Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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The housewarming party didn't last long.

By the next morning, August had already sent Yui Hirasawa, Ui Hirasawa, and Nodoka Manabe back to their original world. Once that was done, he started getting ready for his third destination—the City of Snowfield.

As soon as he returned to the Type-Moon world, he got to work. It didn't take long before he bought a large cannery on the edge of the city to use as their first base.

"Oh, so this is Snowfield." Inside a spacious personnel carrier, Commander James raised a pair of binoculars and surveyed the surrounding city.

At last, they had secured a foothold deep inside the territory.

Snowfield might have been located near Las Vegas rather than anywhere close to the nation's capital, but the area was more than suitable for establishing a military encampment.

"Yes. This is Snowfield."

August studied the streets through the window. This quiet city was about to become the setting for another Type-Moon story.

The male aide returned from outside.

"Reporting. Negotiations have concluded."

"Good."

Commander James put down his binoculars and looked at the signed papers in his hand. They now owned the property.

"Do you want the premises cleared?"

"Clear it. Follow the local procedures and make sure everything is handled cleanly."

"Yes, sir." The aide accepted the folder and headed back toward the factory.

August watched him leave before turning to Commander James.

"We have the location. What comes next?"

"Securing it, of course." Commander James looked toward the cannery. "We still need to survey the surrounding terrain, identify every potential threat, and seize control of several suitable military positions before anyone has time to react."

His attention then shifted to a more unusual concern.

"And then there are the magi..."

"..." Commander James was deeply curious about the existence of Magecraft. This was not Orario, where Familias operated beneath the protection of their Gods.

Frankly, if he lined up the city's magi for target practice, he doubted many of them could claim they had done nothing to deserve it.

His forces knew how to fight conventional armies... Magi, however, were an entirely new class of enemy.

"Fine. Handle it however you see fit." August glanced at the purchased factory again. "Still, I have to admire the nerve. You refused to trade with gold and paid them using their own currency instead."

"Why would we waste gold?" Commander James scoffed. "Gold is a strategic resource!"

"If we're going to pay, we'll pay with real money."

He grinned widely.

"Once we win, the dollars we print will become legal tender. Who will still have the courage to call them counterfeit?"

They had not been given much time to prepare. Mobilizing and transporting large quantities of gold would have required resources they could not afford to waste.

Instead, August had supplied them with a single banknote from this timeline.

They had reproduced it perfectly!!

They made the engraving plates and built the printing presses. They copied every security feature and detail, so they could print huge amounts of this world's money.

In the end, they bought the factory with piles of worthless paper.

It was quick, efficient, and utterly shameless...

More importantly, the money could be spent. And if anyone questioned their value later, they could raise the issue once the occupation was over.

"Besides, according to our intelligence..." Commander James pulled out another report. "If our analysis is correct, Human Order itself may come after us."

The document contained the conclusions reached by researchers in August's world.

According to the laws of the Type-Moon universe, humanity possessed a collective unconscious known as Alaya—one half of the Counter Force and the mechanism responsible for preserving Human Order.

No one knew how that collective Will would react to humans arriving from an entirely separate universe.

Commander James preferred that it leave them alone.

If it decided to interfere, he was ready to take much more drastic action against the planet...

"We're all outsiders," he continued. "This world has no reason to welcome us."

"So the best strategy is to spend as little as possible while extracting the greatest possible return."

Gold was still a necessary resource. Spending a fortune on a factory they might abandon within weeks would have been idiotic.

Trading paper money for a foothold was exactly the kind of deal they were looking for.

"That part is true." August rubbed his chin.

"My main concern is Alaya sending Counter Guardians after us."

"Tch. Arrogant bastards with power."

Commander James looked at them with clear contempt.

He understood the stories and rules of this universe. From the perspective of someone born in the real world, he had little respect for any of its supernatural authorities.

Immortals, Gods, magi—it made no difference.

To him, most of them were just selfish parasites who chased their own goals and saw regular people as disposable.

He didn't see Snowfield as some kind of game or heroic trial.

The civilians were one matter.

The magi and every so-called higher being standing above them were another. If they became enemies, Commander James had no objection to eliminating every last one.

Before their discussion could continue, Hestia tapped lightly against the side of the vehicle.

"The cameras around us are watching." She lowered the magazine in her hands and glanced toward the nearby intersections.

Their sudden arrival, their suspicious backgrounds, and the abrupt purchase of a large industrial property had clearly caught the attention of whoever ran the city...

Several cameras had already rotated toward them.

"..." Commander James frowned.

He knew how Snowfield operated.

The police, military, and local magi maintained a hidden cooperative relationship. All of that had been included in the operational plan.

Even though they had just arrived and bought an old cannery, the local authorities were already watching them.

"They noticed us already?" Commander James's eyes narrowed with interest.

He thought the people in charge of Snowfield would take longer to notice. Instead, local surveillance picked them up almost as soon as the deal was done.

Interesting...

At least Snowfield's hidden rulers were competent.

What they had yet to realize was that August had not arrived with a small entourage and two goddesses.

He had brought an army... Tens of thousands of soldiers and enough heavy weaponry to turn Snowfield into a real warzone.

"Can you trace where the surveillance signal is coming from?" Commander James asked.

Hestia picked up a red laser pointer and aimed it at the city map hanging beside the window.

"Somewhere around here."

The marked location belonged to a private surveillance network. It did not correspond to the police department or any known military installation.

"But there's another observer." Hestia moved the pointer toward a second location.

The signal came from another building in a separate district—one with an unusual internal structure.

"Francesca Prelati?" August guessed.

He could already imagine the immortal troublemaker watching them from somewhere inside the city.

Francesca lived for chaos and amusement. It would have been more surprising if their arrival had failed to catch her attention.

"If it's only the magi, I'm not concerned." August settled back in his chair. "But since they've already started snooping around, we may as well teach them some manners."

He opened the [Spatial Backpack] and released a compact drone.

The machine slipped out of the vehicle and rose into the air, heading directly toward the identified location.

No one outside noticed it.

The military technology of August's world was centuries ahead of its time. Even a weapon small enough to overlook could erase an entire building before anyone inside knew they were under attack.

"A warning from a drone isn't a bad idea," Commander James said. "Still, I bet that woman is already planning to pull us into one of her traps."

"If she won't make the first move, neither will we." August watched the drone's signal on the monitor.

"This is only a warning."

This was just their first move after arriving in this world.

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