“You’re not coming back north with us, are you?”

  “No, I need to learn more about this world,” Ioha said to Hiro. With a smile, he continued, “You’ll make more than me for a while now.”

  “How so? Ouch!” The last was directed to a young helper, who rather roughly adjusted the straps for his cuirass. The border zone was harsh on equipment, but since long missions there normally used a camp as a base, multiple sets was an option. Hiro’s gang might be a bit inexperienced, but by now they were a solid E-rank company, and Ioha believed most of the members would rank up during the summer. They’d probably lose a few members by then and recruit some new ones. Nanami said that was the curse of smaller companies.

  “I’ll join escort missions. Suits my profile, and I get to see lots of places, but the pay is junk.” He gave Hiro a hand. Plate armour had become uncommon among soldiers. Cost and the prevalence of magic attacks made mobility more important than walking around in a metal fortification. They still had their place in the border zones, and if Ioha knew beforehand that something like the pitched battle in the mountains was on the menu, he’d want the added encasing. Main drawback being you needed help to dress and undress. “You really buying another wagon?”

  Hiro shrugged out of the cuirass and nodded to the helper. “We’re buying four. I’m recruiting another three parties, and I’m setting up a combined staff and logistics unit split in two parties.”

  “Three parties? That’s a lot.”

  “You said it. Escort missions. We’ll have two parties on them. One northbound to the Remerrin capital and the other for Isekai. I’m using the new trading post for the swaps.”

  “And the third?”

  “Training at camp. Remember us when we first showed up?”

  Ioha groaned. “Yeah, OK, I can see why. Why the escort missions? Pays junk I just said.”

  “Paid holiday. We’re staying in that border zone for another year, maybe two. They tried to replace us, but Nanami said no. I agree.” Hiro let out a soft laugh. “She’s a hard one when she gets angry.”

  Ioha could agree with that part.

  “Anyway,” Hiro continued, “we’ll handle the raid camp and supplies to the new fort. Patrols around the crossroads as well.” He scratched his nose. “People need to let out steam. Three weeks on escort still pays, and it’s a way to get away from camp and patrols.” A hand came down on Ioha’s shoulder. “Pays better than for you.”

  “How so?”

  “That’s where four wagons come in. We sell the materials in the capitals. That’s ten to thirty percent extra.”

  Ioha nodded. Halfpoint was bad enough, but the trading post probably paid even worse. “You really need the extra party in camp?”

  “Yup. With the new garrison, I’m setting up a small roadhouse just outside the zone. Nothing fancy, just a place where you can sleep safe, have a simple meal someone else cooked for you and a drink.” Hiro grinned. “We’ll buy low-grade materials for a steal and the comfort will be just a little pricey. Perfect for green parties.”

  That explained the oversized support unit. “So, escort and materials outbound and supplies inbound?”

  “Escort and supplies, yes. We swap escort parties at the trading post. Should work until the Isekai port is built.” He shrugged out of the cuirass and left it to the armourer.

  Not really a secret then, heh. “You knew about the harbour?”

  “It’s a walk from here. I saw the constructions.”

  “Still need my advice on gear?”

  Hiro nodded. “Yes. You Swedish people seem to be more used to roughing it out on your hiking holidays. I can set up a camp just fine, but carrying it around on my back is a different thing.”

  Memories of the circus arriving at their camp half a year earlier came unbidden to Ioha’s mind, and he shivered.

  They left for the seamstress, who still hadn’t given up on tents. Well, they were one of the reasons themselves, and with the increased influx of outworlders camping holidays in fantasy-land might actually become a thing. Someone from Japan had spent months on research, and now produced low grade stainless steel without modern machinery. It was expensive, but cutlery were already on the market. Someone else, from Sweden this time, found out, returned back home and came back with the competence to make portable stoves. Not everyone had a mage proficient at casting heat related spells handy. Add a lightweight chimney and a heat protection ring, and you ended up with a camping match made in heaven.

  When they arrived, she had Hiro’s orders ready. Two party tents, and in this world that word needed a redefinition. Two tents for one adventuring party each. A-frames for use in forests where fuel for the stoves could be found in abundance.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “You’re happy with these?” Ioha wondered.

  Hiro smiled and ordered the tents onto his wagon. “Yes. I ordered two of your Swedish military style ones as well. The escorts will love them, and they can carry a few sacks with firewood on their wagons.”

  We’re intruding on their world. Ioha couldn’t shake the thought that the invasion by accident had just turned into an invasion by intent. And I’m one of the invaders. He was. With his next planned move, he no longer belonged to the starry eyed maniacs who moved here to learn a little magic, experience a few adventures, and most likely move back to a far more convenient life. He didn’t even belong to those who chose to live out their days as part of the world they had come to love. At least he wasn’t one of the real kingdom builders like Isjase.

  “Want help with getting the crates up?”

