Vol 8 Chapter 7 (1/2)

Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There! Volume 8 Chapter 7

Translator: Nigel

Editor: Deus Ex-Machina, Skythewood

This was the JSDF Central Hospital Itaious Diseases block

Given the pathogens it was designed to handle, all the s in the building were sealed shut The interior was kept at a lower air pressure than the outside so airborne bacteria and viruses would not flow to the outside

Entry in and out of it was heavily regulated Itami in particular was practically i security troopers around the clock

Why did these uns and other non-standard issue weapons? Why were NBC suits and man-portable flamethrowers permitted within a hospital? Anyone would wonder out loud about those things In contrast, Ita lazily on his bed, his face buried in soh an online shopping service named after a certain South American rainforest

“So, why are you wasting your time here~?”

Rory sat on a round cushi+on stool, looking at the big guy beside her

His unifore with “MP” stitched on it He stood in the corner, un and silent, like some kind of decoration

“Ahh, well, the truth is I decided to pass the time with a joke…”

While walking along the hallway, Itami decided to see ould happen if he suddenly doubled over, clutched his belly and rolled around while screah!” and before he knew it, he was already doing it Naturally, it caused a big ruckus and everyone got mad at hi his sins here Except, he did not feel repentant at all The reason was because he was overjoyed

As oneconsequences The hospital had passed their judgeave him the stink-eye, and the doctors constantly subjected hi patient care

This was an age where “Try Again” and “A Society Where One Can Start Afresh” were trus, but Itami had personally experienced the fact that there were sos from which one could not recover

More specifically, Itahted the fact that a conventional security posture could not deal with eencies of this nature

The people around him had panicked and could not respond effectively Once they kneas just a prank, they were angry of course But at the sae had watchedalien parasites, and they demanded increased security

This was the result

The security troopers escorting Itami were fully outfitted in bullet and knife-proof body aruns loaded with buckshot, and they paid attention to even the s his teeks in this place They waited for him in front of the door even when he went to the bathroom or showered

“Objective has reached toilet!”

He could not remain still once he heard the voice from outside

They gave a report any time he spent more than 5 minutes in the same place In addition, the security troopers refused to respond to him no matter how he tried to chat them up It was clear that they did not intend to open up to soht have to execute if the situation went bad

“H~m… so why not treat him as an ornament~?”

“I think that would be too much”

“But can he really stay like that withouta muscle~”

“I’ve tried ways and means, but none of them worked”

Itami told Rory that he had told jokes and danced in front of him It would seem he had been very free

“H~m~”

An evil gleam filled Rory’s eyes as she looked over the security trooper Then she suddenly drew close to Itami and kissed him

“Ah…”

Even the security trooper’s expression changed, to one of surprise

“Mmm…”

Rory save in

Ita what had just happened to hi her body against his, and her breathing grew rapid and ragged as she guided him towards the bed

“I say, how long are you going to be here? It’s been so looooong, I can’t take it any more…”

Her sweet voice and hot breath washed over Itami’s ear

The security trooper looked at Itami like he was a criht be over 900 years old, but from the outside she looked like she was 12 or 13 sexual contact with a girl of that age, even if it was consensual, was still a forress, so even the JSDF MP could not help but react to this

“What, what do you et it We don’t have this sort of lewd relationshi+p, right?”

“Why are you trying to hide it? Haven’t we come all this way already?”

Italanced at the security trooper every now and then

Thered, and he was clearly unco by the way he was gulping, he was trying to think of so within him

“Ah, no, you see, there’s someone else here, Rory-san…”

“It’s not as though he’s looking this way…”

Roryup its soon-to-be prey

“But, but he can hear us…”

“So let hi All this time, Lelei and Yao and Tuka have always been by your side, so I can’t cut loose and have fun Now that it’s just the two of us, it should be okay, right~?”

“Like I was saying, it’s not just the two of us…”

“No, there is”

“Just the two of us~”

With that excuse which barely even counted as such, Rory leaned in and licked Itami’s neck

The security trooper finally er, he dashed out into the corridor, trailed by the sound of footsteps

“Yay, in!”

Itah-five of “Victory!”

After savoring the peace and calm the two of them shared, they realised exactly what kind of situation they were in

Rory washim with her arms around his neck Since there was a blanket between the two of the, they could not possibly be closer

Rory blushed and lowered her face in embarrassment

“Ah, well… see, ot off?”

“Your arm~”

“What?”

“If you don’t et off”

At some point, he had put an aro and raised his hands, as though in surrender

After that, Rory pressed her lips to Ita of earlier, this was a savage, hungry kiss

However, just as Itaain, she broke away and got off the bed

She sed herhad happened If someone asked her about it, her reply would be “I have no idea”

This was one of Rory’s tricks Even though he knew it, Itaret within him

“Alright… this is what you asked for~”

Rory nonchalantly du on Itami’s knee

Ggk

Unwilling to ad had happened and glanced at the package on his knee

“Thank you, that was a great help Did you successfully cut it in two?”

