Chapter 83: Border Policy

Our morning began as usual, while Licia and Ellie helped me with breakfast, the other girls were minding their own business.

I had to turn my attention to the TV however when news about immigration from other worlds started being broadcast.

A reporter was summarizing the decision agreed upon by most nations after intensive talks that had been happening ever since the dungeons started to connect to other worlds.

According to what he said, it's hard to hold someone from another world accountable for their actions on Earth since no government has that kind of jurisdiction or diplomatic ties yet.

As such, people from other worlds are only allowed to enter Earth after having themselves thoroughly registered, including things such as their fingerprints, so they don't try multiple registrations.

Not only that, they can't come alone. Any person coming from another world needs to be associated with someone born on Earth who will be held responsible for their actions. Both parties need to be present and sign an agreement.

After being registered, they need to choose between two types of documents, the first option allows for "short stays" of up to a month, and the other one is meant to be used for up to two years.

Each nation has determined its cap for the number of people eligible for the "long stays".

And to be honest, it's not a lot. Not one nation has its cap reached a million.

It's clear that everyone is being cautious with it to not disrupt the current world order, but the various limitations are making Earth's borders pretty closed.

It seems you can reapply for the documents at the very least though, and with time, the limitations might erode on their own.

Still, one limitation that will definitely not erode is the matter of slavery. We've seen a few people going around with collars or chains attached to their bodies in the dungeon, and the girls confirmed to me that these were slaves.

It didn't take long for everyone on Earth to notice that too, governments included.

They have decided that a country's law still applies, so, for most, in case a slave comes out of the dungeon with their master, the slave is to be freed and the master is to be registered as a criminal, unable to enter Earth and "deported" to their own world.

Failure to do so will result in the imprisonment of the perpetrator.

It's a bit of a question what will happen to the slave after being freed though, and aside from jokes on the internet where guys say their house is open for cute girls, there's not been much of an answer yet. Most people expect the government to provide them with support in such cases.

Anyway, while this part doesn't affect me much, the rest of the system sure does.

For starters, I was already gonna have Claire and Licia get fake IDs so that they can pass as normal citizens at the very least...

I feel like it's still worth it to pursue that for these two, since they're humans and all that, it's less likely for suspicions to arise.

Anna and Beatrice are in the same boat, but I think with this new system in place it's better to wait and see how things progress before ordering fake IDs for them.

Ellie and Mia on the other hand...

I can't possibly get them fake IDs for obvious reasons, and while we could hide their characteristics pretty well, now that races other than humans will be going around, I feel like people will get much better at recognizing them as non-humans.

If we're going to test this system, these two make for the best candidates.

In case it turns out bad, we can always keep going like we've been. The kingdom allows for untraceable transport after all.

Still, since this impacts them more than anything else, we had to sit down for a while and discuss.

When I got back home I went straight for the shower and then went to do some summons for the Merchant again.

Last time he asked me to get him some weapons. According to what he said, he has a friend capable of viewing a weapon's story, concentrating that story into a jewel, and then applying it to another weapon, making it stronger in the process.

Seems pretty broken if you ask me, but the important part is that he might be able to analyze if the weapon really has a story, meaning that it was taken from somewhere instead of being copied and made anew.

It's not really concrete proof either way since something tells me my Gift is not short from copying that aspect as well, but it might be indicative at the very least.

Today we are summoning armor though. It's for the very same reason, but he says it's good to have alternatives and also to test if something changes from one day to another.

Speaking of which, he got some pretty good loot out of this in my opinion, but when I left a comment about that, he simply replied that there wasn't anything good at all about the weapons I've produced since not a single one of them would be able to hurt a God.

Which yeah, kind of stings. I'm not gonna ask him to mince his words though, after all, while cold, it's still good information to have.

Miwen: "Oh yeah, I'll probably bake a cake or two in the coming days. Do you have any preference for flavor?"

Merchant: "Hm? Are you trying to win my heart or something?"

Miwen: "Yeah, forget I even asked."

Infuriatingly, he only shows emotions when he decides to act like an idiot.

Merchant: "Wait, wait, I do! I like oranges and such."

Like the girls, the Merchant has also fallen for my food trap. I'm actually quite proud of making someone as high and mighty as him look forward to what I'll cook next.

But oranges eh... it was also a pretty popular choice with the girls, but it ended up losing to strawberry in the end.

If I end up making a second one I'll try my hand with oranges.

Speaking of which...

Miwen: "Coincidentally, I got some strawberry-flavored candy with me. Do you want some?"

Without a shred of dignity, the Merchant nods along and I hand him a bag with some candy.

I would've preferred if he had kept his mouth shut though.

Merchant: "Hm... doesn't taste like strawberry to me?"

Miwen: "Yeah? Give it back then."

Merchant: "I'll give the bag back after dinner."

And in the blink of an eye, the guy actually left for his temporary house in the kingdom with the fucking bag.

I just know that he'll give it back empty too and then act like he kept his end of the deal.

It's still a mystery to me how a man-child like him managed to reach his current position as one of the strongest beings around.