Michiko Goes To Another World

Present Day

Michiko blinked as they appeared once again in Mitsuha's General Store of the Zegleus capital city. She had spent a week here a few months ago* when Mitsuha had come clean about the entire ordeal that she had undergone since the time she failed her University entrance exam and fell off that cliff and the subsequent encounter with the entity they had both colloquially dubbed "the Cat-God". During that week, Mitsuha had made the rounds with Michiko, introducing her to her circle of friends throughout the Kingdom as a "childhood companion from her native land of Japan ", prefacing that she didn't speak the local language but was just here for a visit. Well, it was mostly true... Mitsuha thought. Also, Michiko looked closer to fifteen to the people of Zegleus as opposed to Mitsuha's apparent age of twelve. That elicited its own set of reactions among the Bozes' sons, at least until they were told that Michiko was a commoner; a cover story that Michiko had insisted on. The ones she hit it off the most were definitely Marcel and the crew of Paradise Diner; had Michiko actually planned to stick around, they would have hired her on the spot after watching her in the kitchen for literally five minutes, language barrier or not. As it was, Michiko left behind three new dishes and the first two cocktails of the Kingdom for their menu before it was time to leave, which Mitsuha last heard were still selling extremely well. Boy, they better get around to hiring a few more people back there though, before they drop dead of exhaustion... she thought.

*see The Ones We Leave Behind Epilogue

For this trip, along with some personal items, Mitsuha had brought along a few racks of bottles from Bar Micchan for sale, some groceries and cooking supplies to restock her kitchenette in the capital residence, and various goods for the store inventory. Michiko couldn't help but marvel at what an amazing power Mitsuha had been granted; she could put any shipping company out of business, if she put her mind to it. As someone who helped her parents run a bar, she knew well the costs of shipping inventory and how much it impacted a store's bottom line, something that Mitsuha would never have to endure. As the girls worked on restocking the store, Michiko picked up a bottle of Gekkeikan Sake that had been brought along and noted the pricing on the shelf... ouch ...! She's charging how much for this cheap stuff...?! She shook her head... Mitsuha...you little demon... you could at least have some pity on these poor nobles and give them Gekkeikan's Haiku Tokubetsu label for not that much more... Personally, Michiko wouldn't touch Gekkeikan's base stuff; she'd just as soon stick with green tea if that's all a restaurant had. She looked at Mitsuha who was finished with the rest of the inventory, and apparently her thoughts were etched on her face... well, we know each other way too well; we can practically read each other's minds. Mitsuha stared back with those cool composed eyes that brooked no argument... fine, fine, Michiko conceded... your powers, your store... I'm not the one who has to sleep at night.

Minor quibbles aside, Michiko had reconciled that their lives had diverged and for the most part, they hadn't seen much of one another, aside from the occasional emails and rare visits, which made those encounters all the more melancholy. She had her life, and I had mine, and we both had to accept that and move forward, even if we could still remain friends. Heck, Mitsuha still made it a point to purchase her alcohol products at Bar Micchan; those nobles sure loved Earth booze, Michiko thought, which was the reason for this trip.

Mitsuha had consistently expressed a desire to move as much of her province's economy to legitimately produced products as possible. She told Michiko that while she was OK using her powers to "cheat" for short-term gains, she felt that long-term, she wanted to set her people up to be able to succeed, even in the event she was no longer around, or if she were to ever lose her world-jumping powers. On some level, that made sense to Michiko; "no one lived forever, right? " she had said, though when she said that to Mitsuha, she got a cryptic look back that didn't exactly sit well with her*. Another secret perhaps? Maybe she'll tell me when she's ready...Michiko thought. That said, she asked Michiko about the possibility of redesigning some of the wineries of her province to match some of the ones in Japan to improve the products to more closely-resemble what came from Earth. She knew Michiko had taken a trip with her dad to Yamanashi Prefecture recently to study where their products were coming from, including Chateau Mercian, Katsunuma and Sadoya Wineries, and while she was hardly an expert wine maker, she knew enough to get them started rather than letting in some stranger who might not be trustworthy.

