Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

"Are you sure this is going to be enough?" Makary asked as we leisurely moved down the path through the forest.

It used to be a mere trail that celestials and divines would use when hunting or gathering. But now, in a mere few days and with the help of a few hundred hands of both Makary's men and locals, this formerly narrow trail turned into a proper road.

A road that allowed to continuously move high but limited volume of cargo.

And in spite of the great potential that widening it by just one lane on each side would give to the logistic side of the enterprise, there was ultimately no point in doing so.

After all, the entire show ahead of them was all aimed at creating a city out in the plain, not inside of the forest.

'The longer we rely on Madam's hospitality, the easier it would be to overstay our welcome. And as interpersonal grudges were bound to arise, moving out from the forest was the best and realistically the only strategic move in the current situation.'

I took a shallow breath and looked up, not bothering to answer Makary at all.

"Actually, what he is really curious about," Selene spoke out in her husband's steed. As she walked by his side, she had to lean forward to peek beyond Makary and give me and Fay an inquisitive look. "Is why your lovely wife so silent? Doesn't she have anything to say on the matter?"

I raised my eyes and looked at Selene, instantly fighting off a great desire to just heavily sigh away.

This woman was the very reason why, even though I could finally breathe the fresh air of this clean world again, I was severely exhausted.

Selene's face when she crossed the barrier and stepped into a different world was a hell of a sigh to behold.

Even Makary couldn't resist a touched smirk when he saw his wife overwhelmed by an amazing discovery like that.

And yet, mere minutes into her trip into a different world, she was already trying every angle to pry more information about local politics and the current situation. But whenever she would bring the topic up herself or try to make Makary ask in her steed…

Everyone's opinion on this problem was safe, and so was everyone's answer to Selene's pleas.

'Just wait and see.'

Thanks to the benefit of the road, we reached the reinforced line at the forest's edge in less than twenty minutes.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Only when we walked all the way up to the front of the trees, from where Selene could see the entire front of the remaining half of the Imperial army, I decided it was the right time to make a short stop.

"I'm sorry, but this is as far as you go," I turned to Selene and said. "Honestly, I'm against you going too," I looked over at Makary. "Over there, if something were to happen…"

I took a deep breath before looking up and staring straight into the man's eyes.

"If something were to happen, I wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety."

This was the one difference that set me and Makary apart. The one gap that, as things stood for now, we had no means of bridging.

For all the power Makary held with his word, all the brutal force he could mobilize with a single order, as a singular human… he was weak.

And just like he would be reluctant to let me throw myself into the dangers of the earth, I couldn't bring myself to have him expose himself to harm for no practical reason in this world.

"I know."

To my surprise, Makary didn't protest.

"As much as I want to take part in what's about to happen, it's not my place to be," Makary said before letting go of his wife's hand and turning to face me directly. The man reached out and dropped his hand on my shoulder while giving me a long and silent stare.

"Don't fuck this up," Makary said shortly, tapping me once on my shoulder before removing his hand and looking away.

'He said that… but why does it feel like he meant, do your best?'

Hiding my grin, I gave Fay's hand a squeeze while stealing a quick glance at her usual, elegant adorableness. Reassured by a small smile I caught, I then turned my head back and nodded to Madam.

"Let's get this over with."

Stepping out of the forest, I could feel the air around me change. The relative comfort of the many hiding spots within the forest was replaced with the full and total openness of the plain.

Behind me, about a third of the celestials and divines gathered behind the defensive lines set up by half of the Makary men.

Another third of the locals busied themselves behind the scenes, following the management of the other half of the earthly forces to prepare for all the logistical challenges that would soon follow.

In front of me, the remaining half of the imperial expeditionary force stood on full display, in neatly arranged rows.

Their sheer number was overwhelming, and oppressing, even when I saw how easily they fell to modern weapons.

Just the sight of a line of men after a line of men after a line of men… The sight of the ranks stretching out as far I could see and as deep as I could peer was something truly to behold.

And then, there was me, Fay, and Madam, with a measly group of ten workers tagging around on the five horse-drawn carriages we brought along.

