Sweet, the retreat has fully begun. I think that’s enough for today!
“Cease the mortars!” Mitsuha ordered at the ground force. She pressed the switch on her radio and commanded the aerial force, “Cease firing at the soldiers! Incinerate the carriages and supply wagons!”
“Helicopter 1, roger that!!”
“Helicopter 2, roger that!”
The operation was almost complete. The aircraft crews should be able to burn the carriages with tracer bullets if they fired from a low enough altitude. They also had a stock of Molotov cocktails. Destroying the supplies was no problem. A fraction of the materials would survive, of course, but the army would have no way to transport them with their carriages torched and horses gone.
The imperial army had lost its command center along with most of its superior officers, and even its equipment and supplies. The foot soldiers were bolting in terror through the darkness.
Some of them might regroup at dawn. But the drafted civilian soldiers were likely to abandon their duties and keep running until they reached their hometowns. Meanwhile, the commanders and superior officers would never turn up. The remaining soldiers would be left to starve without any supplies. They might try to sneak back to the camp in the hope of collecting whatever remained, but the supplies would be burned and the carriages unusable.
Yeah, the chances of them continuing to charge after regrouping are extremely low. I’m gonna stick around to observe them just in case. If they do continue their invasion, I’ll just hit them with the same volley again.
Mitsuha turned on her radio.
“The situation is resolved! We’re returning to base. Touch down next to the mortar camp!”
“Helicopter 1, roger that!!”
“Helicopter 2, roger that!”
All that remained was to return to the Wolf Fang base on Earth. Mitsuha also had to check in with Princess Kak-Kak-Kak, but that could wait.
I’m sure she’s expecting the helicopters to make a triumphant return to the capital, but I’m not too hot on that idea. People could get hurt. Besides, I don’t want the mercs to join any celebrations. Having to interpret for them the whole time would be annoying, and they might get some weird ideas. Someone would have to keep an eye out on the aircraft and weapons, too. I could send the helicopters back to Earth first, but that would disappoint the public. It’d be best to avoid that hassle altogether.
Oh, I should round up the rest of the mines… I would’ve asked the Wolf Fang guys to dig them up, but it’s too dangerous in the dark and we’re pressed for time. I’ll just discard them with my world-jumping ability and make it clear to them that landmines are not to be used without my express permission.
I’m sure they already know that, but just in case.
The helicopters landed. They touched down a good distance from the mortar camp because of the loud and gusty spinning rotors. The crew members had to make sure everything was clear before Mitsuha jumped them back to Earth. It was important to follow the routine procedures.
As agreed upon beforehand, the two helicopter captains disembarked with the engine still on and approached Mitsuha.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Helicopter 1 suffered no injuries to personnel or damage to equipment!”
“Helicopter 2 also suffered no injuries to personnel or damage to equipment!”
“Good. The mission is complete. We’re returning to home base!”
Man, that felt really cool. Now I just need them to say, “Roger that!”
“Um… I’ve got a little request,” the captain of the first helicopter said.
“Huh? What is it?”
While the mercenaries had a significant advantage in weaponry, they weren’t completely free from danger. Someone could’ve been killed by an arrow or a spear when they descended to destroy the carriages. One of the helicopters could’ve crashed, too. This was a life-risking job, and Mitsuha owed them for accepting it─or rather, paying for the privilege to perform it. She wasn’t opposed to the idea of compensating them somehow.
One of them said, “Well, it’s not every day you get to go to another world, so we were hoping we could take home some soil and grass. And take some pictures and videos.”
“Oh, that’s no problem at all! Just so you know, I always exclude any bugs and germs when I jump things to Earth to prevent the spread of disease.”
“Yeah, of course. This won’t take long.”
With that, the captains waved at the crew members in the helicopters and watched as they hopped out, carrying buckets and small shovels. They clearly came prepared for this. The copilots remained on the crafts. It would’ve been careless to leave them unattended while the rotors were still spinning.
“Can we show our pictures and videos to other people?” one of the helicopter captains asked.
“Only if none of our faces are in them,” answered Mitsuha. “And don’t put them on TV or the internet where anyone can see them. I’m okay with you using them to brag to your friends and other mercenaries or as proof when selling the soil and grass. Basically, you can show them to people who already know about the other world, but not to anyone who doesn’t.”
Yeah, they probably lost a lot of money on this mission from the cost of ammo and everything else. And sure, maybe they wanted to participate in a rumble in another world, but they can’t take that big a financial hit and not suffer. Besides, I originally intended to hire them for as much as a few hundred thousand dollars. I don’t mind giving them this.
The soil and grass look pretty ordinary around here anyway. I doubt the dirt has any rare minerals, and the grass is just common weed─not a newly discovered species you can’t find in an encyclopedia. There’s nothing special around here that I’d use as a bargaining chip with countries on Earth. They can take whatever they want.
Well, except for animals or the corpses of enemy soldiers. I’d have to think about that first.
The helicopter crew members finished collecting their soil and grass samples a little while later. One of them recorded as the others worked, likely to prove the samples’ authenticity. Mitsuha gave them permission to film, so that wasn’t an issue.
They only collected perfectly ordinary soil, weeds, and flowers. I doubt any of them are gonna sell for much. I guess it’s like how high school baseball teams take home soil from the Koshien field as a souvenir. Little pieces of the other world like these would make a good keepsake to remember the experience by. And the best part is they didn’t cost me a penny.
It was time to return to Earth. The crew members didn’t need to be inside the helicopters for the world-jump. The engines were still on, and the mercenaries were going to turn them off when they returned to the base. They planned on taking a bath, debrief, and then have a small party to commemorate their success. In the meantime, Mitsuha was going to pop over to see Princess Remia and then join the mercenaries for the debriefing.
What about my bath, you ask? I was far from the mortars; I’m not covered in combustion gas from the gunpowder. Plus, I showered before the mission.
What does it matter, anyway?! Girls don’t get smelly!
I also learned a new trick recently: I can clean myself by world-jumping and leaving my sweat and waste behind. Don’t worry, I don’t do that with the poop inside my body.
Unless I’m horrifically constipated. In which case, I’d jump from a toilet.
The unused landmines had been collected and disposed of by Mitsuha before the helicopter landed. All that was left to jump back to Earth were the choppers, the mercenaries, the mortars and leftover bombs, and Wolf Fang’s equipment.
“Are you all ready? Earth, here we come!”
Okay, now!
“Jump!”
“Appear!”
“Gyah!─oh, it’s you, Lady Mitsuha. Where are the divine soldiers? And the flying sky boats? How did the battle go?!”
“Ow─that hurts! Let go of me!”
Can you not squeeze my shoulders and shake me like that?!
“Oh, sorry…”
Princess Remia quickly regained her composure after being startled by Mitsuha’s abrupt entrance. Her reaction was understandable─the princess had been on pins and needles waiting to hear the results of the battle, and probably feared the worst when Mitsuha came back alone without the “flying sky boats.” It wouldn’t have been a stretch to assume that she fled alone after her divine army was wiped out.
Mitsuha reported, “The battle ended in defeat…”
“NO-O-O-O-O!”
“…for the enemy─oww!”
Holy crap, she just totally clocked me!
“I’m sorry! Please forgive me!” wailed Mitsuha.
Seriously, that was my bad. Some jokes are just not funny… And that was clearly one of them. I shouldn’t have done that to Princess Remia who’d been waiting all this time praying for her country’s survival, the livelihoods of her people, and my safety.
“I really am sorry! That was in bad taste!”