That very morning. As Akiba moved into the summer, the sun rose slightly earlier everyday. As the day started to get warmer, temporary stores that looked fancy but at the same time shabby appeared in three different locations. A canvas was propped up by bundles of bamboo and wood cut to size, creating a big tent. Akin to a fair or event, colorful banners fluttered in the sky. In the center of the tent was a modified horse carriage serving as a store. The only stylish decoration was the wooden counter table. The design of the store varied slightly in each location, but all of them had colorful flying flags and banners as a signboard with colorful letters that said 'Crescent☪Moon'. In today's Akiba, restaurants and street stores were a dying business. Because all the food had the same taste. Following the setting of the game era of Elder Tales, the NPCs would operate beverage stations and bars, and many hotels also provided meals. But all the meals available had the same taste, from the cheap 'bean with rice' or top-level grilled chicken, all of them tasted like soggy crackers. No grease or flavor; even if it were moist it was still hard to swallow, making you depressed as you ate. It was the same with beverages. No matter what it was, even if the color was different, the smell and taste were just like well water. The only difference was alcohol, which tasted like water but made you warm inside, and eventually drunk. Since that was the case, no one went to restaurants or bars anymore. There were still some who were looking for a place to rest and headed towards these places. Compared to talking in the central square, a place with shade and chairs was much more comfortable. There was indeed a need for such services, but they were not there for the food. They would only order the cheapest food as their 'chair rental' fee. Most players in Akiba bought their food directly from NPCs. All the food had the same taste, so if you could get the necessary nutrients, the only criteria would be price. High-class food had the added effect of improving base stats for a short time, so battle guilds might need such items, but the demand was only a minority, probably less than 1 percent. The majority of the players treated food as just something you needed when you were hungry, so buying cheap food was enough. This led to a drastic price war. The production rate for food in this world was very fast, and even the most high-level food could be made from the menu in 10 seconds. If there were enough ingredients, a Chef could make 300 meals in an hour. Chef was not a popular subclass, but the supply of cheap food in the market was still overwhelming. The manufacturers did not need to pay too much attention in getting the ingredients for high-class food. In this slow economy, low quality products were enough to meet the market demand, so just supplying cheap meals was enough. Even though eating was necessary and there was a steady demand for it in the market, the price continued to fall. Even though it was one of the three basic desires of consumers, it was no match for the fact that food no longer had taste. 'Since the market is so harsh, why are you opening a restaurant?' This was what the citizens thought as they saw the flag and banners. All the Chefs entrusted their goods to the NPC marketplace to sell. This was not only convenient, but it also avoided the pressure of selling it upfront by yourself. This was to be expected as there was no joy in selling tasteless food to the customers who were buying it solely for subsistence. All Chefs wanted to see their customers enjoying their food, and so Chefs had all but disappeared from the storefront. But as the sun rose to a good angle, just one hour before noon, the shockwave started to spread. Probably made by some guild or chef, big boxes of food arrived at the three stores, and an unfamiliar fragrance spread in the air. It was the enchanting smell of grease and spice. A lady with a voluptuous body walked to the front of the store, with her green hair flowing behind her, and started shouting, "We are opening today, please visit our store! We are from Crescent☪Moon! For the people who are sick of the tasteless food, we bring good news! Now is the time to resume eating normally! It's tasty, very delicious! So good that your jaw will drop!" Maryele shouted as if she had given up her self-esteem. Guild Tailors made uniforms with a white blouse and skirts with vertical pink stripes. There were also bright orange ribbon bow ties and aprons with lotus designs on its edge; this was the standard appearance for fast food restaurants in the real world. Serara, who was standing by, raised her tiny voice with a 'refuse to lose' attitude, "Thank you! Thank you everyone! Thank you for your patronage!" Maybe she was too tense, but she was handing out brochures while shouting 'thank you' repeatedly to the crowd. Crescent Burger 15 gold, Super Crescent Burger for 30 gold.
Fish & Chips(small) 10 gold, (large) for 20 gold.
