After two days in this town, the reconnaissance team had gathered quite a bit of information.
The progress wasn't fast, but their cover was that of foreign merchants—not otherworldly visitors—so they could only ask around indirectly and fill in the gaps with a fair amount of guesswork.
This was a world where gods and dragons truly existed.
The overall pantheon differed somewhat from Earth's, yet there were many similarities, and parallels could be drawn with most mythologies outside of Asia.
With so many deities verifiably present, the world was rich with diverse beliefs yet not rigidly opposed to others.
Unlike Earth, gods here were real—open disrespect might not always draw attention, but if noticed, divine punishment would surely follow.
That said, the gods themselves were tiered in power.
The stronger ones naturally attracted more faith, as expected.
Among them, the God of the Bible stood out as the most formidable and awe-inspiring.
In this dog-eat-dog world, humans were pitifully weak. No matter how fervently they worshipped, the gods did not always bestow blessings or mercy.
After summarizing the priest's explanation, Lainer offered a condensed version.
'Gods and dragons rule this world. Both have factions and fight endlessly among themselves. Humans possess no power to match either side. In the eyes of gods and dragons, humans are little different from monsters—mere ants.'
The only distinction seems to be that the gods occasionally show humans some favor, while dragons simply ignore them…
In a small town like this, the priest was often the most knowledgeable local.
Most of the team's intel came from him, but that didn't mean his perspective was free of bias—if anything, being a priest meant seeing things through a particular lens.
Still, this information was a great help to the team. At the very least, they could roughly gauge this world's combat hierarchy.
According to the priest, dragons could effortlessly flatten mountain ranges, their clashes reducing cities to rubble in moments.
That level of power… only a nuclear strike could compare—no, even nukes fell far short of such devastation.
And these dragons weren't even the apex of this world.
At least, the priest's God of the Bible was far stronger. Even accounting for faith-based amplification, belief doesn't arise without cause.
The fact that townsfolk remained despite the nearby dragon threat spoke to their faith in the Biblical God—convinced the wicked dragon wouldn't dare approach this devout town.
"Miss Theresa… this…"
The more he learned, the more Lainer broke into a cold sweat. He glanced at Theresa, steadied himself, and continued, "If this world really has Earth in its sights, we need to prepare for war—immediately!"
Around four or five people, Theresa included, were gathered in a hotel room.
They'd traded some of their rations at the church for local currency and taken rooms at the town's inn.
With travelers gone due to the nearby dragon threat, the inn had plenty of space, easily accommodating their group of nearly a hundred.
Faced with Lainer's alarm, Theresa asked, "Do you think that's enough, Colonel?"
"Of course not," Lainer replied matter-of-factly, "but all we can do is quickly rally the world's forces and call on the Magical Girls for aid!"
"Wrong. Our top priority now is to learn more about this world—to explore it further."
Theresa offered a different view. "Have you forgotten? Gods and dragons aren't united. They're riddled with internal strife."
"Right now, we can't tell if the hostility toward Earth comes from one faction or the entire world."
Lainer might not be the most capable, but he was still a colonel. He quickly grasped her meaning. "You mean… find suitable allies here to help us resist this world's forces?"
"Allies… that term only applies when both sides are equals."
Theresa frowned. "We know too little about this world. Rash moves could make things worse. For now, our focus should be on understanding this place. Of course, Earth must also prepare for war."
"This is insane…"
Lainer felt his scalp prickling. He never expected their first otherworldly reconnaissance would yield such dire news.
"Go and gather more support. This can no longer be treated as a simple scouting mission. We must race against time, operating at the level of an infiltration campaign—with infiltration scope being… this entire world."
Without giving the eighteen national representatives present more time to digest the information, Theresa began issuing orders.
"The Valkyries and I will remain here. I'll wait for you for half a month. The Realizer Unit will record your arrival and departure coordinates to ensure you return to this location."
As the highest-ranking person present and the only one who seemed calm and collected, Theresa's commands were taken seriously. Nodding in acknowledgment, they prepared to activate the portal.
Theresa walked to the window, gazing blankly at the scene below, her expression complex and inscrutable.
Catching her look, the representatives felt a twinge of shame.
Though it was said that Bishop Theresa looked young despite being in her forties, her childlike appearance combined with her unflappable composure, decisive actions, and now this pensive demeanor stirred an indescribable feeling.
Miss Theresa had already given her all for Earth, taking risks on the front lines… truly remarkable.
Yet, Theresa's actual thoughts were quite different.
Time flowed the same here as in the real world.
They had already gathered substantial information on this world. Based on the findings, this was undoubtedly the other world from 'Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.'
But that series didn't delve deeply into the other world's state—at least not in Amber's memories. The few details came from exchanges between Tohru and Elma.
The God of the Bible… Theresa didn't believe this deity was truly omnipotent like the Abrahamic God, nor even that He'd be stronger than Takamiya Mio.
Though Mio was created as a scaled-down version of a god, in this world… it wasn't clear who was the lesser copy. If Amber, wielding Mio's full power, came here, the position of God might just change hands.
Reining in her wild speculation a bit—to keep Amber's vacation in the new world from getting dull, she'd have to stir things up occasionally.
Lifting her eyes to the distant forest, Theresa hatched a plan.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.