Chapter 102: [BONUS] - The Orion Incident Concludes!

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The next day, back in the capital.

Staff Officer Thomas sat in the central command briefing room. He had just handed in the final operational report.

Across the table, several high-ranking generals stared at the document in silence.

The combat results were outstanding. The mission was a clear success. But it also created a strange bureaucratic problem: in a very short time, his young subordinates had brought back a large group of local women from that fantasy world.

And it wasn't just young, single women. There were widows among them as well.

Reading the report felt like reading a bad joke.

"You really had the balls to authorize this?" Thomas's direct superior glared at him, eyes wide with exasperation.

He had just handed them a huge problem: dozens of women from another dimension. It wasn't a disaster in practical terms, but legally, it was a nightmare. They were a major superpower, not a lawless country.

They couldn't just allow interdimensional immigration because if they set that example, the logistics would overwhelm them.

Thomas straightened up, showing no sign of regret.

"Sir, the locals were more than happy to see it happen."

"Their world has a massive surplus of women and a severe shortage of men. Monster attacks on their villages and wilderness expeditions wipe out their male population on a regular basis."

"The village chief was practically shoving those girls into our transport trucks," Thomas explained, rubbing his temples.

This was no exaggeration.

When the neighboring village chiefs heard about the evacuation, they rushed to send their extra people to the troops. If the military hadn't left quickly, it would have turned into a huge matchmaking event.

"So that village chief used us to offload their excess population. Unbelievable." One of the generals at the table scowled.

"But there's a massive upside to this, sir," Thomas quickly added.

"August made sure everything followed our rules. To help these women live safely in our world, a local Goddess is giving them a Divine Contract, called a Falna. With the abilities of an Adventurer, each of them counts as high-level personnel."

Thomas knew this was a smart move. They had a plan. These women wouldn't suddenly get sick from modern diseases, and more importantly, they were arriving with superhuman potential thanks to their Falna.

It was basically a 'High-Level Talent Acquisition Program.'

When he heard this, Thomas's superior looked quietly pleased. At least they weren't just bringing in ordinary refugees. They were getting people who could learn magic, skills, and superhuman fighting abilities. That was much more valuable than regular soldiers.

Having a diverse group of people was a big advantage. Based on what they knew about Orario's genetics, any future children would probably inherit their mothers' main traits and magical abilities. It was a very promising long-term investment.

"What's the consensus?" The highest-ranking general at the head of the table looked at his peers.

"If it aligns with protocol, approve it."

No one had any real objections. Thomas had followed the rules. The only surprise was the higher number of people. But the chance to get magic, skills, and Adventurer-level genetics was too good to pass up. As long as it didn't break any main rules, it was fine.

"But what about the international stage?" someone asked.

They couldn't keep this secret forever.

Other countries would eventually find out where these women came from. And Hestia, an actual Goddess, was an obvious target. Giving them housing and helping them settle in would definitely attract public attention.

The general at the head of the table pondered this for a moment before waving a hand.

"It aligns with procedure, and they are officially classified as exceptional talent."

"Furthermore, this arrangement is backed by a Goddess. We are in no position to refuse."

As long as they followed the right procedures, any other issues could be handled by force. The military wasn't going to waste time arguing with other countries. If anyone had a problem, they could settle it in the ring—Orario style.

Besides, they couldn't just open their borders to other countries on Earth, but a portal to another dimension was a different story.

August controlled the gateway, so no one else could simply walk through it.

"Secretary, notify the legal department. We need them to draft a new set of specialized laws immediately," the general ordered.

These women were simple villagers with honest minds, but soon they would have dangerous combat abilities. Current laws wouldn't be enough to protect them or control what would happen if foreign agents targeted them. They needed special legal protection.

"Understood."

With that decided, everyone in the room relaxed. These were just minor logistical problems.

The main lesson from this operation was the combat data. They had shown that modern weapons worked very well against Dungeon monsters. Even though the monsters hadn't developed resistance to modern weapons yet, the live-fire test was a big success.

Every soldier had done their job perfectly.

The monsters turned out to be very clever, even trying to attack their base from the side. They had expected an easy win because of better information, but the enemy had regrouped and fought back.

It was an important lesson. And since they had won, the top officers were very pleased.

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While the modern world looked over its excellent results, back in Orario...

"Ugh, this is so convenient, but it sucks..."

Inside the ruined church.

After sending the military personnel and the villagers back to Earth, August gathered Hestia and the others to return to Orario.

But they weren't taking flying dragons this time.

August simply summoned his dimensional portal.

After reaching [Level 2], his portal gained a new ability. It could now work as a local warp gate, letting him teleport over very long distances within the same world.

However, using it as a spatial warp didn't use the portal's own energy. Instead, it used up August's mana.

Moving a big group across half the continent drained a ton of mana. To make it work, August had to quickly drink several high-grade Elixirs just to keep his magic from running out.

"I am never doing this again," August groaned, wiping his mouth after downing another potion.

If he wasn't worried about Hermes and Artemis sneaking into his modern world, he would have just sent everyone through Earth and come out in Orario. But being a human teleportation device was exhausting. Moving almost ten people used up more mana than healing a dozen severed limbs.