  “Sure, I’ll just get this end…” Hiro started to reply.

  “Don’t worry.” Ioha extended aura to his back, legs and arms, and grabbed the crate. For the first time in ages, he activated the cat jumping ability with a heavy load. He jumped and landed with the crate in his arms. Something flickered in his display, and he put the crate down. What? With a laugh, he sat down on the wooden box he had just left on the wagon. I’ll be damned. The ability gained one point, and went from corner case useless to honestly still corner case useless. At least it proved it wasn’t theoretically impossible for him to improve his cat abilities.

  “What happened?”

  Ioha still laughed. “Sorry Hiro. I just got better at something I had almost forgotten about.” It wasn’t entirely true. He still trained those abilities in combination with other movements exactly because their use was corner case, and he didn’t want to forget when they might come in handy, but he had long since given up on improving them.

  “Not surprised. That thing is heavy. Normal people don’t jump around carrying that kind of stuff.” He added an appraising look at Ioha. “Well, you look like you can handle it.”

  Moving to fantasy-land just to do weightlifting? Might work, but it wasn’t his idea of fun. Besides, he wouldn’t jump between rooftops anyway. That belonged in a different time, together with a different dream. A bit shamefacedly, Ioha admitted that he could already run between rooftops. That was just a matter of dropping hard shields ahead of him. When was it? Ah, their Schooltown date! He walked down from that roof with Ai in his arms. I should have added more fireworks to the stairs. Fireworks or not. It was still a sweet memory.

  “Fetching the stoves now?” he asked after the second crate was secured.

  “Stoves, and after that, the stuff you told me about. Supplies last.”

  Good thinking. He needed some supplies himself. He’d bring one wagon on the mission they accepted a day earlier. Harvali refused to let him loose by himself in the federation, so one lucky merchant would never learn, he got himself an escort in the range between overkill and overpowered for almost no money at all. To be honest, they’d disguise their own valuables as part of a rather mundane wagon train. Harvali’s party brought two wagons of their own.

  “You know, those horses.”

  “I promised. I’ll need the stables when I return anyway.”

  Hiro’s face lit up. “You’ll return?”

  “Of course I’ll return. I live here, after all.” Another admission. Isekai had become home for him, even though he didn’t spend too much time in the town. Ioha wondered if he simply just needed the reminder of Sweden, or Earth at least. Maybe he never gated again, but he could. Being able to was important. “It’s a little like home.”

  Despite smacking his lips with disapproval, it was clear that Hiro at least partially agreed. “Would have been so much easier if we could bring things with us through the gate.”

  Ioha looked at the surrounding chaos. “You sure you’d want that?”

  Hiro followed his look with one of his own. “Maybe not.”

  While they talked, they reached a small ironware shop. Stoves, cutlery and a few pots went onto the wagon. Hiro even bought the closest thing to a chef’s knife this side of the gate. Another store provided them with more general outdoors gear. Repair kits, blankets, cloth and a multitude of items for setting up that road house of his. Their last stop loaded the wagon with pottery.

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s all. The others bought clothes and consumables.”

  Consumables. Why not just call it ammunition? “Then I guess this is it,” Ioha said and jumped down from the wagon. Just when he was about to go, Hiro put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Sure, you’re not going to wave goodbye?”

  “No interfering. Remember?”

  A thin smile spread on Hiro’s face. “OK, I promised after all.”

  Hiro’s finest had their new gear and some supplies. Ioha made certain they bought what they really needed, as well as things that made life better. They even left for the zone with two foldable shovels. Those were overpriced, but everyone in the Black Flaming Dragon guild originally came from Japan, and there were things you wanted to leave behind when you were outdoors, and things you didn’t. At least not so anyone else knew.

  He sent Hiro a wave and left for the Caravanserai. Harvali should be waiting there along with some merchants who wanted the extra safety an escort provided. On his way Ioha brought his own wagon, latched packhorse and riding-horse to it and drove the last part. After weeks on the road between the capital of Remerrin and Isekai he had decent abilities for this kind of work. It wasn’t difficult to learn, and after a quick increase they petered out in the low thirties, which was more than enough, unless he wanted to re-enact a car chase with horses and a wagon somewhere dangerous in the mountains.

  Winter slowly gave way to an almost spring, and the streets filled with people drinking the very first of the warmth to come. He had spent too much time in Isekai this time, or maybe just enough time. Life in the city, even if they were small ones, had been welcome breaks in the dangerous monotony of patrols and defending a camp. They were only breaks, though. By now, Ioha admitted the itch that once had him move from Gothenburg to Isekai. He needed the new and unfamiliar. One day, when he had truly grown up, he might look back at this time with a shake of his head, but he was still young. Young people got to do stupid things. It was called growing up for a reason.

  At the caravanserai, Harvali’s party, and a lot more merchants than Ioha had expected, waited for him. Ioha waved at them. It was time for long days on the road again.