilted the Tarot just enough so it let me see over her shoulder, and she turned her body this way and that to show all of our children sleeping around her and making little mouse snores.

We both mouthed the words of our wedding day, A Thousand Years, and ended to contact with a smile.

The next morning started the same as most. Sun came up, people woke up, and started to do things as they usually would. But today, after breakfast, the refugees of Camp Alnus started their final prep to leave.

I've said this before, after the many parties I've been at. The Hostess of Fertility. My Wedding. Various birthday parties...

But this... The Cleanup for this, for upwards of 50,000 people of a near dozen different races... The cleanup was EPIC.

It was only by being so well prepared in the first place that we had our first wagon starting up the hill towards the Gate by lunch time. My party and I, of course, were right down there with them, moving heavy things, helping people who were old or crippled, guiding traffic, finding children who got bored and ran to find something else to do...

It was around here, as I walked ahead of the first wagon to start up the hill, my Occulus for the Guild made a little noise.

The conversation was short, and I was a little surprised since the original 'plan' had been against this, but strictly speaking the Guild was in fact the boss of me in this matter. So I nodded, cut the call, and looked for Delly.

A brief word, a headpat for being the best fox fairy ever, and then her holding one of my tails to use me as a magic battery, the sky above me lit up once again with my likeness to address the refugees.

"People of Falmart!" I started, "I have some surprising news that I think you'll all like. Oh, but don't stop walking, just listen, and you! Three wagons back! Don't drop that!"

I paused until the Volralden in question had redone the knot holding a barrel to a wagon bed.

"Right. Originally, I had planned to take most of you around the outer edge of Orario. Being the so called 'centre of the world', it's a busy place, and getting all of you through it would disrupt everything. The wagons would have gone around to the road leading to your new home. Most of the people as well. The bulk of the cargo and those unable to make the trip in good time, would have gone through the city, and be put on our train, a... large version of the Iron Carriage the JSDF use."

I smiled and paused for effect, and I could almost feel the raw curiosity building from them, like a tingle over my skin and tails.

"Instead, the Guild has done one better, and wants you all to see the city. The infirm and the cargo will still use our train, and the rest will still go north, but it will be done through the city proper, where the people can greet you all as proper guests to our world, and your new home."

That tingle over my tails wandered up my spine and made my ears tingle a little as the people cheered.

"Only one last thing to do before we get there." I said, my image high above pointing towards the Gate, "And that's to get to the top of this hill and get through the Gate."

The people cheered again, and my image faded from the sky. Delly let my tail go (after giving it the customary 'you are a good tail' pat) and reached up to scroofle the tingles from my ears, "Hope nobody gets lost in the city."

"Me too." I nodded, "Though, how bad could it be? I got lost in the city on my first day too, and look how I turned out." I chuckled, seeing the forward gate of the JSDF base come in to view, "I don't really approve of this still... But it does make things easier on us."

"Oh? Why?"

"It shows them the city, and once someone knows there is something better, they're going to want it. These people need to settle, or they might not see the next generation." I sighed, and gave Delly a return scroofle, "Now lets get them through. Go through the Gate and make sure they're ready."

"Yes ma'am!" And with a sudden thrum of wings, she zipped ahead towards the open iron gates of the fortress.

It was a long, LONG, LONG line of people and wagons. By virtue of familiarity, they had more or less clumped together by race, and I got to see more of just how diverse the cultures were. Even as ragged and displaced as most of them were, they still had bits of their history with them.

The centaur for example, seemed to have a thing for feathers in their clothing. And you could tell, or at least guess, at what they did for a living when you saw the feather pendants, earrings or necklaces they wore. Raptor feathers for hunters, soft down clusters for children, bright feathers for women and those men carrying tools on their backs.

Other races favoured bone. Dark Elves, Volralden and the Leonid favoured teeth for necklaces. Kobold liked finger bone necklaces that rattled like wind chimes when they walked on all fours. One Kobold even had a strange staff made from the leg bone of a land dragon. Old and yellowed with age, it had countless little markings on it, including a few tiny pictures.

The Warrior Bunny were split even further. Some had the look of fierce fighters, whom I could tell hated not having a weapon on hand. Leather and scale armour from the local monsters covered their bodies (more or less), and it was easy to tell that they also had a 'wear what you kill' rule like the adventurers of Orario. The... I hate to say it, broken Bunnies, who's adults had half an ear missing, or poorly hidden scars from slavery or torture... They dressed like peasants. Herding their children, or walking with a listless yet hopeful spark on their faces. One thing I did notice, and was pleased to see, were cloaked figures of slender build and under heavy guard by Warriors. Males. Kaede had told me about the one she'd killed thinking she was a Warrior Bunny male, with her slender ears and less 'fuzzy' body.