"Oh, come on! This ability is incredible! Don't bench it!" Hermes protested.

He had just learned that August could act as a walking fast-travel point. Hermes had already started planning to take August all over the world, memorizing locations so they could pop into cities for surprise visits.

But when August immediately shot down the idea, it ended Hermes's big plans before they even began.

"No. It's a massive burden," August shot back.

He hadn't thought the mana drain would be this bad. If moving across one continent was this hard, trying to teleport to another planet in his own universe would probably wipe him out instantly.

"What a shame," Hermes clicked his tongue.

Artemis watched August panting from the exertion and decided it was time to part ways.

"I need to report to Ouranos and brief him on the situation," she announced.

She needed official permission to summon the Arrow of Orion. Because she was bound by the Divine Contract in the lower world, using such a powerful weapon needed Guild approval.

"Alright then," Hermes nodded.

He knew better than to overstay his welcome and bother August. Plus, since they got back to Orario so fast, he needed to check on his precious 'hero seed,' Bell Cranel. That was his main mission, and he couldn't ignore it.

"I'll see you later, Hestia," Artemis said, gathering her Familia and heading out.

"Asfi, we're leaving too," Hermes tipped his hat, glancing at Artemis before sighing internally. He knew he had zero chance with her. He motioned for his captain, and the Hermes Familia departed as well.

"Phew! Finally, they're gone!"

Hestia watched her friends disappear down the street before throwing her arms up in celebration.

"This haul was absolutely incredible!"

"Hehehe." Hestia lifted her chin, looking very proud. She felt like she had been the star these past few days. Just thinking about all the rewards they earned made her grin even more.

"Lord August did all the heavy lifting," Lili pointed out, rolling her eyes.

Even though the Goddesses helped, August was the one who kept the soldiers alive, always healing them while fighting off the horde. The victory was all thanks to him.

"I contributed too!" Hestia huffed proudly.

"Anyway! We're back! And that means it's time for a victory feast!"

"Tonight, we are dining at the Hostess of Fertility, and we are going all out!" Hestia declared, fully prepared to blow a fortune.

Lili stared at her in disbelief.

"Lady Hestia, did you forget that our Familia is completely broke?"

"The Adventurer's Guild hasn't even paid us our bounty yet!"

How could they have a huge feast when they were buried in debt? August's weapon bills weren't paid, and they still owed a lot for all the recovery potions. Lili was so stressed she wished she could break a Valis coin in half to make it last longer.

"Lili, stop being so gloomy."

"You're forgetting something," August smirked. "We have the Magic Stones. Once we cash those in, we'll be swimming in Valis."

He wasn't exaggerating.

The monsters they defeated were from the surface, but their Magic Stones were as good as drops from the Upper-Middle Floors, about the twelfth floor. And they had taken down tens of thousands.

Even better, they had the broken pieces of Antares' huge core. Those crystal shards alone were worth hundreds of millions of Valis.

Besides the monsters defeated in the riverbed, the military had gone over the battlefield and picked up almost every stone. Except for the samples sent to Earth for research, the military gave all the rest to August.

Staff Officer Thomas knew August was deep in debt. With what he owed both the modern military and Orario's markets, August was probably the most indebted transmigrator ever.

If August died, his debt could probably crash a small economy. Luckily, August didn't care. Debt was just debt. Once you owe enough, the numbers stop feeling real.

"They just gave them to you??"

"Holy crap, that's insanely generous!" Lili gasped. She had assumed the army would confiscate all the loot.

'We're going to clear at least a hundred million Valis today.'

Defeating Antares meant a huge reward. At current prices, just the core fragments were worth over a hundred million. Add in the big bounty from Ouranos for finishing a Guild quest, and they were set for life.

With that much money, having a huge feast wasn't just okay, it was a must.

"Oh, thank the gods!"

"Lady Hestia, I've made up my mind! Tonight, we are spending like crazy at the Hostess of Fertility!" Lili cheered, her frugal mindset instantly vanishing.

She really needed to relax. If she didn't spend some of this hard-earned money, she was going to lose it after all the stress from the past few days.

Hearing this, Hestia beamed.

"Oh, I heard Mia got a brand-new shipment of premium liquor in! We are drinking until we drop tonight!"

"Hehehe." Hestia was already planning her guest list.

Because Artemis stepped in, she was able to save her best friend from a bad ending. She did feel a bit guilty about messing up Bell Cranel's planned growth, but it didn't matter much. Hermes was around, so he could give the kid a new heroic story.

"We are absolutely stuffing our faces tonight!" Lili agreed enthusiastically.

"Oh, right! Should we invite Yui and Ui?" Lili suddenly remembered their two new Familia members who were waiting back on Earth.

"Of course we are!" Hestia nodded immediately.

"We can't celebrate our Familia's success without them! This is the perfect time to bring the girls over and officially introduce them to Orario."

Yui and Ui had never been to Orario before. They only knew August's modern world. Bringing them here to meet everyone would be their official introduction.

"This was the Hestia Familia's very first major expedition!"

"We conquered the legendary Antares! I am going to brag about this to everyone!" Hestia declared, her eyes burning with the need to flex on the other Gods.

August and Lili looked at each other and silently agreed to ignore that last comment.

Gods would be Gods.

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