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

Chapter 289: I know just the right person

"Every imperial we kill here is one less free pair of war captive hands for us to make use of!"

Every man who crossed the gate was one more point of contact for the people back home to notice something was up. And while a certain level of interaction between those who knew and those who didn't was necessary…

"If we want to keep this entire thing away from the prying eyes, we should limit the number of people involved as much as we can," I stated pretty much the obvious. "Oh, and if this continues, there's a serious chance I will fucking die."

This was no exaggeration.

My last rebirth was different from the former ones. It came with no real, physical pain of every cell of my body tearing itself apart. The prison of the darkness I found myself in, strangely enough, brought nearly no strain upon my flesh.

It was as if the change brought upon by the rebirth moved beyond the mere level of flesh.

But it still left me shaken, silently terrified of the depths of the prison I found myself in. And if not for the help from the outside…

'Let's not think about this now,' I thought as I took a deep breath.

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"It's nice of you to mention it now," Makary sighed and reached out to press a single button on the holodesk. Its interface was integrated with all of the other electronics of the truck, allowing for much easier communication than how it worked back in the hangar on Earth.

"Cease fire and hold your ground. Report if approached."

In spite of all the series of thoughts flashing through my mind, I squinted my eyes and gave Makary an inquisitive look.

He dedicated two out of three Maglevs at his disposal just to mapping the area. And yet, he still wanted verbal reports of what was happening?

I turned my eyes over at the holodesk, where Maglev's sensor-collected data was translated by the truck's battle processors and displayed in a clear, convenient hologram of a map. On it, I could clearly see the imperial forces retreating with no sign of rallying themselves back in.

"It's never a good idea to rely on a single source of intel," Makary answered my unvoiced doubts after following my eyes and casting a glance at the map. His sight lingered there for a bit as he studied the progress, before moving over towards me…

No, towards nodding off Fay in my arms and only then up to my own eyes.

"Mind telling me what the hell did you mean by you dying?" Makary asked silently… but his face regained the same, cold qualities I saw in it when we met for the first time. "You do fucking realize it's not only your life on the line here?"

I closed my eyes, suddenly growing weary from the intensity of the man's stare.

"I didn't expect this to happen… But in general, I'm just a step away from becoming as strong as the two who even Maglev struggled to follow."

As unbelievable as my statement was, I still decided to put it out.

I owed as much to the man who not only brought me up from the disaster of my old life but also assisted me all the way to the current point in time and the ongoing circumstances of a just concluding battle.

"It sounds as great as it sounds impossible, I know," I added before Makary could interject. "But this last step is what I don't think I'm ready for. And if I fail…"

I lowered my eyes and shook my head, playing it off as if a mere thought of the possible consequences was enough to drive me into a depressed mood.

"Fay, you awake?" I suddenly asked, looking down at the top of the head of the girl in my arms.

"Mhmm?" Keeping her face on my chest, Fay purred in a low, growl.

"Do you know? I mean, what happens when someone fails to be reborn into a supreme?"

The truth was… I didn't know myself. I had no idea whether the concept of failing the rebirth even existed for Fay's tribe… or all living beings in general. In fact, it was the very princess that I was trying to stop Makary from chasing down and killing that was the most likely to have an actual answer.

And yet… Just by following my gut, I could tell those rebirths were no easy or straightforward matter. But surrounded by so many different secrets that continued to hint just how unfathomably greater the full picture was than anything I was even capable of imagining…

I simply couldn't pay all that much attention to everything, all at once!

The appearance of my father who I've never really got to know properly. His gift, the portal to another world. Fay's existence and the revelation of her race and qualities. Ongoing conflict between the forest dwellers and the imperial coalition.

Hidden between those, a bad feeling about rebirths wasn't high enough in the queue of my priorities for me to pay it all that much attention.

And yet, I could tell without a shred of a doubt, that if I faced my next rebirth in my current, shaken state…

The consequences would be disastrous.

"It can go two ways," Fay spoke as she pressed her forehead against my chest, angling her chin away from my solar plexus as she gave her lips some room to move. "Roughly half of the failures die on the spot," Fay reported in a disinterested voice before inching her head up a little and giving me one hell of a lovely, upward glance.

"Others go crazy and won't go down until they exhaust all of their auras," Fay finished her explanation and shook her shoulders.

"Oh…" Makary muttered in response, suddenly weighed down by the dire consequences of the fighting were to resume.

'At least now I know, huh?' I shook my head, allowing those idle thoughts for but a second.

"Now, back to the main topic. First, we don't want to kill the people that will slave away to build our power here," I announced before putting a huge, wide grin on my lips. "And I don't want just the right person to have this arranged to die a dog's death while running away from our boys."