*This takes place after Dr. Shuhei Nishimura's revelations in "Blog"

To that end, Michiko decided to take a break from her normal studies and make this trip, figuring it would be a chance to reconnect with her childhood companion, and even brush up on her own winery knowledge to boot. Two birds with one stone... what could go wrong? To compensate for her own inexperience, she had downloaded plans for both historic and modern wineries and distilleries from both Japan and overseas, along with wine and liquor methods used throughout history. She was well aware she would be limited in terms of material science and infrastructure, so she was building a set of compromised designs in her head that she would try to apply once they arrived on site. She also took the time to perfect a few new cocktails and alcoholic entrée applications to show Marcel when they had a chance to meet him. He had been chomping at the bit the last time they met and was hungry to learn more when she left. Mitsuha was a superb chef but her one weakness was she never really tapped into using alcohol with her cooking. Yamano cuisine, eh... Michiko thought with a grin... wait until they get a taste of the Nakamura upgrade...or whatever they'll call it.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Mitsuha-neesama!" came Sabine's cheery bubbly voice.

How does she do that...? Mitsuha wondered. We literally just arrived! Does she have my store staked out with Royal guards? She opened the door and Sabine immediately entered, with her guards waiting dutifully outside. "You're back!" She then saw Michiko, "and you brought Michiko-oneesan with you!"

Michiko curtsied, "I'm very pleased to meet you again, Hime-sama!" she said with her best Zegleus speech. It was one of the lines she had taken the time to learn during the week she was here previously and made sure to rehearse it with Mitsuha before coming back.

Sabine blushed and smiled in acknowledgement. She's been practicing... her pronunciation's gotten quite a bit better, she noted. She then turned back to Mitsuha. "Father says you were supposed to meet with the ministers... something about naval ships and weapons."

Mitsuha pondered a moment, then nodded. In the aftermath of the Vanel naval invasion and their subsequent defeat at her hands, there had been a flurry of activity, both in her's and the Bozes' provinces and the capital city*. Soon, money would be pouring into infrastructure projects, and a wartime boom would be underway. For this to happen though, Mitsuha had promised to deliver plans for superior weapons and ship designs. "Yeah, I was supposed to meet with Marquis Eibinger, Chancellor Saar and Prince Lionel to discuss construction projects and show them the plans I brought."

*These events take place shortly after "Visitors from the Seas"

As the conversation continued, Michiko sat silent, doing her best to absorb what she could, based on context, and filing away as much of the vocabulary to memory as possible. On her last trip that lasted a week, she had managed to learn greetings and sentences, honorifics, numbers, basic words such as 'yes', 'no', 'good', 'bad', 'eat', 'drink', and of course the most important, 'where is the bathroom'? Of course, she wasn't planning to stay here for any length of time, but it never hurt to learn a new language, so as to not look completely ignorant when other people were talking.

Sabine looked a little disappointed but nodded. "Well... when you're done, can we still meet for lunch and show me your new DVDs?"

Mitsuha sighed... some things never change... and I can't just leave the DVDs with Sabine... but then a sly thought occurred to her... or could I... All I need is someone who knows how to run a computer laptop and understand Japanese... Sure there were risks involved, but if it meant giving me some extra time to deal with my obligations... and as a bonus, Micchan even has experience running a shop... it's perfect! "Micchan, can I ask you for a favor?"

Mitsuha's sudden shift from Zegleus to Japanese caught Michiko's attention. "Eh? What do you need?"

"I need to meet with the Kingdom's leadership on a matter of great importance, but I promised Sabine that I was going to show her the next season of her favorite anime. Could you run the laptop for her and keep her company while I'm gone?"

That's right, Sabine's the one Mitsuha got hooked on Japanese anime DVDs, so she needs someone who speaks Japanese to translate and run the laptop. There's just one problem... "Ah... wait... and how am I supposed to speak Zegleus' language for her so she can understand what's going on with the anime's story? I'm not the one who got Woogle* Translate downloaded into my head by Mr. Cat-God."

*see Anime Epi2

"You were here a week," Mitsuha said gaily. "Just think of it as an opportunity to improve your language skills. Also don't forget the rule... if any customers come, the DVD stops, and you have to take care of them first. I'm sure Sabine can do most of the translating for you there." Even though the words were in Japanese, both girls noticed the annoyed glowering expression when the words "DVD stops" came out of Mitsuha's mouth; apparently that term crossed both languages. "I'll be back!"