“They’re not exact halves I just split it”

“That’s fine Thanks”

Saying so, Itami peeled off the sticker fro

“What are you going to do with this diamond?”

“I have no idea what’s going to happen to it, so I wanted to send it toused as political capital and ht?”

Itanored it

“What’s a guardian?”

“It’s soement is impaired He handles the hospital fees and other expenses”

“Hmm… that’s pretty handy”

“With people like hiht?”

“Looks like you’ll need toof which, how long are you going to stay here?”

“Personally speaking, I don’t ht be infected with soht? It’s my duty as a JSDF trooper to ht? Hahaha…”

“You say that, but it looks like you’re just slacking off here”

Rory looked around as she said that The area around Itaht novels There were so it pretty good here

“Still, even if they askI can do”

Indeed, all Itami could do here was submit to a battery of tests

They ran erythrocyte counts, biochemical assays, CT, X-Ray and PET scans on him, took cell samples and cultured them, and after the full course of those examinations, all they could do was observe hi paid for this, Itami was beside himself in joy

Rory sighed at Itami’s state, and rubbed her left arm

One of the nurses had drawn a blood sample from Itami’s arm with a thick needle The process h she were the one in pain Perhaps that sensation still lingered

“Speaking of which, what are you guys up to? What’s everyone doing?”

“Mical experi the situation to the ALC”

“How about Pina and Hamilton?”

“They’ve been having fun everywhere I think they’ve been visiting Lisaa every day now”

…Lisaa? Ah, it htbulb above his head flickered two or three ti to life

“Does she really not want to be involved in politics anymore?”

“She said soh for her”

“Ah yes, about that, how’s the handling of the Gate going? Has everyone agreed on shutting it down yet?”

Rory sighed depressedly at Itami’s question

“Frankly speaking, keeping Lelei’s situation a secret is very difficult The japanese won’t give us a concrete answer There’s only one way to close the Gate, but they haven’t quite resolved themselves yet”

“Ahh, that’s politics for you Even if it’s an open and shut case, they can’t rush into it Life would be much easier if we could make choices so easily”

It was true that the Gate-opening experiuarantee of the permanent link betorlds This was the first time humanity had tried to manipulate the unknown phenomenon which was the Gate It was only natural for people to be wary of things they were not sure about

“Still, we can’t just leave it be We have to convince them to close the Gate”

Rory frowned at Ita about somebody else

This s like these did not concern him

Loneliness filled Rory, as though she had been abandoned Granted, it was their fault that they had used Ita the matter with him, but was it tooso? They kneell that this was infatuation on their parts, but even so, that was a girl’s heart for you

This loneliness only grew stronger because Ita about Lelei, as responsible for the opening, closing and ement of the Gate

“Personally speaking, I don’t like the idea of Lelei beco a device to open and close the Gate”

As Rory agonized over whether to speak, she puffed up her cheeks, and Itahtly poke them as she went “Hmmph~” Eventually, she decided to explain herself to him

“Well, I guess there’s no need to worry about that”

“Why do you say that? Isn’t Lelei going to be tied down for the rest of her life?”

Ita responsible for connecting japan to the Special Region was not worth living

“I’ve discussed the matter with Lelei In the end, we ca~’

“Really?”

Rory nodded slightly

“We plan to talk to Belnago Shrine and have the the Gate”

“How are you going to sell the idea to theht?”

“The power of the Gate falls under Hardy’s jurisdiction, Because of that, anyone with that poill become a vassal of the Queen of the Underworld But Lelei is an outsider who is not connected to Hardy To the priestesses of Belnago Shrine, this is highly irregular”

“Mmm”

“Bringing Lelei to their side would be the best way to correct that irregularity, a?”

“But Lelei hates Hardy Could it be that they’re going to force…”

After being possessed by Hardy, Lelei was still trying to lose the weight she had put on There was no way she would bear any goodwill for Hardy

“As if I would allow them to use force It’s because of that point that we canof the Gate, and in exchange, ill give Belnago Shrine the relic and the right to use it”

Ita

“I see… but can you even transfer the rights to use it?”

“This way, Lelei will be freed fro to administer the Gate”

Rory sighed

“And then, Hardy’s shrine will be able to proselytize as the price of their passage”

Giselle had followed the around town, so all the Shrine had to do was give her orders to that effect, Rory said,

“Well, on the other hand, it just means that if we can put up with that, on’t have to worry about Lelei being bound by the Gate”

“Is that so But will she have her ?”

Rory smiled and nodded

“Still, if that’s the case, couldn’t we have had the Belnago Shrine run the Gate instead? According to what you said, anyone could use Hardy’s relic, not just Lelei, right?”

