"The surrounding area seems to be farms nya." Just as Nyanta said, along the slope of the small hills were trails cutting into farmland. Pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers... the trees in the distance seemed to be fruit trees, the wind had a sweet aroma to it. "Minori, look, these are pears, this is great!" "Wait up Tohya!" Tohya left the road and climbed up the stone wall as he shouted. How long had it been since she ate a pear? Minori couldn't recall, but it looked nice and delicious. "Those are planted by the People of the Land, don't pick them!" Minori warned Tohya as she thought about it. A summer training camp for beginners. In the end, rescuing the beginners from Hamelin was a personal decision executed by Shiroe and the others, it had nothing to do with the Round Table Council. They had also clarified with the public that Hamelin had been dealt with before the council was formed. But 'providing aid to beginners' became an agenda for the Round Table Council anyway. The reason the council approved Crescent Moon Alliance's request so fast was because out of the 35 rescued beginners, 19 of them were in Crescent Moon Alliance and it was even known as the beginners training guild. But not all the beginners from Hamelin joined the Crescent Moon Alliance. Some of them wanted to go into production and joined the corresponding guilds. There were also beginners who did not join Hamelin, who were lucky in a sort of way, and joined the various other guilds in Akiba. Since the training camp was approved by the council, it wouldn't be fair if applications were not open to the public. With this decision, all beginners whose location was known received an invitation to participate. Notices were also put out announcing 'In order to support beginners below level 40, a summer training camp will be organized.' As it came to this, the prestige of the guilds came into question. There were also opinions that since this was a Round Table Council-approved event, they couldn't just leave everything for Crescent Moon Alliance to handle. Sending beginners to participate but not taking part as a camp leader... Some senators felt that they couldn't do this with their position in Akiba. If it was a guild with tens of members, it should be acceptable, but if their member numbers were in the hundreds, it would be shameful to not send one or two members as camp leaders. The guilds not only sent their members as support, but also provided all sorts of food and clothing. There was even a donation event, canvassing for equipment suitable for beginners after they level up. As they proceeded with the preparations, the camp grew to the size of 60 people... This was what Minori heard from Isuzu about the training camp.
"Hmm... Smells good!" The sweet fragrance of the pears surrounded the area. "That's right nya, if there are nice pears I hope we can get some nya." "You are right, I want to eat pears!" Nyanta was with the group as the head Chef, with Serara tagging along. When Minori heard this she nodded her head politely. The few beginner Chefs were also commenting on the quality of the fruits as they passed the farm. Bathing under the summer light, the tomatoes and eggplants shone like jewels, the tomatoes were rubies, the eggplants were gemstones. Both of them looked solid and ripe, their condensation sparkling brightly. Using the old cooking methods, there was no need to be concerned about the quality of the ingredients. Even ingredients that were small, dry, or even starting to turn bad, if you could identify it as the correct ingredient through the game menu, it would not affect the final product. Tomato salads made with fresh or dried up tomatoes were absolutely the same, even the tasteless soggy cracker flavor was identical. But if the Chef used their own skills to cook food manually, they would need to pay attention to the ingredients they used. If they used a rotting tomato to cook, no matter how good the Chef was, the food would still be bad. The skills of the Chef were important, but it required the use of fresh and pretty ingredients to complement it. "I want to use this to bake pizza!" "Making them into ketchup should be nice too." With this fact in mind, the beginner Chefs moved on as they kept their eyes full of interest on the field.
"Let me think, hmmm, what should we do, the groceries... I will leave that to Chief Nyanta. And, I remember your name is Lukisea? Here is some money, everyone split into two groups, decide among yourselves what you need to buy, you have the shopping list?" "Of course nya." Nyanta accepted the task. Maryele nodded and checked the contents of her Bag of Holding, confirming that she had brought the greeting gift. As a matter of courtesy, she needed to visit and greet the mayor. Her eyes wandered around the group. Since this was just a greeting, there was no need to bring too many people, but bringing a person or two along to back her up should be okay. As Maryele considered who she should bring, her eyes met with Minori. (She looks reliable, so why not?) Before Maryele asked, Minori already expressed her willingness to come along. (This girl has keen instincts too.)