"Gah...!" Michiko groaned with exasperation. Are you kidding? I can maybe order lunch at Paradise Diner in this language, and that's pushing it...! Michiko looked at Sabine's gleeful eyes and charming smile, who then handed her the microphone. She sighed... Sabine does know a little Japanese though due to months of DVD-osmosis... and she is Royalty here... so I guess there's no choice... fine... I'll make it work somehow...

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Jerome Lafette finished going over his prepared notes over what he would be discussing with the allied nobles he had managed to cobble together all these months. As it turned out, the failed invasion had caused several of the Zegleus nobles to fall out of favor; several had tried to turn to the Aldar side only to find themselves cast out. Others tried to fence-sit, hoping to only commit once the winner became apparent. Their fates depended heavily on their past histories and political acumen, but almost all of them suffered some kind of fallout. The ones that committed fully to the defense of the Kingdom came out looking like heroes, along with several newly created nobles, none more acclaimed than the ArchPriestess herself.

At first, the rumors ranged from her being some foreign noble girl who merely inspired the men to fight, all the way to her being the Goddess' own messenger who summoned divine soldiers to defend the city. As someone who was actually at the battle of the capital, Jerome had tried to convince the nobles he was working with of the latter, but many had scoffed at the notion, saying that it smacked of fairy-tale nonsense. All that changed last month, however, when news came that the ArchPriestess single-handedly defeated Vanel's entire naval fleet with a wave of her hand, capturing their sailors and seizing their ships without a single shot fired*. One story he heard even suggested that she drank the oceans dry to do it, but he was pretty sure that was some bard with too much mead spinning a tale for money**. The fact that there were lines of Vanel prisoners-of-war being interrogated in the capital city jails, and a docked galleon though meant the actual story itself was indisputably true, which put to rest any notion that this ArchPriestess was a "mere noble girl that inspired the troops".

*see Manga Chp69 /LN Chp27
**see Manga Chp81 /LN Chp28

No, as he had finally convinced the recalcitrant nobles that were plotting with him, there was only one option. This Kingdom was truly invincible, so long as the ArchPriestess was present and an ally. No plot stood any chance to succeed, so long as she was still around. If there was to be a change in the monarchy, the ArchPriestess had to die first... or at the very least be taken out of the equation. To that end, the nobles on his side had quietly gathered their resources and acquired a rare, poisoned Aldar assassin's weapon that was said to guarantee a kill upon striking its target. It had cost many gold coins... overkill? Not really...if we take this shot at the ArchPriestess, we'd better not miss.

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As usual, the line to get into Paradise Diner wrapped around the building, but when word came that the Lightning ArchPriestess, Princess Sabine, and the Cocktail Maiden, as Michiko ended getting titled by them, had arrived, they were quickly ushered forward, and a table was immediately made available. Marcel was even present; apparently, he and Anel had formed an ongoing bond as fellow "Yamano-cuisine" disciples, regularly exchanging ideas and trying new concepts and variations. However, seeing the actual progenitors of the cuisine return had them wanting them to show them something completely new.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Mitsuha said, remembering a debacle caused by a previous similar situation. If she were to help out, it might make the already-busy lines even worse.

Not knowing the history, Michiko said, "Come on, what could go wrong?" Mitsuha almost spat up her tea at the statement practically begging for trouble, but managed to hold it in as Michiko went to the kitchen to take a look. They were prepped for their usual hamburg steaks, udon noodles, along with standard stations set up for vegetables, frying, and a decent amount of dairy, flour, spices, and the normal ingredients one would expect in a well-stocked kitchen of this era. Their financial success of the past few months had allowed Bernd to bring their inventory back up to full supply. "Mitsuha taught you guys mayonnaise; did she teach you guys the five Mother sauces*?"

*béchamel, espagnole, tomato, velouté, hollandaise

Michiko had asked the question in Japanese, as it was beyond her current ability in the Zegleus language. Mitsuha translated and groaned as Anel and Marcel turned their gazes back onto her; you're going to open up that can of worms...!? You know what comes next, right!? That means you're going to be spending the next few weeks at least having to show them every possible variation those Mother sauces can lead to...or even worse... I'm going to end up doing it because you can't speak the language yet...!

