Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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Now that the tension had passed, August finally relaxed and slept well.

The midday southern sun streamed into his house. When August woke up, he found Hestia sprawled across his chest, drooling a little, her face peaceful in sleep.

As usual, he gently moved her aside, tucked her in, put on his sandals, and left the bedroom.

In the living room, Lili sat by herself, focused on a pile of financial reports.

"Good morning, Lord August," Lili smiled.

"Morning, Lili."

August went to the bathroom, put toothpaste on his brush, and began his morning routine. At the sink, he saw Hestia's and Lili's things lined up next to his.

He felt a subtle energy inside, steady and warm. It was a small thing, but having others around made the house feel alive and gave him energy.

After washing up, August went back to the living room, sat down, picked up a piece of fruit, and took a bite. He watched Lili work through the numbers.

The reports covered his remaining debts, the Hestia Familia's expenses, and their planned budgets.

"Why are there so many reports today?" he asked, noticing the stack was much thicker than usual.

"It's from the Goibniu Familia," Lili said.

"We took over the Apollo estate for our new headquarters, so these are the renovation costs. Plus, we need to keep up with our potion trade. We've used up a lot of our stock lately. Giving that batch to the Xenos really cut into our supply."

"Lord August, we don't have to worry too much about money in your world."

The weapon deals on Earth were huge. August had agreed to big payments to avoid owing anyone favors, but those were manageable since they could just trade gold.

Hestia had brought over piles of gold big enough to clear his debts on Earth almost overnight.

The real problem was in Orario, where Valis was the main currency.

Large orders of healing potions and curse-breakers were costly, and with the mansion renovations added in, the total bill was enormous.

"Do we have any surplus left?" August picked up a report to skim.

"Zero," Lili sighed.

"Besides the renovations, we need to order more from Lord Miach, and that's expensive. We also asked Lady Hephaestus for defensive materials. If we go back today, our vault will be empty."

"Our Familia makes money fast, but we burn through it even faster."

She scratched her head, frustrated.

Still, putting resources into prolonged growth made sense. August wasn't a businessman, and while Lili could hustle, running a big business wasn't her specialty.

Instead of spending time bargaining, she was better off training and trying to catch up to August.

"Perhaps we should start a side job?" August wondered, thinking about some kind of import-export business between worlds.

He dismissed the idea right away.

His peaceful modern mindset was clouding his judgment again.

Business wouldn't give him real strength. Orario was a place where only the strong survived. If he got lazy and fell behind—he'd waste his portal advantage.

Power was what really mattered. Debt? He'd treat it as extra motivation.

"Oh, right." Lili suddenly remembered, grabbed her phone, and showed August a breaking news video.

"What's this?" August asked, looking at the screen.

It was an international news broadcast. The Global Powers had officially protested at a global summit—asking the United States to stop its aggressive actions and end the production of "planet-killer" missiles.

"What the hell?" August blinked.

When did planet-killer missiles become part of the conversation?

"I made some calls," Lili said. "After your last incident, your country's leaders realized you might face huge, unknown threats. So they rushed the development of a planet-killer missile. My sources say it could blow apart a planet of average size."

"..."

Lili used August's military contacts to get the information.

When they learned August had gone to another world, they gave him all the weapons they could spare.

Since those weapons couldn't be recalled, they intensified R&D efforts to develop a strategic deterrent: a super-heavy missile capable of destroying an entire planet...

When Lili returned and heard from Hestia that August was now in the TYPE-MOON universe, known for its extreme power levels and reality-bending threats, she passed the warning to the top officials.

As a result, the planet-killer missile became their top priority for mass production.

After hearing all this, August wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The military seemed just as worried about firepower as he was. At this rate, he'd soon have a stash of planet-busting nukes as his ultimate backup.

Honestly, that was a good thing.

"Right, get Commander James on the line," August said, remembering Snowfield.

The beings there had definitely noticed him, Hestia, and Artemis. Besides the spying magi, someone might even have photographed them through some form of magecraft. He couldn't ignore what the local authorities there might do next.

"On it," Lili dialed. The call connected almost right away.

