The Thing That Followed Him to This World

Yuri, Inoshana, and Malza made their way to Selvina’s office; when they got there, Yuri’s harem was there as well. Selvina was topless in white lingerie and suckling the twins, so her voice was softer but didn’t lose its authority. After the trio was in the office, she started to talk.

“We received word on a strange structure in the forest near the path you took to get here from Usagi’s village,” said Selvina; she was being careful not to disturb her babies.

“I recall that event being at the end of the files we were told to look at before our trip here,” said Malza.

“I’m pretty sure all of his partners are close to giving birth already,” said Usagi with amusement, “and some of his earliest partners already gave birth. The village got its own population boom.”

“Just keep in mind what I’ve told you all about hereditary health,” said Yuri; turning his attention back to Selvina, “I take it you got the word from Usagi’s village and then sent some scouts to verify.”

“Yes,” said Selvina, “and I’m sending you to take a look at it. I trust you know the route.”

“Of course,” said Yuri, “Usagi and Lithira have probably memorized the route and can lead us along the path.”

“Good to hear,” said Selvina; she then turned her attention to Inoshana and Malza, “I trust you’ll be joining them for various reasons.”

“Indeed,” said Inoshana, “he is my assignment, after all.”

“And she sis mine,” said Malza.

“Alright,” said Yuri, “now that we have that settled, we should probably go and gear up, then meet over by the Althana’s atelier.”

“Right,” said Thelsia, turning to the priestess and paladin," she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you the way; just meet me out by the temple.”

“Much appreciated,” said Inoshana as they all made their way out of the room.

************************************************************************

Almost twenty minutes later, the party, plus Inoshana and Malza, were meeting up with their full gear ready to go. Inoshana was in her vestments, which weren’t quite as revealing as Dancer’s but getting pretty close, and Malza was in her bikini armor with her war hammer in hand. Everyone had their weapons either in hand or at the ready on their hips, except Inoshana, who had no weapon or shield to speak of.

“Care to explain your lack of equipment,” inquired Yuri.

“I was not permitted to carry in battle implements,” said Inoshana, “even on the journey here. I was told my guardian was enough for any incidents of that nature that could arise. And she was, all the way here.”

“Well,” said Yuri, “it’s still pretty stupid, and shortsighted. Thankfully, we anticipated this,” he held out his hand, and a swirling galaxy-like vortex that almost looked like it was being watched in the night sky appeared before his hand, he then reached into it and pulled out a backpack that was considerably loaded, even having a basic targe-type shield, the pulled out a war hammer and set next to the bag before the portal closed.

“He figured that out a few days after we got back,” said Usagi with amusement, “it seems one of his magical affinities is Space. What did you call this again?”

“In some of the games I used to play, in some of the books I read, and in some of the comics I read,” said Yuri, “it was called an ‘Inventory’ or ‘Item Box,’ so feel free to use either term.”

“I prefer Inventory,” said Usagi, “better shorthand, and it’s a bit more accurate, in my opinion.”

“To my knowledge,” said Theslsia, “no one else with the Space affinity has managed to pull such a feat off before.”

Inoshana blinked a bit; she had been assessed on her affinities but never told the results, which was very odd, even now she didn’t know her affinities beyond the healing that all clerics get and some of the additional spells her choice of goddess granted her. She would need to get appropriately assessed at the temple later. She approached the bag and weapon before saying, “That looks like a bit much for me.”

“No problem,” said Yuri, “just gear up with the shield, the hammer, and the shirt.”

“The what now,” inquired Malza as Yuri reached into the bag and pulled up a metal tunic that looked like it was made of chain links before sending the backpack back to where it was being stored minus the shield, tunic, and hammer.

Inoshana approached the three items and carefully pulled the tunic on over her vestments; it was a bit heftier than she anticipated when she lifted it and then pulled it over her head to wear it. After which, she picked up the hammer and shield, which were also noticeably hefty. “I have gained a newfound appreciation for what armored warriors are capable of,” said Inoshana as she finished getting a good grip on both implements. “I always thought it asinine that they prevented her from wearing and wielding these sorts of things.”

As the assembled party made its way into the woods, Yuri handed Inoshana a light crossbow as well, which she secured to her side as they continued forward. The party marched for just shy of an hour when they saw it; it looked like a very strange manor that was fenced in with a wall topped with iron or steel spikes in a never-before-seen style. Yuri recognized it almost as soon as it came into view.

“That’s my mansion,” Yuri cried out. He couldn’t believe, the house and its walls were still in their art deco-inspired neogothic style, an homage to a certain superhero series from the 1990s. The six stories looked undisturbed, and he had a sneaking suspicion the six basements didn’t either. When they came up to the gate, which he still remembered the location of, but was also indicated by its being a bit more ornate than the rest of the wall, he saw it was still the protected keypad he had put in for security reasons; he usually opened the gates remotely from inside the house, but the keypad was put in for those times he would be outside of the property. The fence actually seemed to encompass a similar swath of territory as it had prior to his trip to this world. Yuri opened the box, and true to his form of choosing to defy expectation, the open box revealed a keypad with a collection of symbols that looked more like the script from a series of pole fragments in different colors and shades.

And like a practiced security nut, he punched in the nine-character code without even looking, the box’s design perfectly blocking off all angles someone could use to exploit knowing the sequence. A moment later, the gates swung open, and he made his way with the party to the front door. He didn’t have his key on him, he was pretty sure it was still in the house, but he remembered he had put in a contingency for if such a situation happened. He placed his hand on the door’s handle and said, “Code 3N-T3R-N0W, verify sequence.” There was a mechanical whirring and beeping sound for a moment before the sound of the door coming unlocked was heard; and he pushed the handle down then pushed the door open.

The entire time, his seven companions watched the whole thing in amazement. When they entered the facility, seeing the entryway, it looked like something out of a comic book movie; the room had three different themes that were blending together surprisingly well. The main part of the entryway looked like it was out of a classic science fiction show, while the stairs had a distinct steampunk aesthetic that somehow complimented the sci-fi elements, and the lighting looked like it was taken from a classic fantasy series but tactfully added to the whole experience without making it seem out of place. The lights were also on and working, which was a bit of a surprise, especially since he remembered having all his lights off in this part of the facility. Yuri remembered loading the upper sections of the roof with solar panels, which he also had a special frame made for to both better secure them and help them better blend into the aesthetic around them.

“Huh,” said Yuri, “that’s odd; I didn’t think there would be enough power to run the place without something to supplement it.”

“What is this magic,” inquired Althana with wonder.

“Not magic,” said Yuri, “just technical innovation. The world I grew up in didn’t actually have any real magic, so we had to get around that with technological and scientific innovations. Among them was learning how to generate and harness electricity; it’s basically like having the power of lightning at your fingertips without having to learn any of the spells for doing so.”

“This is pretty impressive,” said Inoshana, “and it’s just the entryway.”

“The kitchen is down the hall on the left,” said Yuri as he pointed in the direction from where he stood in the entryway, bedrooms are all upstairs, and I’m going to check on what happened in the garage.” With that, he pivoted to the right and made his way to his destination; the whole party still following him.

“Um,” said Lithira, “where can I find a place to relieve myself?”

“There are four bathrooms on every floor,” said Yuri casually, “and we’re going to pass one on the left as we head down the hall; it’s marked with a waterfall to make things easier.” Almost a minute later of going down the hallway, in which the aesthetic started looking more fantasy-like with a few sci-fi elements thrown in, they passed a red and green door with a massive cerulean waterfall on it, which Lithira quickly ducked into.