Michiko proceeded with lightning speed, setting up a standard three-way frying station, along with turning a white béchamel sauce into a sawmill gravy using leftover drippings from the scraps of hamburg steak prepared earlier, as Marcel and Anel watched with amazement. After frying the breaded steak and adjusting the gravy with seasoning, she presented the Kingdom's first chicken fried steak with potatoes and vegetables used from the other entrées of the kitchen. The people in the dining room watched as Anel, Marcel, Bernd and Sabine each took a bite to sample the new dish and each instantly approved as the crunchy, meaty, savory dish coated in rich gravy hit their palette in a way that only Yamano cuisine could. Almost immediately, shouts for "special order" came throughout the room, demanding the new variant dish. Mitsuha sighed... Like I didn't see this coming... it's the popcorn food-stand stampede* all over again... I guess lunch is going to take longer than I thought...I sure hope Bernd has extra hamburg steaks and plenty of dairy ready to go...

*see Manga Chp55 /LN Chp24

While Michiko was still in the kitchen, both cooking orders and demonstrating the steps for Marcel and Anel, Mitsuha and Sabine were having their "special order" lunch. They decided not to wait on Michiko...if she wanted to play 師匠* for an hour or so, that was fine with Mitsuha. It would probably help her language skills a little and the demos were more visual than speaking anyway.

* Shishō / Coach or teacher

As they ate, one of Sabine's royal messengers came into the restaurant and handed her a note. She finished her bite and turned to Mitsuha. "It's another note from Saar-sama. He wants to meet you at what he's calling the Proving range. Something about they're having problems with the rifling design you left them."

Mitsuha sighed. She suspected that the metallurgy of Zegleus would have difficulty holding up to the pressures generated by a cylindro-conoidal bullet going down a rifled barrel. She had wanted that advantage in the event they were ever to face off against the Vanel troops wielding smoothbore muskets, but the basic technological gap might not allow it. "Can you stay here and wait for Micchan and meet me back at the store? Tell her we'll head out in the morning as we planned."

____________________________________________________________________________________

Mitsuha headed towards the edge of the capital city towards a relatively cleared section designated the "Proving range". It was basically a medieval equivalent of a shooting range that had been set up in accordance to Mitsuha's specifications, primarily having a safety backstop at the rear of the property line to prevent any stray bullets from leaving the range, and baffles above any expected line of fire to catch even the worst marksmen's mistakes. Along the firing line, vertical posts had been set up that could mount armor suits so penetration could be tested for, along with basic marksmanship practice. The intent was to allow the Kingdom to start testing both the captured Vanel smoothbore muskets, and eventually what Mitsuha hoped would be newly created Minié rifles from her designs.

Arriving at the Range, Mitsuha's thoughts briefly went over the itinerary she had planned. The plan was to leave in the morning via her personal carriage. I hope Micchan appreciates just how much more comfortable the wagon is, compared to the local ones*. I had it specially made on Earth, because my butt just couldn't take those bouncy rides for that long. Of course, we'll be making jumps along the way to cut the travel time down. She didn't want to keep Michiko away from Earth any longer than necessary; she was scheduled to return to college in a few weeks to register for her next semester classes. Besides, the medieval living couldn't be easy for someone who was accustomed to living in modern Japan, no matter how pleasant Mitsuha would try to make it. Yeah... the sooner she goes back home, she safer and more comfortable she'll be.

* see Manga Chp67 / LN Chp28

Mitsuha looked around; she didn't see Chancellor Saar anywhere, but there were several guards around. Maybe she was early; she went to one of the guards. "Excuse me, is Minister Saar ..." Mitsuha's next thoughts were immediately interrupted by a sharp thrust of pain from behind. Instinctively, she tried to gather her thoughts to perform a jump, but something felt off. It wasn't just the pain or that she was being grappled on from both sides; it felt like she had been drugged or was extremely drunk. Something else was on that dagger, she suddenly realized. This was really bad...! I'm all alone and I can't... her thoughts began to crumble under the pain of the assault and poison coursing through her veins. Coherency was fading; any kind of focused destination was no longer an option, but at this point, anywhere was better than here as she was thrown to the ground. She could barely make out the eyes of the traitorous... no, she realized in her last moments of lucidity... disguised assassins... that whole message was a trap... and she fell for it...! If she didn't vanish now... anywhere... she was done for... Summoning the last vestiges of her will, she poured herself into her power, not caring where it would take her, leaving a quiet whoosh of air*.

* To be continued in "The Long Kiss Goodnight"