"Hi! Sorry for the wait!" A player with sharp eyes appeared. He was a human with hazel hair and eyes. His name was Charasin, guild master of 8th District Shopping Center, one of Akiba's top 3 production guilds. Charasin greeted them warmly after closing the door, and proceeded to sit down. This was a room in a bar near the central square, available for 2 hours at the price of a few gold coins, suitable for private conversation. Maryele and Charasin had met before. They went raiding together during their time as beginners. Maryele and Charasin both started their own guilds and had had no chance to raid together since, but the relationship between the guilds was quite good. Charasin's guild, 8th District Shopping Center, and Crescent Moon Alliance were located in different zones; exchanging information would be convenient for the both of them. Because of this, the two of them still kept in contact. "Wah, Mary-san has a scary expression, what can I do for you today?" Because they were quite close, Charasin expressed his concern gently. The two of them went way back, but the scale of operation between 8th District Shopping Center and Crescent Moon Alliance was different. Crescent Moon Alliance had about 30 people. It was a mutual assisting group, but the fact was the guild was a loose group where anything goes. It was made up of mid-level players where members with common interests went adventuring together. Charasin's guild, 8th District Shopping Center, was a pure production guild. It did not provide battle or exploration support. The main activities of the players were the exchange of raw ingredients, bulk sales, production, and trade. It had 700 members, ranking number three behind Oceanic Systems and The Rodrick Firm among the production guilds. The face of battle changed dramatically after the Catastrophe. Shiroe and Naotsugu, who were experienced gamers, could observe the changes in battle, including the skills and abilities of the monsters, and adjust to them. But for the majority of the players, the biggest change was the horror of battling in person. Even if you could win easily against low-level monsters, it was still a frightening experience to fight. Sword, axe, fang, claw, fire, or curses would come flying at you. Even if you could logically understand that you could handle it if your level were high enough, the number of players who refrained from fighting because of its bloody nature was not small. Even if this were an alternate world, even if you were stuck here, even if fighting monsters were the most efficient way of making money, you should refrain from fighting if you could... it was more than expected for people to have this kind of thought. The actual amount could not be determined, but Maryele estimated that after the Catastrophe, about half the population preferred to avoid battling. The production guilds gained popularity among the players and expanded their member base. In Akiba, the biggest production guild was Oceanic Systems with 2500 members, followed by The Rodrick Firm with 1800 members. Adding the guild led by the man sitting right in front, the 8th District Shopping Center's 700 members, the three guilds numbered 5000 members. There were also other smaller guilds. Before the Catastrophe, players who focused solely on production were rare, but this had changed. "Today, I have a request for the 8th District Shopping Center." Maryele explained. "What is the request?" Maryele was more serious than usual, so Charasin replied candidly. Charasin had already guessed the reason behind this meeting. Maryele successfully operated Crescent☪Moon. In the eyes of the production guild, she was at the top of the food industry. Just like a person who was used to a colorful world would find it hard entering a world without color, players who ate the food with taste could not go back to eating a tasteless product akin to chewing wax. Maryele had received reports that the price of food in the open market was dropping drastically. Elder Tales was no longer a game. Without a way of logging out, this was their reality now. Even if you could not die here, no one could deny the fact that you could not avoid living on as well. The 30,000 players in the Japanese server needed to live here, unable to escape. To exaggerate, in this far east region, the control of the food industry lay in the hands of the Crescent Moon Alliance. At least that was how Charasin saw it. (Wah, Charasin is all business-like, leading a big guild is not that simple indeed.) Charasin remained stately despite having a tense air around him, making Maryele form this opinion. If Henrietta did not instruct her with "We have the initiative in all the meetings, so we need to take a strong stance", she would have been pushed around easily. "We would like to commission a supply guarantee request. The ingredient stocks in our guild are depleting fast, so we need to outsource the supply. The items we need are young deer meat, lettuce, tomato, flour, potato, sun sun fish, and thunder bird meat... that is about all. We can discuss the price and amount