On their way there, the two of them asked a housewife who was carrying goods where the mayor lived. They found out that the mayor lived in a 2-story mansion at the junction ahead, he was a 70 year-old man who was kind and friendly, so there was nothing to worry about. "Just greeting him should be enough, right?" "Yes, just present a gift after greeting him..." Maryele listed out the things she needed to say. In her Bag of Holding was a barrel of peach wine. It was almost 100kg, not something Maryele could carry, but thanks to this magical bag, she felt no weight at all. She also needed to explain to the mayor... They would be staying at the ruins for about 2 weeks, the place was about 5km from the town, and it shouldn't cause any problems. But they would be here to resupply every few days. "Yes, we need to greet and build a relationship with them and ask about how to purchase the ingredients. If we only buy from a single farm, it could cause conflicts in this town..." "Ah, you are right." "Anyway, we should be fine if we follow the mayor's instructions. The next will be chatting... I want to gather information around this area." "Information... right?" "Right." Maryele nodded in response. The world had changed since the Catastrophe, NPCs were now People of the Land. Strictly speaking, the players did not know if the functions of Elder Tales were still working. The People of the Land working in the market and banks were still at their posts, but just like the Round Table Council wanted to hire administrators, some People of the Land also wanted to do different jobs. If you inferred from this discovery, Elder Tales' important quest system might not be working anymore. Quests were challenges players took on and cleared to progress the story line of Elder Tales. For example, Choushi might have quests like 'Eliminate all the ghosts in the neighboring fields' or 'Escort fisherman to an island to fish'. Some quests were started from secret items or locations, but most of them were in the form of an NPC request. The quest givers which were NPC's were now People of the Land, was the quest system still in place? This was a serious question, because if the quest givers happened to be People of the Land who died, the quest would be gone forever. (... This is what Shiroe is worried about,) Maryele also understood the danger behind this.
This was the 'Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice'. According to the game lore, this palace which was 2 hours ride away from Akiba was built by the Alv during the ancient times. In the Elder Tales world, the ancient Alv were extinct. They had immense magical powers and all sorts of technology, but failed to withstand the flow of time. The only evidence of their existence was the half-Alv race, one of the 8 races available for selection by the players. Situated in southern Tokyo of the real world, Minato district. The Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice had no distinct owner, and was ruled commonly by the nobles of the League of Freedom Cities Eastal. ... League of Freedom Cities Eastal. This was the alliance that ruled over an area equivalent to the eastern mainland of Japan. Elder Tales divided the Japanese servers into 5 territories. The real world Hokkaido was 'Ezzo Empire'. Shikoku was 'Fourland Dukedom'. Kyushu was 'Ninetails Dominion'. Eastern main island was 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal'. Western main island was 'Holy Empire Westelande'. In the end, in the hopes that the players would enjoy a variety of different adventures, they showcased the native culture and art unique to each region. This included League of Freedom Cities Eastal in the eastern Japan mainland, which was a country made from the alliance of different cities. They had 20 such fiefdoms united to rival the Holy Empire Westelande. Compared to what Shiroe understood of real Japan, the population in this world was small even if you included the fact that the People of the Land increased 10-fold in number since the game became their reality. In this world with monsters roaming about, the territory of man was very small. Compared to modern Japan, League of Freedom Cities Eastal was like an undeveloped wilderness, just a bubble of safety in this world. Even if the population were small, there should be about 2 million People of the Land in the whole Japan server. League of Freedom Cities Eastal only had influence over the eastern main island, but they still needed a political system of governance. League of Freedom Cities Eastal's governing organization was controlled by the nobles. Elder Tales was based on Middle Ages European fantasy world view, and the territory owners were known as nobles. Landowners had their own castles, official residences, or official mansions, wearing crowns with capes or dresses, the typical wardrobe of the People of the Land nobles. League of Freedom Cities Eastal's various landowners would gather at