"Ah, Miss Arde. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Commander James's familiar voice came through the speaker, sounding surprised.

August took the phone. "It's me."

"August, my boy! What's going on?" James laughed.

"If you're calling about the news, don't worry about it." He thought August was concerned about the international commotion.

"It's not that," August said. "What do you think about Snowfield City?"

Lili had already sent the basic information during her morning check-in, so James knew about the Fate series and the Holy Grail War.

As an anime story, it was amazing... In real life, though, it was a nightmare.

"How do you want to play it?" James smelled an opportunity.

"Conflict is inevitable," August said. "But my philosophy is simple: let the professionals handle professional work."

"You want us to take on the entire TYPE-MOON world?" James laughed out loud. "Now that's a challenge worth preparing for. We'll start drawing up a deployment plan immediately."

This wasn't just another monster hunt. It was a war between two worlds.

Unlike the Dungeon raid, where any losses would be for good, the United States valued peace but still had big ambitions. Breaking through to new worlds for markets and technology was necessary, especially given the current blockades on Earth.

They needed both the tech and the leverage!

"Appreciate it." August hung up.

"But this isn't like our world," Lili said, frowning. "If they die over there, it's for real."

A full-scale dimensional breach meant there was no divine safety net for their souls. There would be no reincarnation.

"Yawn~" Hestia shuffled out of August's bedroom, rubbing her eyes. She had heard the whole conversation.

"We'll just make the local Gods hand over their souls when the time comes," she said, sitting down. "At least we can bring them back here."

She was all for letting the military handle the war. Snowfield was full of magi and heavily armed local forces, so fighting with just two Familias would be suicide.

Using Earth's military against the TYPE-MOON world was the smartest move—the kind of big battle Ares would love.

"Plus, it takes the pressure off us," she added. "That world is packed with Mystic Codes, strange beings, and a totally different system of magecraft. For August's country, figuring out that tech would be a huge step forward."

Hestia cared about August, which meant she also cared about his country.

Growth needed resources, and getting those resources meant making sacrifices.

When Hestia supported the decision, Lili kept her objections to herself.

"Besides," Hestia said with a smirk, "if the humans from this world cross over, they'll wipe out the locals. I honestly can't see them losing."

The two Earths might look the same, but the physics here were much harsher. Just living in August's world took more strength and toughness than in the TYPE-MOON world.

A Level 2 August could easily take apart armies, and a modern military from this world would completely overpower the other side.

"True," Lili agreed.

The basic survival abilities of humans in August's world made the mortals of Orario look weak.

Generations of harsh evolution under the planet's crushing gravity had made its people remarkably resilient. As Hestia often said, anyone from Orario without a Falna would probably be crushed the moment they set foot in this world.

"People here are ridiculously strong," Lili muttered. Even the average person was comparable to a Level 1 adventurer, while some athletes were nearly as strong as Level 2s.

"Are we really that tough?" August asked, scratching his head.

He had never thought of his own biology as overpowered.

"Absolutely," Lili replied.

"Our world doesn't have gravity anywhere near this strong. The gravity here is much stronger. Growing up and surviving in this kind of pressure means your bodies are like Adventurers by default."

She wasn't exaggerating. With this gravity, her usual acrobatics from Orario were impossible without help. Her magic and skills still worked, but the physical limits were huge.

"Is that so?" August hadn't realized the differences were so big.

Now it made sense. He had watched ordinary soldiers go toe-to-toe with Level 1 and Level 2 monsters, getting kills and surviving blows that should have been fatal.

Their environmental conditioning made them absurdly durable, and with advanced military tech, they were basically super-soldiers.

"Looks like my world still has some surprises left," August said with a smile.

He used to think relying on modern weapons was a handicap, but crossing worlds had shown him there was a lot of hidden potential.

"Exactly! If people from this world went to Orario, the other Gods would do anything to recruit them," Hestia said.

She had heard the rumors. When the other Gods found out Earth's humans didn't have Falnas yet—they were eager to get their hands on that raw potential.

To them, humans from this dimension were premium, untapped recruits.

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