separately, but you can assume we need a huge quantity." "Buying in bulk..." Charasin replied curtly. He expected this, and in a way this was natural. Crescent Moon Alliance was a small guild, and as everyone expected, running such a big operation would deplete their stocks in a blink of the eye, and they would need to stop supplying their merchandise. The amount of members, how many ingredients they could farm themselves... After considering all this, they came up with this request. Be it Maryele or Charasin who just found out about this, this was easy to understand. "... What about the price and quantity?" Maryele took out a piece of paper and gave him a few figures. "Is that so..." Charasin breathed slowly and seemed to be deep in thought, deciding if he should take up the commission. Normally, this was a good deal; a guild like 8th District Shopping Center had many raw items in stock. There had been a price war recently, so if he could dump the stock that was worthless in the market at a reasonable price, it would help clear space in their warehouse. If there was a need they could keep an eye on the market, buy cheap and sell high to Crescent Moon Alliance. From the business point of view, there was no reason to reject. This was the conclusion Maryele and Henrietta had reached. But that didn't mean the request would be accepted easily. Maryele recalled Henrietta saying "We are now in the spotlight, they won't accept these excellent terms so easily, and will try to squeeze more benefit out of us." After a moment of silence, Charasin smiled sociably. He asked: "These are the ingredients for Crescent☪Moon?" Maryele replied with a smile "Yes". "It seems that Crescent☪Moon is doing very well." "Thanks to everyone, everyone is happy with the food, and our chef is also all smiles." "...Is it a new recipe?" "Our chef has excellent skills." Maryele replied to the probing Charasin with a smile. With a smile like a sunflower, Maryele looked gracefully prepared for anything. But the truth was, Maryele was already at her limits. Charasin's query made her think that she had been exposed as a newbie, giving her the feeling of cold sweat. But Shiroe instructed: "Mary-nee please maintain your beautiful smile no matter what happens. This is the most important thing. As long as you continue smiling, others will assist you in other ways." So Maryele smiled like there was no tomorrow, free smiles for everyone. The corner of her green eyes drooped slightly, displaying a smile that could melt anything. With the combination of her voluptuous breasts and motherly nature, this could open a warm barrier that would stop anyone from further questioning her. But Maryele was unaware of this. "I will look into this contract in detail. But in order to increase the scale of the operation, the 8th District Shopping Center and Crescent Moon Alliance can take this opportunity to..." "Charasin, I apologize but it is almost time." Henrietta interrupted Charasin with a clear voice. "Time?" "That's right, we will be talking to some other people after this." Henrietta’s calm voice made Maryele put her hands together in guilt and shame. "I'm sorry Charasin, I gave you a bit of advantage since we know each other, but Henrietta insisted that we need to be fair." "Eh, Mary-san, what do you mean?" "Hmm..." Maryele moved her gaze and observed Henrietta. This was not an act, it was real. Maryele could not stand up to Henrietta when it involved spending money. "Even though they are deals on some other matters, we are going to have a meeting with Oceanic Systems and The Rodrick Firm." "Other matters?" "Yes. I should say it is a sponsorship. It is regarding the sale of the Crescent☪Moon franchise rights." "Eh!" Charasin's expression changed. 8th District Shopping Center was among the top 3 guilds in Akiba, but it could not compare to Oceanic Systems and The Rodrick Firm. Oceanic Systems itself had 3 times the members of 8th District Shopping Center. If they joined in, Charasin would not have any say in the negotiations. "We want to live in harmony with everyone. 8th District Shopping Center has been taking good care of us right? And we go way back, so I want 8th District Shopping Center to be a part of this... But Henrietta says we must solve the supply issue first." "Mary, instead of saying ‘solving the issue’, it should be securing a supply line first, before moving on the next stage correct?" Henrietta frowned when she listened to Maryele, and explained it to her like she was a kid. "Wait a moment Mary, Henrietta-san, what plans does Crescent☪Moon have? What do you mean by sponsorship?" Charasin's question made Maryele nervously open her mouth. Henrietta touched her lips with her slender finger, and turned towards Charasin. "In the eyes of 8th District Shopping Center, how much is this information worth?" Henrietta looked at Charasin with mysterious eyes. No matter how you sliced it, the commission had excellent terms for 8th District Shopping Center, with no risk of loss. Charasin squinted his eyes and made his decision with this announcement: "8th District Shopping Center is willing to accept the commission we discussed. Including young deer meat, lettuce, tomato, flour, potato, sun sun fish, and thunder bird meat. We will prepare 3200 sets each. The first batch will arrive the day after tomorrow in the morning... price will be 50,000." "40,000." "...Deal, 8th District Shopping Center's Charasin accepts these terms." "Wonderful! Charasin accepted it right? Right? We can invite him to the meeting later and discuss this together right?" "Yes, of course." As Henrietta nodded a ring-tone sounded in Maryele's ear informing her that the next batch of visitors had arrived. 