100PS Bonus
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The next day at noon. Inside a public military recruitnt office.
The morning had already been bustling, but inside the private conference room, August and Hestia sat quietly, sipping tea. A middle-aged man in an army uniform stared at the mortal and the Goddess across the table, maintaining a stiff, professional smile.
That composure lasted only until August began listing his demands: thirty thousand assault rifles, fifty million rounds of ammunition, two hundred mobile missile launchers with twenty thousand missiles, and five thousand suicide drones. At that, the officer's eyelid twitched violently.
If the stunningly beautiful woman sitting next to the boy wasn't radiating a literal divine aura, he would have ordered them thrown out on the spot. That amount of firepower was enough to wage a war against a small country.
"Well, Commander Jas?" August looked at the officer with expectant eyes. Jas was the only official who had stepped up to et them.
"These weapons... You could start a war with an arsenal like this." Commander Jas wanted to refuse. Handing over that much firepower was practically the sa as arming a rogue state.
But when his gaze shifted to Hestia, the harsh refusal died in his throat.
A Goddess from another world... Just sitting there, her presence bypassed all logic. One look at her was enough to leave no room for doubt.
"Setting aside whether it's permitted, we couldn't co up with that kind of inventory even if we wanted to," Jas said, rubbing his temples. "Thirty thousand rifles? Two hundred missile launchers? We don't just keep that much surplus lying around."
"At best, we'd have to commission the military factories, and that takes ti."
They could procure it, sure, but pulling that much hardware would actively weaken their active-duty forces. This kid really had the nerve to ask for the lion's share. If Jas actually authorized a transfer that large on the spot, he'd be standing before a military tribunal by morning.
"Furthermore, thirty thousand assault rifles? How do you even plan to use them?" Commander Jas was genuinely curious about the logistics.
August pulled out a spare smartphone. "Like this."
He handed it to Jas. The screen played an ani clip—Gilgash firing a barrage of weapons from the Gate of Babylon.
"My ability is a [Spatial Backpack]. It doesn't just store items, it can eject them as projectiles."
"If I stock it with modern firearms, I can control and fire them remotely without needing any manpower."
August demonstrated the skill. Soft ripples of light appeared in the air around him. He picked up his paper tea cup, tossed it into one ripple, and it instantly shot out from another ripple near his shoulder.
"Inside the spatial inventory, I can remotely trigger firing chanisms or swap magazines automatically."
Jas had originally assud August was trying to raise a private army. Realizing it was ant for a one-man combat doctrine changed everything. The commander could already picture it—tens of thousands of missiles pouring out of thin air.
"What about maintenance?" Jas raised an eyebrow.
The upkeep for that much hardware wasn't cheap. Even ignoring the financial cost, the manual labor required to clean and maintain those guns would work a man to death.
"Not an issue. Unless the weapon is destroyed in combat, the interior of the inventory effectively freezes items in the exact state they entered," August explained. "As for any necessary upkeep costs, I can afford it."
He paused. "Besides, I'm not using these to start a war on Earth."
"I have a portal. I'm arming myself to explore another world solo."
Hearing that, Jas's eyelid twitched again.
'Selfish brat. You have a portal to another world, and you didn't think to invite Uncle Sam?'
Jas's perspective was entirely different. This young comrade had little civic awareness, he should have turned himself in to the governnt.
But then Jas rembered the briefing he had read before this eting. August had tried to turn himself in. The military had rejected him, assuming he was another delusional prankster. Since the authorities had already shot down his offer for joint developnt, Jas couldn't exactly take the moral high ground now.
'Dammit, which idiot rejected him at the front desk?'
But the situation had changed. The kid was no longer just a portal user. He now had the backing of a powerful goddess.
The military had already pulled up Hestia's mythology. She ca from a story about forging heroes—a world filled with Gods, demi-humans, and a massive Dungeon crawling with monsters. It was a realm of high fantasy and perilous unknowns.
Thinking about it made Jas want to strangle whoever chased August away that day. He wanted to drag that desk clerk out and court-martial him. Letting an asset of this magnitude walk out the front door was a monuntal blunder.
Despite his frustration, Jas couldn't bla August. The kid had offered his loyalty on a silver platter, and they had slamd the door in his face. Blaming the boy now would just prove Jas was unfit for his rank.
Commander Jas glanced up at the security cara in the corner of the room. This was above his paygrade, the old brass watching the feed would have to make the call.
Ring, ring.
The secure phone on the table buzzed. Jas picked up the receiver. The orders from the higher-ups were brief and decisive.
Make the deal.
Hearing the authorization, Jas let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"We will prepare the weapons for you."
Truth be told, Jas liked this arrangent. August had zero interest in conquering Earth, seizing power, or starting trouble. He just wanted to gear up for a dungeon crawl in another world.
"However, we want to establish a trade line for otherworldly goods," Jas continued, relaying the brass's terms. "Specifically, we are looking for magical healing items, exotic tals, or monster drops from the Dungeon."
"Healing items are fine."
"But tals and monster drops are off the table." Hestia, who had been quietly snacking, finally spoke up.
She weighed the request carefully before shutting it down.
"Raw exotic tals are monopolized by the top-tier Familias. You can't even buy the rare ores, they only sell finished products."
"Even if we procured finished weapons for you, fulfilling a military-sized quota would instantly paint a massive target on August's back. The other Gods would notice." She shook her head.
"As for monster drops, the drop rates are random, and the big Familias buy them up in bulk. We are just starting out. We don't have the manpower or the influence to move that much cargo without getting crushed."
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