Rory coht of the situation

“That won’t work What I’ve said since just noill only happen after Lelei beginsisn’t Hardy’s true intention; she would never help us like that from the start~”

“Isn’t it strange, though?”

“The priestesses are quite proud of the ordered around by others, and they do worshi+p that Hardy”

That Hardy… Itami could not approve of those words

“I see But doesn’t that mean the Gate will be fine? All we have to do next is convince everyone”

However, Rory put on a vulnerable, worried expression and threw herself on the blanket on Itami’s knee

“That’s going to be haaaard~”

“Why is that?”

Rory sighed again, and looked lazily at Itami

“We’ve been running around likeYouji, but we aren’t very persuasive when it coive up their livelihoods The ALC trades with the JSDF and sells high to the ion In other words, everyonewith the Gate If we take the Gate ae take away their livelihoods”

“How do people who live without troubles and who already have theirsquared aork up the audacity to tell others to “give up your way of life?”

Rory sighed

“Then just cancel the demand for me”

“I don’t want to!”

Rory did not say it was i, and thus she revealed her feelings

“Why is that? How could that be?”

“It’s nothing,” Rory said in a tone of what appeared to be anger

“You blockhead! You dummy!”

She smacked Itami

“Tell ood about me?”

“There’s no rhys which exist for a reason vanish when that reason does… Strength? Attractiveness? Might is ultie Even a super-intelligent rows older Liking anyone for those reasons implies that it will be a short-lived infatuation”

“Still, I don’t think I deserve to be with a woman like you”

Rory sht her face closer to Itami’s as she whispered:

“When ere young, we could declare our love freely and openly, because we did not need to worry about row older, that particular trait vanishes The iliet its importance I say, put your faith in that miracle”

“Miracle?”

Rory pointed to Itami’s chest “Correct”

“I’ve been searching the world over for a soul like yours I’ve waited too long, far too long for so like it,” she said

Itaet embarrassed He could not even come up with a witty retort

“I’ht now It may be that I cannot separate myself from Tuka, Lelei or Yao Like now”

“So to be a Goddess of love would be unworthy of that position if she demanded that of her partner That is our problem, so please, don’t worry about it”

The church of Rory taught: One had to keep one’s beloved by their side, never letting theht for them and win them Rory had even exhorted Lelei, Tuka and Yao to live by these words in their daily life

“There’s a song in the story Galaxy Express 999, where one of the lyrics says “parting is a for those lines”

Rory raised her face and glared angrily at Itami

“Life is not a play Praying for the other person to be happy? How stupid is that? The story doesn’t end after the curtain falls No, in fact, that’s when life begins!”

Having said that ain and cupped her head

“How can I criticize people for being greedy when I’ sappy romantic lines like these…”

It would see the members of the ALC

Be they the japanese orthe Gate However, they did not understand the vulnerability of having the Gate, so they were not on their guard Thus, they chose to maintain their present lifestyles It was a natural decision

“So because of that, we have to open the Gate again?”

It was for that reason that Lelei had co the reliability of Gate-opening techniques, she could dispel their unease

“We overnment like this, but it won’t work on the ALC’sat it in a roundabout way, but we can’t actually say anything which they can get behind”

“Yeah”

Once people learned about Lelei, she would beco about her would be out of the question Still, if they did not even do that ress on convincing them

In other words, there was no way out

“Tell me… what should I do?”

This was a rarely-seen side of Rory — her vulnerable side Itaed her:

“It’s fine There’ll be a way”

“I hope you can convince everyone of that”

“Me? Don’t, ow!”

Ita hand had slid down and tweaked Rory’s nose before she bit his fingers

Rory slowly say back up, looking at the man who refused to return her advances with an expression of vague disgust “Hmmmph~” she smirked

“How can we chase them out~?”

“What? Chase who? Where to?”

As Rory saw this, co as it was froht” before telling hierated manner:

“The legitiovernment approves of the closure of the Gate, but they hope it can wait until after dealing with Zorzal But where did they learn this from?”

If Tuka had told the ALC members about the situation, then it would have spread from there Even so, the news had spread too fast However, it was an open secret that House Formal of Italica had sent spies to Arnus, so Itah them instead

Even Itami felt the matter had to be handled carefully

“So they’re telling us to deal with that Zorzal… huh Has news about Lelei gotten out as well?”

Once people had their eyes on Lelei, she would be forced to flee constantly Even Itami had picked up on that

As she saw the look on his face, Rory sreat!” and proceeded to fan the flames further

“For the tiet out~”

After the experiment at Tsuchiura, Lelei had re with japan to researchher iuard over her, but given japan’s current anti-espionage stance, that would only invite scrutiny from other nations Because of that, japan was unsure whether to strengthen or soften their stance Ko about this

“According to Lelei, she wants you to protect her, Youji~”

“The probleo back as soon as I can so until then…”