4 "Incredible, aren’t these two great beauties and the young guild master of 8th District Shopping Center?" "...Erm." As informed earlier, the ones who came in were Oceanic Systems' Michitaka and The Rodrick Firm's Rodrick. "This is the first time we met! I am the guild master of Crescent Moon Alliance, Maryele, and this is our guild's manager Henrietta." "Hold on, please don't use such an old term to address me. As introduced, I am Henrietta, in charge of accounts." They took turns addressing the guests. Maryele just loafed at home and took care of the chores, while Henrietta was an office lady with a degree in economics. Even though Henrietta was in charge of accounts, she also learned from her father. As an office lady, she knew how to handle meetings of this scale. Even though the two of them were rough on the edges, they still managed to greet them properly. "I am Oceanic Systems' Michitaka, my position is the boss." With a body that looked more like a warrior's than a merchant's, he had a strong grip as he shook hands. His arms were beefy with obvious burn marks, possibly because he was a Blacksmith. "I am The Rodrick Firm's Rodrick, guild master of a production guild." On the other hand, the young man introducing himself as Rodrick had a scholarly air around him. He was a Pharmacist. "Yes, I understand...understood.... Eh, I have heard about the two of you! Both of you are famous!" Maryele smiled passionately. In Henrietta's eyes, Maryele seemed to have taken a load off her shoulders. In the meeting earlier, Maryele was assigned to request 8th District Shopping Center to provide ingredients for this period of time. Because of this, she had already completed her assignment just now. The negotiations now would be handled by Henrietta. (This means that this is my battle now.) Henrietta smiled and her intelligent eyes shone brightly. In front of her were the biggest and 2nd biggest guilds' leaders. Because their scale was too far apart, they normally wouldn't think much of Crescent Moon Alliance. Before today, Henrietta would have flinched at the thought of talking to them. But Henrietta and her group had spent the last week preparing for this moment. All the preparation, days of farming, deliveries of goods, selling in the hot day, collecting information like fighting a moat battle, all that was for this encounter. This step was based on the previous step, and the step before, and the step before that, a long chain of steps. And the ones who laid the foundation was not Henrietta, but her teammates. (If I back down now, I won't be able to face my comrades. And this is Shiroe-sama's dark scheme... If we don't win this way, other ways won't work too. Keke, to think that I am taking part in this scheme.) Henrietta thought of herself as a second rate player, and had never challenged any big-scale raids or high-level quests. And someone like her was right in the middle of the greatest campaign since this new world began. (My strength is able to become someone else's strength.) (I can use my power to its limit.) This knowledge brought a sense of determination and excitement from within. "Erm, we also know you. You are the owner of Crescent☪Moon correct? You are now a celebrity in Akiba. I ate it before too, although only that one time." Michitaka smiled as he spoke. Maryele continued to smile cheerfully in reply, unfazed by the others. "But on the other hand, Maryele-san of Crescent☪Moon, you have invited us and the other big guilds, what do you have in mind?" Rodrick said as he gazed at Charasin, trying to guess why Charasin was here before they arrived. "That... the meaning, regarding the meaning, that is, erm...." "Before this, let me explain the reason why I invited 8th District Shopping Center here before the others." Henrietta said after counting her breaths. Explaining word by word, wary of talking too fast, trying her best to sound at ease, carefully choosing her words, controlling her tone, and explained. "We commissioned 8th District Shopping Center to supply us with ingredients." This sentence made Michitaka's kind expression and Rodrick's wise eye suddenly fill with tense emotion; they probably guessed how the situation was going to progress. 