the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice once or twice a year to hold meetings to discuss all sorts of political issues. They would also use the chance to improve relationships with others and let their sons and daughters debut to the world as nobles. They would also conduct horse races or bring up marriage pacts with other nobles. From a certain point of view this was an elegant culture. But on the other hand, the League of Freedom Cities Eastal alliance was a necessity to help each other in the face of monsters. Built in the southern part of Tokyo where Hama Rikyu Garden is, in this palace made with magical ice, the People of the Land used it as a social meeting venue for the nobles. Shiroe just stood around with nothing to do in the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice. "Hmm, that is quite spectacular, now I'm nervous." Michitaka from the production guild Oceanic Systems said. This should be his true feelings, he commented on the facility and decoration of the palace without reserve. "Just imagine that you are surrounded by monsters and you can stay calm." The one replying was the battle guild D.D.D's leader... 'Berserker' Krusty. Contrary to his nickname, Krusty looked like a pale, intelligent, and handsome young man. He was in a well-tailored tuxedo today, which suited him very well. "The only one who will be calm that way is just you." Michitaka laughed in reply. He was also wearing a tuxedo, looking just as dynamic or maybe even more so than Krusty. A tuxedo was a type of western clothing. It looked better on people with a big body type, a perfect fit for these 2 warriors. One of them was the guild master of the biggest production guild in Akiba, the other was the biggest battle guild D.D.D, also holding the post of senate leader of Akiba's governing body, the Round Table Council. Considering the purpose of this banquet, being dynamic was a good thing. "That is right leader, only you will feel safe being surrounded by monsters." Krusty's words were too wild, the tall and elegant lady standing beside him counseled him as she served him a glass of champagne. Shiroe recognized her as a D.D.D member, Takayama Misa. After hearing about the dress code, they predicted that there would probably be dancing during the banquet. The three representatives concluded that there would be a need to bring a female partner along to this social event.
One month earlier, in July. Akiba, revitalized with the revolution, had surprises popping up all over like popcorn. The Round Table Council received a letter from the League of Freedom Cities Eastal, an invitation from the nobles. Their leader Sergead Corwen wrote in the letter apart from inviting the Round Table Council to join the League of Freedom Cities Eastal, they were also invited to the meeting and dance party at the Ancient Palace of Eternal Ice. League of Freedom Cities Eastal was an alliance formed by the nobles in the area corresponding to Japan's eastern main island. Akiba was one of the cities situated there. According to logic, since Akiba had a governing body, League of Freedom Cities Eastal would naturally contact them, which was what Shiroe expected. The Round Table Council members gathered to meet immediately. Shiroe and the Adventurers were invited by the People of the Land for the very first time. Even if this was within expectation, the meeting still had a tense atmosphere. ... One of the governing organizations of this world, League of Freedom Cities Eastal, recognized the Round Table Council as one of them and wanted to establish diplomatic relations. Round Table Council members discussed and analyzed the situation thoroughly.
The Ancients... leaving aside the game lore, they had a specific function in the game. The People of the Land were set to be inferior to Adventurers in all aspects. Adventurers could power up indefinitely through battles, and their strength would be stronger by tens of folds after constant leveling. Even after receiving a fatal injury, they would not disappear forever, but respawn back at the cathedral. They could raid ancient ruins and loot powerful equipment and weapons, increasing their prowess even more. In the eyes of the People of the Land, Adventurers were like a type of supermen. This was correct in the game setting, in a character developing role playing game system, if all the characters were stronger than the player, it would be a source of shame and cause stress on the players. From the view of the game developers, setting the People of the Land as the weakest had its uses. But some stories require a powerful People of the Land to be the companion of the player. When Elder Tales was still a game, the countless story quests were one of its selling points. It could be the background story of an adventure, or come in a form of a quest, stories were scattered all around the world. There were all kind of stories, and some of them needed heroes. For instance, something like 'please help that hero in trouble!'.