Then there were a few weird ones, that broke from the usual 'norm' of this world. Like the Pooka. Ranging from child sized to nearly Oni sized in stature, they were dressed almost like modern day businessmen. Kind of how 'maid uniforms' seemed to exist in every civilized world, there were butler uniforms, high end outfits you'd expect from the bartender of modern Earth... Merchants were another big theme with the Pooka as well, though from what I knew of them, they were the closest any race had come to making proper 'Guilds'.

Two hours of nearly flawless marching later, the lineup was maybe a quarter done, and I got another call from the Guild.

"Kodori speaking." I said into the Occulus, not actually looking into it, since I was being a good potential saviour of 50,000 people and waving at people daring to meet my gaze as they walked past and into the Gate.

"At least move the Occulus a little so I'm not staring at... Thank you." It was Royman, and he sounded a little... I wasn't sure. Not angry at least. "Are you going to lead them through the city? They're maybe a half hour from the walls, and well, something like this should have you at the front."

"Suppose I could." I agreed, meeting eyes with Ryuu who was standing on the other side of the Gate and also waving politely to anyone who looked at her. Mostly children in her case, since children didn't understand 'trying to hide in plain sight' and Ryuu looked just as beautiful and exotic as Tuka.

Ryuu wove through the traffic like a ghost, and stood beside me a moment later, "Hmm?"

"Royman thinks I should lead the way." I said.

"You should. But I wasn't going to tell you." Ryuu smiled slightly, "We'll make sure no one is left behind sister."

"Thank you." I looked down at the Occulus, "Ryuu is taking over my spot on this side then."

"Understood. This is... It's one thing to know the number, but another to see it." Royman replied, "Signing off." And the Occulus went dark again.

"See you at the settlement." I said, getting a nod from Ryuu, then turning to join the throng of people shuffling through the Gate.

Once through the blue/black shimmering corridor between worlds, and shivering through the subtle changes in magic density and 'rules' each world had, I took a good look at just how things were going on this side.

And I wasn't disappointed. Not even a little. The small number of JSDF were directing traffic with the polite authority of the Japanese. Odds and some of her workshop crew were putting together more of the 'instant wagons' as they were needed, loading up the young, old, pregnant and crippled so they wouldn't have to walk/limp/be carried on someone's back until they arrived.

Mari and the Ganesha Doctor were nearby, chatting quietly while they and their crew kept an eye out for problems. The two of them had worked together closely to distribute the 'Cure All' to everyone in the camp. Sure, the people of Orario were very resistant to sickness, but we still didn't want any outbreaks of some weird plague or something.

All kinds of Familia colours were around as well. Yes, even Freya and Loki had adventurers willing/sent/told(?) to help keep the people safe. Oh, and maybe do a little advertising. I didn't like the idea, but knew I couldn't stop it and still get help from the other Gods 'for free'.

A few of the Guild were there of course, probably trying to keep track of numbers. Be it number of people, or projected costs that I (sigh) would have to pay eventually, I didn't know.

But once I was clear of the JSDF's fort on the Orario side of the Gate, I broke into a jog, then a run, to get to the front of the line.

I made it to the front with minutes to spare. And even at a run, I could see the awe on people's faces. To be fair, just about everything about Orario was larger than life. Babel seemed impossibly high. The walls were taller than the Imperial Palace back in the Empire. The farm and livestock fields were staggeringly huge...

But, aside from waving at a few little cheers I got on the way and noticing a little of the reaction from the new residents, I didn't slow down until I was within sight of the front wagons.

"Duran? Really?" I said as I reached the front, walking beside the driver seat. "Not even going to try being sneaky?"

"I'm to old for that!" He laughed heartily, "Just like the rest of them, I'm bringing almost nothing, though, I've already set up a little caravan for the 'last market' between worlds."

"What about your family? Those grandchildren you wanted to run after?" His good mood was infectious, and all the crap I'd dealt with in the past few days was becoming background noise to his good cheer.

"Bah, they just want me to be happy. And to stay well away from the upcoming fight." He sighed a little, "I understand it's out of love, but I'm still being told to stay out from underfoot."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we'll be helping with that." I said, reaching up to pat his knee, "And they were all agreeing to a mutual protection pact against Zorzal."

"Good! I know if I leave it in your hands, it'll get done." He laughed again, "You know! I'm kind of sad I don't have one of my dragons pulling this. All I've got are these horses... I'm wondering why I'm even holding the reins!"

Yes, the wagon was being pulled by Orario's breed of 'bored horse'. Highly intelligent, yet with little to do in a city of people who could pull the wagon, and the horse at the same time. The horse half turned its head to give Duran a look and a grumpy sounding Snort, before looking forward again.

