Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

New week guys, let's push!!

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Snowfield

Inside one of the factory's converted offices, six women sat around with nothing to do.

"If none of you plan to work, at least stop yapping in my ear." Commander James continued writing without the slightest concern that every woman in the room could crush him with one hand.

Ever since he returned, the six of them had been talking over one another without pause, and his patience was wearing thin.

"But my child isn't here..." Tiamat stared at him with tearful eyes. "And you refuse to tell me where he went."

How could someone from another world possibly understand what it felt like for a mother waiting for her child to come back?

Commander James's pen stopped.

"First, August's power is his own. We have no intention of telling him how to use it or how to live his life. Second, Miss Hestia can travel freely between our worlds."

He set down his pen and met Tiamat's gaze.

"They already share an apartment over there. Whatever happens behind that door is none of the government's concern."

"Besides, August spends most of his time caring for patients. If having Hestia around helps him relax, then I'm glad she's there..."

Crack!

A cup shattered somewhere in the room.

"THEY LIVE TOGETHER?"

Sharing an apartment already gave Hestia too much of an advantage. While everyone else was stuck here, who knew what she and August had been doing together?

Marie Alter noticed their reactions and quietly distanced herself from what she saw as childish behavior. She wasn't jealous.

Definitely not.

"What is his life like over there?" she asked. "Tell me about it."

"Ordinary," Commander James replied. "He eats when he's hungry, plays when he has free time, and works when he gets bored. Most of his serious effort goes into exploring the Dungeon."

He didn't pay much attention to how the women reacted. Seeing all six of them interested in August almost made him want to play matchmaker.

Commander James knew the gloomy woman before him was Marie Antoinette Alter—the vengeful form of the Queen of France who had once been sent to the guillotine. What puzzled him was why she had joined the others in chasing August.

Tiamat was easier to understand. Very few people would willingly accept a primordial Goddess calling herself their mother, and August happened to be one of them.

Olga Marie was calmer than the rest. She sat quietly and waited, certain that August would return sooner or later.

Commander James looked at them for a moment, then decided to change the subject.

"You're all Heroic Spirits, so answer something for me."

"I'm curious. How did the six of you leave the Throne of Heroes in the first place? Shouldn't you be stuck up there?"

According to everything his researchers had gathered, these women were supposed to exist as records engraved upon the Throne—yet they had walked out in their real bodies as though the place were an ordinary building with an unlocked door.

One of them was even Tiamat—the Primordial Mother from Mesopotamian mythology.

Could a being like her really enter the world without the Counter Force responding?

"Our stories are the reason we exist," Olga Marie explained. "People believed in us, desired us, and wished that we were real. Those feelings, together with the stories recorded through Fate/Grand Order, gave us a place upon the Throne."

They weren't just regular Heroic Spirits from history. Their Saint Graphs came from memories, possibilities, and the shared belief of people from another Earth.

"But rather than remain as records on the Throne, we chose to come down." Space Ishtar crossed her arms, looking entirely pleased with that decision. "If this world refuses to accept us, then we'll leave with August when the time comes. That's all."

She had no intention of staying somewhere that treated her existence like a mistake. She was a perfectly respectable Goddess—or at least a far better one than the original Ishtar—and she was certain August wouldn't turn her away.

Jeanne Alter leaned back in her chair and gave Commander James a scornful look.

"You're talking as though we're the only enemies of the Counter Force here."

"You people came from another universe. That alone makes you invaders..." She gestured toward the factory around them.

"You brought more than ten thousand soldiers into this world. If you ever decide to move openly, this country will be the first thing you tear apart."

It was hard to argue with her point.

August had brought the military here to investigate and understand this world. Friction with local powers was unavoidable, and once that friction crossed a certain point, it would become war.

At that moment, two sides would emerge.

One represented the humanity of August's Earth.

The other represented the Counter Force of the Type-Moon world.

Each side would think they were protecting their own people.

"Fair enough." Commander James nodded.

Jeanne Alter had convinced him. In that sense, the six women and his soldiers were already standing on the same side. They may have belonged to this universe once, but their ties to August had made them outsiders too.

"However, our current situation may be more dangerous than it appears," Olga Marie said, her expression turning serious.

She could feel it... Somewhere on the planet, something was reaching toward a sleeping monster—calling the Great Spider closer to wakefulness.

That was bad news for everyone.

"The Counter Force probably cannot control us," Olga continued. "If the situation deteriorates, it may decide that eliminating our group comes first."

ORT was beyond anything modern humanity could hope to defeat. Even August's soldiers could do nothing by attacking it head-on.

They might as well hurl eggs at a mountain.

"That falls within our expectations." Commander James understood the Counter Force better than most people in the room assumed.

It resembled humanity, spoke for humanity, and claimed to preserve humanity—yet it was not a human being.

A system like that would never see outsiders as friends just because they were also human.

"Most of the Servants involved in the Holy Grail War should have been summoned by now," Commander James continued. "Do any of you have someone you want to meet—or fight?"

Space Ereshkigal had already made her position clear.

Her affection for August extended to the people of his world. She intended to protect them, and if one of the soldiers died, she could intercept the soul before the World carried it away.

Having a few divine beings on their side gave them an edge no regular army could match.

Tiamat shook her head first. She had no interest in the Holy Grail War or its Servants. Her only concern was finding August.

"I already have a target," Space Ishtar said with a smile.

From the beginning, she had wanted to find the girl who shared her face.

She was curious to see what Rin Tohsaka—the human at the root of her appearance—was actually like.

"I have something similar in mind," Olga Marie said, an unusually mischievous smile crossing her face. "There's someone connected to a certain classroom I'd like to visit."

That promised trouble...

Marie Alter waved the question aside.

"I'm not interested in fighting."

There was one child in this story who had caught her attention, but from what she remembered, that child was already surrounded by people who doted on them. Showing up uninvited would only complicate matters.

For now, she would remain at the factory.

Jeanne Alter also raised a hand in refusal.

"Don't come running to me every time you want someone beaten bloody. Unless they're the kind of person I can't stand, I'm not interested."

But her mind was already drifting elsewhere.

'What if I made myself his first love?'

'Would that idiot start protecting me like some sweet, innocent girl?'

"Hehe..." A strangely pure smile appeared on Jeanne Alter's face.

Commander James pretended not to notice.

"I understand."

None of them really planned to get involved in the Holy Grail War. Space Ishtar and Olga Marie just wanted to visit a few magi, while the rest only cared about August.

He finished writing the last section of his report and closed the folder.

"One more thing."

"If you're serious about pursuing August, you should put in some effort. That boy is getting more impressive by the day, and there's no shortage of women around him."

Commander James had seen the soldiers who returned from Orario with otherworldly wives.

Those women weren't foolish or naïve. Most of them were smart enough to see what kind of chance they had. Even the dullest soldier could seem like a loyal knight to someone who'd spent her life around selfish Adventurers and unpredictable Gods.

August started out as the most ordinary person in the group, but he was the one linking different worlds together. The more he traveled, the more impressive he became, and the more women took notice.

Commander James gave the six Heroic Spirits a meaningful look.

"So don't complain later if someone else gets there first."

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