We decided to pick horse-drawn carriages over a simple hauling vessel or a simple truck for the simple reason of not scaring the other party. But still, for my gift for the princess to work, I had to have all five of those carriages on hand…

Just like she had to follow my request and bring along a total of a hundred soldiers, preferably from every formation within her army.

Limited by the speed of the carriages, we moved across the plain, keenly observed by our allies from behind and stared down by thousands upon thousands of the men in front. And just like the last time I got the pleasure of meeting the imperial princess in the flesh, we met at the most random part of the plain, situated more or less an equal distance from the forest and the imperial camp.

"Welcome, princess," I spoke out loud as soon as I approached the imperial supreme's direct proximity. "I apologize for the delay," I then nodded my head, paying no mind to how this small action could blow out of proportion when analyzed by some court specialist. "And I hope my small request wasn't too much."

The princess… was fuming.

Sure, not a hint of it showed on her perfectly still and dignified expression… But I couldn't be mistaken about the fire burning in her eyes.

'Seeing her like that, it kind of makes me feel as if my promise of the gift is the only thing that stops her from beating me down as she stands…'

I gulped my saliva down and squeezed Fay's hand, the second greatest anti-stress toy after her breasts and cheeks who both claimed supremacy in that aspect.

"As you can see, I've worked hard, even if it was for the sake of someone who requires steep timelines yet fails to follow them himself," Etaria spoke with an obviously fake, forced smile.

"I assure you, princess," I lowered my head in a sign of respect before bending at my hips and turning to the side with my whole upper body as I pointed my hand at the five carriages tagging behind.

"If I understand your situation correctly, soon you will admit that this short delay," I ignored the sparks of fury appearing in the princess's eyes, "shall prove to be beneficial to not only us two but also everyone else."

I lowered my head again before raising up and beckoning at one of Makary's men with a wave.

The soldier nodded his head back before squatting down inside one of the carriages. A moment later, the man grabbed something from the bottom of the cart, threw a roll of cable at his shoulder, and easily somersaulted over the cart's wooden wall.

A few steps later, the soldier brought the device over while unfolding the cable off his shoulder as he covered more and more ground.

"Here you go, sir," the soldier reported, passing over a walkie-talkie-like speared connected to quite the expensive set of machinery stacked inside the heaviest of the carts.

"Thanks." I grabbed the electric speaker with my left only to reach out and pull a small, plastic bag off one of the pockets in my pants. "Now then," I turned my eyes back towards the princess. "Shall we begin?"

Up until this point, Etaria managed to hold back her emotions, keeping her anger over us being late at bay while maintaining a perfectly diplomatic expression.

But now that we were finally about to get to the crux of the matter…

Her face darkened.

"And how do you perceive this happening?" Etaria uttered through her teeth, finally showing open hostility in her eyes while she squeezed her hands down into fists. "Maybe you want me to bow down to you and kiss your feet?"

'Perfect, just perfect!'

It was one hell of a battle to keep myself calm. A battle within my soul that was so fierce, it even made Fay twitch and then give me a slightly weirded-out look.

"Oh, stop with the jokes," I casually waved my hand while shaking my head. "If that's how you deal with problems like that in the empire…" I shook my head again, this time in an exasperated shocked fashion. "Then we have a lot more work to do than I assumed."

I shook my head again before raising my eyes and stretching out my hand with the small plastic back towards the princess.

"Here, noise blockers," I explained as I passed the simple item over. "Tear the see-through bag and stuff those small puffs into your ears. It will help with the noise, for it's about to get really loud here," I lectured while pulling out a few more packets of the same kind and distributing them among my group.

Etaria, at first, stared at how everyone within my group casually followed my suggestion, tearing the packets open and then stuffing their eyes with the squishy foam of the blockers. A hint of suspicion remained in her eyes… in the end, though, she gritted her teeth and followed suit, quickly preparing herself for my gift for not only her but the empire as a whole.

"How do we stand?" I asked in a voice much louder than usual while looking over to the soldier responsible for the engineering of the fifth carriage. Stay updated with empire

The man in question looked down at something within his realm before turning towards me and stretching out a hand with its thumb's up.

"Okay then, let's get this over with," I whispered to myself, taking a few short breaths before raising the speaker to my mouth.

"Hear me, hear me, everyone, for today the history changes!"