Shiroe was interested in the summer training camp that was taking place at the same time. This was an event for the training of beginners, so Minori and Tohya from Log Horizon were also participating. Other than this, it was also a chance to gather intelligence from the villages around the border of Tokyo. Shiroe had occasionally gone out to investigate these past two months, but he still felt there was a serious lack of contact with the People of the Land. He didn't want to give up on either activity, it gave Shiroe a headache. But Michitaka expressed "No, you need to come, I cannot allow just me leaving the city" and invited him passionately. Shiroe had no choice but to accept and be part of the palace visiting team. Shiroe accepted the task from the Round Table Council as the 3rd in command of the ambassador party. Akatsuki announced before hand 'I will ensure my lord's safety' and followed Shiroe automatically. Instead of an attendant, she was more like a retinue. On the other hand, Naotsugu and Nyanta were assigned as the camp leaders. Naotsgu and Nyanta had always taken good care of their juniors. They had plenty of fighting experience in the alternate world and were reliable in both live battle practice and handling any emergency situation. Shiroe miscalculated. When Akatsuki decided to join the ambassador team, Crescent Moon Alliance's Henrietta who was also present decided to join in too. Henrietta was taking part as 'Shiroe's attendant'. This part was fine, but being Shiroe's attendant meant she would be in the same bedroom as Akatsuki. Henrietta was overjoyed by this prospect. (... She is obviously in this for Akatsuki.) Shiroe had nothing to say. Shiroe didn't hate Henrietta. She was beautiful, smart and reliable. Shiroe had a good impression of her. But her abnormal passion turned Shiroe off. But in the eyes of the Round Table Council members who did not know about her hidden intentions, Shiroe seemed to enjoy the attentions of both a young maiden and a beautiful lady at the same time. Shiroe's claim that "That is not true" was rejected. After rounds of selection, the members attending the League of Freedom Cities Eastal banquet were decided. The ambassador team representatives were Round Table Council's senate leader Krusty, 1st deputy was Oceanic Systems' Michitaka, 2nd deputy was Log Horizon's Shiroe, with secretary and attendants accompanying, a total of 10 people.
"Welcome everybody and thank you for coming." Even so, he needed to say something to Henrietta. When Shiroe was about to speak, a man in a white cape with furry edges who was definitely a noble addressed Shiroe's group. (Wah, this is serious... he is the real thing.) Just as Shiroe was thinking of this, this elderly man who looked like the 'real thing', was a noble with a short beard and sharp eyes under his silver hair. His muscles lines were obvious because of his advanced age, but his sturdy muscles suggested that he must have been active in the battlefield as a young man. Dark blue shirt and pants with dark brown edges seemed to be summer clothes which didn't look thick or heavy, decorated with several metallic designs and fastened by a belt. He was wearing high class leather boots that were black and shiny. "It is nice to meet you, thank you for inviting us, I am the representative of Akiba's governing body 'Round Table Council', known as Krusty." (Krusty-san is so graceful and steady, just like a noble.) Krusty responded smoothly, his expression showing no sign of retreat. Michitaka introduced himself next, and also seemed to be smooth and at ease, in terms of courage, these 2 led the Round Table Council members in terms of fearlessness. Shiroe thought choosing them as representatives was the right choice. "I am Shiroe, please take care of me." Thinking about this, Shiroe introduced himself simply. This simple attitude seemed to be the opposite of nervous to the others. All present didn't see them as 'the fearless duo' but as 'the fearless trio', but Shiroe didn't notice this. (I will introduce myself in detail later, I want to know his identity anyway.) "I am Sergead Corwen, holding the position of director-general in the League of Freedom Cities Eastal." (So this man is... the man with the most authority in the east.) Akiba was the largest player city in the Japanese server, but that doesn't mean it was the largest city. The largest city on the Japanese server was the 'Maihama capital' which was centered around 'Castle Cinderella'. In this alternate world, Tokyo had lost its function as a capital. Compared to the real world Japan with a population of over 100 million people, the alternate world had only 1 percent of the populace. People formed small communities everywhere, building walls to keep out threats, living in shelters like these. It was the same at the border of old Tokyo. Including Akiba and this palace, there were remnants of high technology and magical culture in the ruins. A few cities were built using these ruins as a base, the population was too sparse, it was impossible to manage and govern the whole zone. The kind and gentle human race had lost their place as the main characters in this world, unable to maintain the influential range of ancient times. Hence, the old capital was separated into several small cities that could defend themselves, with Maihama being the biggest. (The second biggest is Akiba and the player city Shibuya. Ikebukuro has the tower of sunlight, so it is also very big. As for the alternate world counterpart for Shinjuku, the game lore said it was destroyed by an underground giant beast. So the next will be Yokohama and Asakusa which is far away... that's about it.) That was the summary of the humans living in the Kanto region.
