In another location, in the spacious meeting room on the top floor of the guild building, the meeting was heading towards a flash point.
The announcement that Shiroe 'owns this guild building' had the same effect as an explosion.
The only ones who did not feel the blow were Shiroe himself, Nyanta behind him, the Crescent Moon Alliance members, and Soujirou of West Wind Brigade who did not know the actual plan but had somehow sensed the situation.
The guild building was one of the main facilities of Akiba.
The guild hall's main functions included the forming, joining, withdrawing from guilds, as well as dissemination of special events for high-level guilds. It administrated everything in regards to guilds in the system.
But it did more than that. The guild building lobby in Akiba also housed the bank counters. Banks in Elder Tales were important facilities, where you could deposit your money and rent warehouse space to store your items.
In this alternate world, the only penalty for death was the deduction of some experience points and a drop in the durability of your equipment. But items not equipped would be dropped on the field with a certain probability.
If you were lucky you might be able to recover them. But if you were PKed, it would definitely be taken by the enemy. Even discounting this reason, having a large amount of cash on your person was a reckless act. Players would normally deposit most of their wealth in the bank. When they needed to spend it on expensive items, they could pay a processing fee to remit the money.
For Elder Tales players, the bank was something you used everyday, an important and convenient facility.
Akiba's only bank counter was in the guild building's lobby. Shiroe controlled its access. This had major implications.
There were banks in every city, and the accounts were linked. Be it cash or items, you could process the withdrawal from any bank. For instance, you could deposit cash in Akiba and withdraw it from Hannan.
But with the intercity transport gates down, it was risky to travel to a city so far away. Shiroe's group traveled to Susukino before, but that was a rare case. After the Catastrophe, players who traveled to another city from his starting city were probably less than 0.1%
Taking into account the current environment, Shiroe now had the power to freeze the bank accounts of everyone, it was easy to understand why the participants were shocked.
Shiroe announced his plan to the Crescent Moon Alliance after confirming that they would be able to raise the 5 million gold needed. Even Henrietta couldn't calm herself and said, "Compared to Shiroe-sama, the devil is so much more likable. The devil knows he is a bad guy, but Shiroe-sama doesn't think so. 'Black Heart Glasses' is too cute a nickname for you."
"Freezing bank accounts? What else can you call it but intimidation?"
The small guild Grandeur's guild master Woodstock said in a trembling voice.
"I am only responding to Isaac-san's question, which was 'Even if the council is formed, depending on the agenda, the big guilds might object and incite a war'. My answer is there will be no war, because the one starting it will lose all access to Akiba's guild building."
"Isn't that a threat..."
Shiroe replied to his relentless questions.
"If you want to say that this is intimidation, then if a big guild like Isaac's uses the tactic 'if you propose anything that is detrimental to me, I will start a war', it will also be intimidation, correct? What is the difference between these two? I am only proposing 'setting up a council to discuss official business', and did not ignore any criticism. Please consider which request is more reasonable."
A heavy silence that threatened to crush all of them fell on the meeting room.
The participants felt that they were having a nightmare.
"How did you raise so much money? The guild building is a public zone, correct? Where did the money come from?"
"It was sponsored by us."
The one answering was Oceanic Systems' 'Strong Armed' Michitaka. His voice was returning back to normal, and he seemed to be the first to recover from the shock.
"So the challenge mentioned by Shiroe-dono is..."
"Yes, that is to start this meeting."
"So that's why."
Michitaka nodded among the waves of question demanding from him the reason for the sponsorship. There were only 11 people seated, but the impact of Shiroe's words had driven the aides into panic as well.
"Please quiet down a bit, this is too noisy!"
Michitaka bellowed at the crowd as he lowered his head to study the documents before him. The data on it described the secret behind cooking that Nyanta discovered, as well the preparation method used by Crescent Moon to make burgers. This was a real cooking recipe detailing how to prepare the food, not an 'in-game recipe' that listed the ingredients needed to create food by using the menu selection.
Earlier in the morning, before Shiroe chaired this meeting, he invited Oceanic Systems, The Rodrick Firm, and 8th District Shopping Center, the 3 major production guilds' guild masters to come, and distributed this data to them personally.
The content of the data was simple beyond description... Crescent☪Moon's new food product did not come from a new game recipe.
Lured by the prospects of getting their hands on the game recipe, the production guilds were led on by the Crescent Moon Alliance, and each lost their 1.5 million gold investment.
But Shiroe was not sorry about this.
Shiroe retorted to the 3 unhappy guild masters, "Why do you think that this data is not worth 1.5 million gold?"
"Shiroe-dono, do you have anything more to add?"
Michitaka had already accepted all of this, as he asked Shiroe with a bitter smile and an unhappy look.
"That is right, no matter how Shiroe-senpai explains, we are still in a position akin to blackmail. And humans will lose their cool if they know they are under threat. You understand this correct?"
Soujirou added.
Shiroe nodded to acknowledge Soujirou and continued.
"The two of you summarized this very well. I don't think that a place with a single person holding so much authority is an ideal city. Returning to the previous topic, does everyone think that this city... no, let's go bigger, does everyone think that this world's Adventurers, are they okay with the current situation? I want to raise two main objectives. The first is to let the citizens of the city, and of this world recover their vitality. Second, set laws for the Adventurers of this city, and enforce it. Anyone opposed to this so far?"
No objections.
That was to be expected.