8th District Shopping Center had about 700 members. Oceanic Systems had 2500 members, The Rodrick Firm had 1800 members. Even though their levels and expertise were different and their influence was as big as the number of members, if Crescent☪Moon allied with 8th District Shopping Center supplying them ingredients, they would tip the balance in their favor. Crescent☪Moon started a food revolution. But because of its small guild size, their supply was also small in scale. Akiba had more than 15,000 people; supplying 1000 meals a day was far from adequate to meet the demand. But if they linked up with 8th District Shopping Center's 700 members, they would be able to satisfy the city's need, and the profit would be enormous. Because it was food. Different from clothes, furniture, weapons, armor, accessories, these types of equipment, food needed to be consumed everyday. It was gone after you ate it, and even if it were cheap, the total expenditure would still be an astronomical figure. Since it was consumable, sales could be maintained, and 8th District Shopping Center who controlled the food supply would be able to absorb more members. Over time, they would be able to overturn the current situation, this was easy to see. Henrietta understood Michitaka and Rodrick's thought process. Food as a weapon, depending on how it was used, could be a nuclear weapon capable of upsetting the balance of the production guilds. "You mean... You are working together with 8th District Shopping Center?" Michitaka beat Rodrick in asking the question. His nature was straightforward, just like his appearance. This might not be the case in the real world, but for online games, popular guilds were surprisingly all led by players like that. "No, if that was the case, there would be no need to invite us. This meeting has a different agenda correct?" The skinny man with glasses, Rodrick, said in a gentle voice. Henrietta thought he was similar to Shiroe as both of them wore glasses, but his neuroticism was a negative trait. Even if his schemes were better than Shiroe's, he wouldn't have the courage to harbor such schemes. Until recently, Henrietta thought that Shiroe was an introvert and his low profile nature was like Rodrick's. That was why she could feel how wide their potential difference is; the only thing they had in common was their similar appearance. "Yes, as you said, our guild has another agenda. We hope Oceanic Systems, The Rodrick Firm, and 8th District Shopping Center can listen to our request on equal grounds." Henrietta bowed slightly.
"These are the core members, but even so we are still lacking something, so everyone please lend us your aid... We lack funds, we need 5 million gold." The three of them gasped in unison. That was quite a large sum of money.
"Then the payment time... four days later, is that okay?" "Understood, what about the recipe in exchange?" "The food preparation method will depend on how fast our Scribe works. But if it is possible, we will provide it on the day of the payment, the latest will be the day after. Shiroe-sama himself is a Scribe." After bidding farewell with these words, the trio left the room. Maryele and Henrietta lost all their willpower and energy. Henrietta felt that the meeting was moving at her pace and she was controlling its direction, but she still felt more pressure than she expected. The meeting was short, but the two of them were mentally exhausted. Their backs were so weak that they could not even sit straight, collapsing on the table. "Henrietta... sorry..." Maryele said with exhaustion and guilt. "What's the matter, Mary?" Henrietta's usual high-class lady's tone became lazy. "I wanted to help, but I didn't do anything, negotiations are hard." Maryele was embarrassed from the bottom of her heart as she said this. Even though Henrietta was very tired, she still couldn't help laughing out loud. "Mary, what are you saying? If you did not smile like you did, we will not stand a chance in this meeting." Henrietta was grateful of Maryele's smile. Without her sunflower-like smile, they probably couldn't secure the funds from the 3 experienced businessmen. And so, Henrietta and Maryele managed to raise the money. 5 The moon was shining brightly tonight. The heat of the day left behind a dry and warm wind which blew across the abandoned train station where the fireflies danced. It was situated on the overhead bridge which overlooked the Akiba central square, over 200 meters of concrete ground. In the real world, this was the platform of the Akiba train station. The tracks and pillars were completely rusted and covered with weeds and moss. The two towers on either side of the platform had signs of heavy crushing damage, similar to being smashed by a blunt force, causing zigzag edges to form at its peak. The moonlight made the tower's shadow akin to a spear falling on the platform, mixing with the vegetation and the concrete. Two long shadows stood in this picture. It was Shiroe and Nyanta. "The wind is starting to blow nya." "Yes, it is." Shiroe raised his hand to his forehead and looked towards the moon. The wind blew his fringe over his face. He squinted the eyes behind his round glasses and said slowly: "It's getting late, and it will be some time before Soujirou comes. Chief Nyanta, want to sit down somewhere?" "No no no, thank you for your concern, but this old man