Krusty had the scary nickname 'Berserker', but he looked intelligent and handsome. He was best described as an American footballer who had a 'Strong body, talented, elite, stylish, glasses-wearing gentleman'. His position should be quarterback, a commander who was capable of breaking through the defensive lines himself. With a muscular body, he looked good in a tuxedo, and had a female companion from the same guild accompanying him. "It is time for Shiroe-kun to shine." Before Shiroe could speak, Krusty suggested calmly. Shiroe wanted to ask if this was a joke, but Krusty who made the first move had a serious expression. "I would like to talk with Lord Sergead for a while, considering Shiroe-kun's talent, what was mentioned just now... I remember, 'this party is like a hunting ground' correct? I hope you can contribute your skills for the sake of the Round Table Council." (K... Krusty-san, you did that on purpose, right? S... Shit...) The color was gone from Shiroe's face. When faced with a high-level monster or a grand scale discussion in a meeting, Shiroe could manage to win. But he was a tactician-type of a person and preferred to prepare a detailed plan beforehand. In other words, he built his battles with tactics that were sure to succeed. For instance, no matter how hard a problem was, Shiroe would come out with some sort of plan if he had 10 days of prep time. But if he were faced with a request all of a sudden, he would be dumbstruck. But Krusty who was representing the Round Table Council had official business with the leader of the League of Freedom Cities Eastal, so asking Shiroe to cover the dance for him was within reason. And add in the fact that Krusty and Michitaka had been holding the conversation the whole time while Shiroe did nothing. He was thinking hard on the future plans, but he had not found any good ideas yet. So when he was assigned this task, he could only accept it out of guilt. (Haah... This is going to be embarrassing.) Shiroe hung his head in depression. As he raised his head, he saw Henrietta smiling beautifully in front of him. "Shiroe-sama, being depressed doesn't suit you." "Even if you say that... This is something I can't do." Shiroe who had given up sighed hopelessly, but Henrietta shook her index finger like a teacher. "Guys cannot display their insecurity, even if you have to fake it, even more so for a guild master, right? Mary is slow and dense, putting it simply only her breasts are big... But she understands this rationale." As she said, Maryele smiled even when things were hard, cheering her members on to this day. Shiroe reflected on his actions. Using his intellect to consider all details was a good thing, but Shiroe also realized his weakness lay in worrying unnecessarily, or being anxious of the uncertain future. "I understand, I will reflect on that." "A good answer, and so... let's give some magic to our good kid Shiroe-sama as a present." "Ah?" Henrietta turned gracefully on her toes and extended her silk gloves to him. "Akatsuki-chan? Watch this carefully." Shiroe touched her fingers as if he had been enchanted, Henrietta took his hand into hers and led him to the middle of the dance floor. (Wait... Henrietta-san!) Shiroe thought this was too much. Even if they needed to dance, they could choose a place with less people and finish in a low-profile manner through one piece of music. Like deep in the corner of the hall, near the southern entrance, there were many places to choose from. The middle of the dance floor should be reserved for the host, main guest, or excellent dancers. "Shiroe-sama, please smile and push out your chest." "..." Shiroe swallowed. He felt just as nervous as he did at the meeting that led up to the formation of the Round Table Council. He experienced similar feelings before a PK battle or a big-scale raid, but this was a unique sense of fear. The hall was crowded with people who seemed to be observing them and laughing at them. Shiroe was unable to wipe this delusion. "Listen to me, maintain this posture, put your hand on my waist... no, higher.. yes, just like supporting me from the back." "I need to confess, I totally don't know how to dance." "Ah, listening to your confession in this position will make me flustered." Henrietta smiled at Shiroe with her head raised. Probably to complement her dress, Henrietta was not wearing her career woman frameless glasses, and her eyes appeared to be bigger. Looking at her smile made Shiroe's face red and heart beat faster. "That is not what I meant, please don't change the subject!" "Shiroe-sama? You know what is my profession?" "Aren't you an Accountant... ah!" Henrietta lowered her gaze to Shiroe's chest, listening carefully to the music and talking softly. She spoke so softly that you almost couldn't hear it, just like the gentle song of birds. Even though she was listening to this waltz for the first time, Henrietta was able to grasp the beat and then predict the timing. "Okay Shiroe-sama, shall we dance."
"Oh right, Henrietta-san is a Bard." Bard. This was one of the 1