Heading inside a building, the four of us were reunited once again. Without hesitation, Odette quickly stood by my side, as far away from Oshurkova as possible. Drake was beside me, letting out a yawn as he continued to eye the dreary halls.

“When you’ve run around the entire world, these military showcases of power quickly kill all the fun.” Drake stared flatly at Kawasaki, who seemed to have ignored Drake’s statement.

“Before we all let you go back to where you are from, General Kinoshita Takahiro would like to speak with you.” Kawasaki looked at me with an emotionless gaze. “Please, head inside.”

Raising an eyebrow, I grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open. Inside was something out of a fucking sci-fi movie.

‘Okay, I’m pretty sure this wasn’t invented yet in the world. Then again, each country has their own military secrets that they would go out of their way to prevent from spreading word to the common populace.’

Heading inside, I heard Drake whistle beside me.

“Okay, gotta admit. I didn’t expect this.”

“Same.” I shrugged as the four of us continued to head deeper into the room.

The room was dark, with the only source of light being the giant screen in front of us, showing a shadowed figure of a human.

“Greetings, I am General Kinoshita Takahiro.” The silhouette’s voice echoed all around the room.

“Greetings to you, General Kinoshita. I assume you already know this, but my name is Jionni, with no surname. This is Drake Espinosa, Odette, and Oshurkova.” I pointed to each of my companions, garnering a soft snort from the man on the screen.

“Yes, so I have been told.” The silhouette leaned forward; his figure reminiscent of one sitting behind a desk with his elbows propped on the table. “I would like to ask all of you a question. Starting from you, Jionni.”

“Ask away.”

“From what I saw in the American news, you were in America a few hours ago, and now you’re here, in Japan, my homeland.” Humming in realization, I opened my mouth to give my response.

“Simple teleportation, General.” The general’s silhouette didn’t move, but I could imagine the shock on his face. “Dungeons that are a part of a group have access to each other’s Dungeon via portals.”

“Is that so?” The general rubbed his chin as he seemed to mull over his next question. “Then you, Drake. Are you also a Dungeon Master?”

“Nope. I’m just a freeloader.” I deadpanned at Drake as he looked at me with a face that said, ‘What’s wrong with what I said?’

“That said, Jionni here is my friend, so no matter what, I will stick with him to the bitter end.” His resolute voice brought a smile to my face as I looked back at the giant screen showcasing the silhouette of the general.

“No need to be alarmed, Espinosa-san.” The general waved his arm slightly. “I will not do any wrong to you unless you have done something horrible, which brings me to my next question.”

The general’s face was impossible to determine, but it was not that hard to estimate that he was looking at Odette, who had a carefree smile on her face.

“Odette. For what reason did you cause these unwarranted acts of destruction against my homeland and fellow countrymen?” The fury and venom in his voice caused me to get slight goosebumps.

“Experiments. Humans back in mein old vorld vere veak. I vondered if humans here are any different. Turns out, zey’re ze same.” Odette shrugged as she kept on clinging to my side. If this was without context, people would assume Odette was just a normal girl.

Nope, she’s a goddamn psychopath with no remorse for her actions.

“Experiments?” The general now looked ready to blow a fuse. Quickly stepping in to salvage the situation, I raised my voice to get the general’s attention.

“General Kinoshita, with all due respect, sir, the world these two lived in before is drastically different than in this world.” Quickly spouting off bullshit that also had some facts in it, I continued with my impromptu explanation. “To put it bluntly, it is something akin to culture shock. In their world, death is just something that happens. A village being burned to the ground isn’t anything new to them, and they have been dealing with that for… How many years?”

“I’d say centuries.” Oshurkova quickly supplemented, catching onto my plan no matter how stupid it was. “Our homeworld was plagued by wars, and until now, it still is.”

“But in this world, it isn’t.” Standing up, the general roared furiously. “Do you know how many of my countrymen are crying out for justice? I will not lie to you, if our bullets would’ve worked, we would’ve shot you all by now.”

“And that is perfectly understandable.” I agreed with his statement, throwing the general for a loop. “As I said, death is normal, moreso in these two’s world. But even then, actions have consequences, and those who commit the act of murder will sooner or later taste Death’s grip without warning.”

“However, I’m not here to discuss death and whatnot, I’m here to make a deal with you. Let Odette go, and she won’t bother you ever again. In return, we give you the right to trade with us.”

“Do you have any idea… What you’re spouting here?” The general looked ready to grab a gun from under his table and shoot at the screen. “This isn’t something that can be swept under the rug! My people want justice, and we need someone to make an example of.”

“If you go that route, war against Dungeons that can appear in any location inside your country will happen. And you’re not dealing with soldiers with morals here. You’re dealing with survivors who will do anything to get another day to live.” Oshurkova growled at the thought of her sister being made an example of, even if she was the root cause of their current problem.

“Is that a threat?”

“No, it is a warning. Even if you are in the right, that does not matter to us Dungeon Masters. You wrong us in any way, and we will retaliate. Your laws hold no power over us.”

“… You’re testing my patience here, Jionni.” The general growled and sat back in his chair with a sigh. “I want peace, and the only thing we need is a scapegoat. More deaths are unnecessary. Your companion has been recorded and posted on the internet. The video is circulating around the globe as we speak.”

“And you don’t want the scandal under your noses to grow even bigger.” Sighing, I closed my eyes and shook my head. “We can’t give you Odette. Oshurkova here will make sure of that. And to be honest, Drake here can level this entire area with just a punch. I assume you’ve seen the recording those news reporters had taken back in my Dungeon, right?”

“… Yes, I did indeed.”

“So, threatening us is out of the question. I’m telling you here, please… Just let Odette go and release a statement about how she was killed. Fake her death, for all I care, because if you don’t and pursue this route, things will only go badly on your side.”

“… Leave.”

The screen then instantly turned off, plunging the room into darkness.

“I presume your talks have gone wonderfully?” Kawasaki’s sarcastic remark entered my ears as the door behind us opened.

“Yes. Thank you for your time, Kawasaki-san. General Kinoshita gave us the green light to depart.”

“… Understood.”

Smirking, I grabbed a stone out of my inventory and held it in my palm.

“Yep. Tell the general I sent him my regards. Also, is he wants to call me, use this please.” Tossing him the stone, he grabbed it from the air and stared at it incredulously. “It’s a communication stone. It can connect with its partner stone and be used like a telephone. Anyway, until then.”

Grabbing another stone, this time the teleport stone, I used it and in an instant, my vision was replaced by a forest, with some primates glad to see me back inside my Dungeon.

“A dick move on your part, Jionni, but one I appreciate.” Drake smacked my shoulder with his hand, a grin forming on his face. “Their general was pissing me off.”

“… Why? In my eyes, he had all rights to be angry and demand for justice.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ve spent too much time with me ol’ pal, the Demon King.” Drake hummed before yawning. “Anyway, I’m tired. I’m heading back home.”

“Happy nightmares.” He flipped me off and I chuckled.

“So, zis iss your Dungeon. Nicht vhat I expected, but schtill good.” Odette glanced around the forest and spotted the large gate leading to the Monster Town.

“Eh, for a month or so old Dungeon, I can say this is goddamn progress.” Odette jumped on me as she played on top of my shoulders, while Oshurkova sighed depressingly.

“You two hungry?” They nodded, and I decided to grab some lunch before heading back into their Dungeons.