has not become that frail yet nya." "I am not treating you like an old man." Shiroe shrugged. "Shiroe-chi, do you not wish to meet Souji-cchi nya?" "Ah, eh...." Shiroe considered the query. "It's not that I am unwilling, just that I feel a bit guilty. Soujirou invited me when he formed his guild, so it is a bit awkward." "So that is the case nya." "He didn't invite Chief Nyanta?" "During that time, I was online irregularly, so I do not remember his invitation nya." "I see..." They were waiting for Soujirou Seta. He was an old friend of Nyanta, Shiroe, and Naotsugu. He was in the Debauchery Tea Party as a Samurai with subclass Sword Saint, one of the 8 Debauchery Tea Party members trapped in this world. In a way, Soujirou was influenced the most by the Debauchery Tea Party. Not only was he earnest and hard-working, he also had a kind nature. When the party disbanded, the one most reluctant to leave was him. Samurai were proficient in many weapons, but their strength lied in swords. There were a variety of swords, such as the traditional tachi(cavalry sword), the smaller kodachi (a short tachi), or wakizashi (companion sword, a very short back-up blade, could be used for suicide) meant to complement other blades, and their iconic katana weapon. Elder Tales called fierce warriors focusing on damage and strength 'taichi', and those focusing on agility and speed, requiring high level of skill to control were known as 'katana'. Soujirou was an expert 'katana'. His techniques were not only fast, he could also use graceful movements to hide his actions. You could not see what he is going to do even if you concentrated on him. He was able to parry a punch from giants that could knock down a tree. The armor of sand worms that could withstand blows from warhammers was meaningless before him. Soujirou always said with a shy smile, "Senpai, there is a trick to this." When Naotsugu left the game, several others also left Elder Tales due to personal reasons. Chief Nyanta was half-retired for a period of time too, logging in irregularly. Of those that were still playing Elder Tales, Soujirou was the pseudo-representative. He expressed "I don't want the Debauchery Tea Party's existence to be wasted." and started his own guild. He also invited the other Debauchery Tea Party members. The Debauchery Tea Party was not a guild, just a name for this group and most of them were not in any guild. Some of them joined, others declined. Shiroe was in the latter group. "I feel that there is no need to feel any guilt nya, everyone must walk their own path nya. Souji-cchi will not be angry just because of this nya." "You have a point, but..." Shiroe stammered. He was not concerned about declining to join, but the reason behind declining. He was declining to be bound by these things called guilds. And yet he now assisted the Crescent Moon Alliance in the Susukino quest, and was frustrated by Akiba bowing to the influence and control of the big guilds. He was meeting with Soujirou of the West Wind Brigade for his help to change this situation. Shiroe was changing with the times. Back then he was a neat freak and found guilds and their complicated interpersonal relations to be disgusting, but it was different now. It was just that Shiroe didn't think he could explain exactly what was different and convey that to Soujirou. Soujirou formed the West Wind Brigade after losing the Debauchery Tea Party, so he might understand this better than Shiroe. West Wind Brigade. Its scale was not big, but it was one of the most influential guilds in Akiba, claiming to have 120 members, but in reality there were less than 60. With these limited numbers, they were able to stand on equal grounds with big guilds like D.D.D, Black Sword Knights, and Honesty. Although their scale was small, they had been successful in famous raids such as 'Rhadamanthys' Throne' or '9 Prisons of Heroes'. They had consistently raced with other big guilds to be the first to complete raids. If you considered the results, they probably shone brighter than guilds with plenty of reserves and huge resources. "Don't worry too much, since you decided to campaign you have to keep your head up. Shiroe-chi is now the owner of our porch nya." Nyanta's words made Shiroe change his mindset and think that is really the case. Just as Soujirou started a place to call his own, Shiroe was also building his new home, and he could not continue to be upset about this.
(Still in his harem mode, not that I envy him... But there are 4 of them, gives me an unforgivable... sort of feeling. What is this deal with 4 people? Other than Nazuna and Saki, there are 2 more, what a grand formation...) Shiroe feel exhausted. "Let's not talk about this. Why did Shiro-senpai contact me so suddenly? I always thought Senpai hated me." "Ah? Why do you think so?" These unexpected words made Shiroe reply seriously. "Nothing really, but, because... I am a harem character." Soujirou stammered with a red face, making Shiroe speechless. Nyanta laughed heartily at this, if Naotsugu was here he would probably give him a chop immediately as the