"See? Well, I'll bet my Son's stable master will love the stud I got him as a going away present!" Again that jolly laugh, "Anyhow, M'lady," He grinned, knowing full well how I avoided formality, "Lead the way. I've seen your city as a secret guest, now show me how they do a party!"

Orario and the Guild, had pulled out basically all the stops. The little visit with the JSDF going into the tower, and the caravan swap where the people of both worlds showed off to each other... They were both minuscule in comparison to this. People were out in the streets waving. There were banners and musicians. The guild, adventurers and citizens were all dressed to impress as the newest arrivals marched through.

With the Dark Elves (who somehow still managed to keep 'working' with all the new stuff around them) and the Guild keeping people on the road, no one stumbled. But still, even I was impressed. This was something similar to the 'Monster Festival' Ganesha Familia would hold every year, trying to warm the city up to the idea that 'monsters weren't all bad'.

People from both worlds wanted to see 'the new thing'. And thankfully, so far as I could tell, 'the people' of both worlds were trying their best to make a good impression on each other.

I led the parade until we got to the tower. And since I'd left the spot next to the Gate on the Falmart side, it would be the best place to watch everyone as they sorted themselves out and went North to the town directly, West, to the train yard, or South to Melen.

Yes, the Mer-folk were riding the wagons, though most of them were curled up in big re-purposed barrels in ones and twos. They could crawl and walk on land, but they couldn't really breath well, so special allowances were made. And while yes, the JSDF engineers had offered to make a special 'water tanker' for them it would have involved plastic. So no, we didn't do that.

It took hours. Fifty thousand people, give or take, even at a steady march, with only a few small issues (like bathroom breaks), still took a long while to get through the city. But even so, I wanted to see them all. I wanted to give myself a really good reason to feel a little pride in what I had set in motion. No, I wasn't so vain to say 'I' did this. No, 'I' started this. What I felt pride in though, was that I had enough people willing to help me to make it work.

But, even though it took until nightfall for everyone to get through the Gate, to Orario, then out of the proper exit, the people of Orario kept up that same energy. For the ENTIRE time.

Honestly, I was wondering why. I mean, sure, it was new and interesting, but this party started before lunch! It was well past dinner time, and I was just seeing the end of the line entering from the East gate of the city!

So yes, overcoming the little bubble of pride in getting them all here... I was curious why it was so big a deal. To be fair, almost everyone in Orario loved to party.

"Sister? Can you hear me?" My string of occulus beads was making little noises and humming around my throat.

"Clear, though it's still a bit noisy here." I said after finding Ryuu's bead by touch (it was vibrating gently, so it wasn't difficult).

"Everyone is through. Were you planning on closing the Gate immediately?" She asked, "Lelei is beside me with the Commander."

"We could. But I suspect it will only be a couple days at most for Odds to get everything ready for our part in the coastal defence." While I spoke, I was still waving at the new people as they made their way past. The past while, there hadn't been any wagons, and the bulk of the people were the Dark Elf and Wood Elf clans. They had been the least effected by the Empire, but the most harmed by the Gods.

Very quietly, I heard a, "May I?" A pause, "Kodori-san?" It was the Commander.

"Reading you clear." I switched to my limited 'army speak'. "Glad to have them off your lawn? Over."

"We are. ETA to their destination? Over."

"If they work in shifts, the wagons will arrive at best speed, three days. Those walking will need to camp, and will take upwards of double that." I replied, "Over."

"Understood. Lelei says you are making something for her? Over."

"Depending on a bit of luck, five to ten days. Over."

"Understood. I agree with keeping the Gate open. Word has it, there will be a last caravan. Confirm, over."

"Unless something FUBAR, yes. Royman will fill you in properly. Over."

Another pause, though I could almost imagine I heard the sound of someone scratching their chin, "It was a pleasure working with you. See to their needs properly, and keep your ears open. Handing off."

Ryuu spoke next, "We are entering the Gate now. Are you going to walk with them to the site?"

"I said I would see them there safe. And I will. Though, I'm going to visit home for a hug first." I replied, "You guys don't have to come with me, but I'll welcome the company."

"So long as you get some sleep along the way." Delly broke in, "I will make you sleep if I have to!"

Momiji was next, "Forgive me, but I will decline, Kodori-san."

"Me too." Kaede added, "Make all the jokes you want about rabbits, but I'm exhausted."

"I'll join." Maki said, "But maybe see if anyone from the Manor want's to join?"

"Good idea. See you at home." I said with a smile, "I've got a good feeling."

NOTES!

We all know something is gonna go wrong... But only I know what, and when. MWAHAHAHA!

But yes, everyone is through, things are going in the right direction, and I (as the author) can see the end of the story on the horizon. Kinda... Sorta...

See you next time.

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.