And Shiroe's objectives were not bad things. Recovering vitality was a good thing, both the battle guilds and production guilds would benefit.
But if the detailed plan caused a heavy load, then it would be different. If letting other players recover their vigor involved an increase in the burden of this meeting's participants, the next question would be 'who would pick this unlucky lot'.
But at this point in time, no one raised any objections.
Setting laws was the same. Some may think it was troublesome and restrictive, but the players gathered here were all Japanese playing in the Japanese server. No one could dismiss the importance of a legal system.
Depending on the content of the law, such as some evil laws that no one could agree with, some problems could also arise. But just for the proposal of setting laws, there was no reason to object.
"Okay."
'Black Sword' Isaac slammed his thick hand onto the table, as if to shoulder everyone's confusion, and announced,
"Since it has come to this, let's listen to this meeting's proposer... Log Horizon's plan in detail."
The warrior in black armor glared at Shiroe with fierce eyes. The others' gaze also fell on Shiroe. Shiroe stuck out his chest, and continued to speak with a renewed passion.
2
Moving between zones was a special game design.
For instance, if you wanted to move between the guild hall and the guild building, you had to use a specific facility, a door.
From the guild building side, there were countless doors along the 2nd and 3rd floor corridors. These corridors with doors were arranged in an orderly manner and led to different zones... guild halls.
Physically speaking, there were no rooms behind the doors, since there was no space for the rooms anyway. All the doors were close to each other, and the wall behind was only 1 meter deep. Every floor had 17 such corridors, you couldn't find the space for rooms anywhere here.
Using the guild building's magical door, you would be transported to another zone known as the guild hall. That was an easier way to understand this. Vice-versa, using the door of the guild hall would transport you to the guild building.
They didn't know if it was Minori or Tohya who touched the door handle first. Facing the attacking venomous bugs, they ran away in order to avoid their attacks, and fell face-down into the guild building corridor.
"There are 2 more!"
The guild building corridor was different from usual, with several players standing by. A young man in leather armor and a girl holding a blade were guiding the Hamelin beginners down the stairs.
Minori coughed repeatedly.
She had the disgusting feeling of bugs squirming into her mouth and vomited. The fog of bugs was actually just the temporary effect of the magic. Since the caster could not see Minori, the bugs were all gone. But the revolting feeling made her feel that they were still there.
"Minori, are you okay?"
Tohya patted her back gently with a worried look. Minori who was kneeling on the floor could not see Tohya, only the floor and a spreading pool of blood.
"Tohya you are... Wait a moment, I will cast 'Minor Heal'..."
"It's fine, I'm okay..."
Feeling Tohya raising his gaze, Minori turned her head to look. Besides her was a young swordsman in blue leather armor and two Chinese-style swords on his back, and a young girl in black.
"What are your names? Is anyone else coming?"
The young swordsman should be only slightly older than the twins. The black-haired swordsman who looked like a high-schooler asked Minori.
(Are we safe... now...?)
Minori did not know why Hamelin's members were not rushing out into the guild building's corridor. But the fact they had been rescued was real. Minori lost the strength in her legs from relief.
Minori took hold of the offered hand of the swordsman and stood up.
Tohya was already on his feet, answering the swordsman's question.
"I am Tohya, this is my sister Minori, we are definitely the last two beginners."
"Alright, that's great."
The young swordsman smiled as if a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders.
"I am Shouryuu, nice to meet you... Okay, let's go to the lobby, your companions are all waiting there... We need to cure you and ascertain everyone is here, explain the situation and arrange for the things after..."
"Hey Minori, don't get cold feet now, it is embarrassing."
"Tohya you are such a bully."
Tohya's gentle and relieving tone didn't match his teasing words. They just needed to follow Shouryuu the swordsman, and they would be able to meet Shiroe. Just as Minori was thinking about that...
(...!)
Minori felt an unexpected chill on her back. She didn't need to turn around to know that someone was 'appearing' behind her. Minori turned her gaze behind her, but only realized she shouldn't have done that midway. What she should be doing was not trying to grasp the current situation, but to rush down the stairs. But it was already too late.
An adult hand covered her eyes and grabbed Minori roughly. When Minori realized this, she felt a strong force tackling her. It was Tohya.
Minori was knocked away, the hand was not able to touch her clothes. It changed its target to Tohya. This arm did not look strong, but it used a strength that made Minori's face turn green as it gripped Tohya's wrist. Tohya's steel wrist guard creaked under the pressure.
That Summoner appeared after changing zones.
"You two...!"
The Summoner with his face red with anger belonged to the mage class. But a mage with a high enough level would have stronger arm strength than Tohya's warrior class. In this world, physical appearance had no bearings on arm strength. From Tohya's tense and painful expression, you could tell how much damage this skinny arm could deal.
"What are you doing? What are you all scheming?"
"So noisy, just... shut... up!"
Tohya shouted with all his might.
Tohya overcame the level gap with his impulsive spirit, knocking the Summoner away. The Summoner would not suffer any damage, but Tohya drew his sword at the same time to protect his sister.
"You audacious brats dare to oppose me! You have nowhere else to go!"
These words awakened the pain in the twins' hearts.
They were only a burden, and they could not even defend against the violence of this man.
Even so, Minori still gathered her courage to resist. At this moment, a figure rushed to the scene like a dark sparrow from the opposite direction.
This shadow kicked Hamelin's Summoner away as if he was flying, putting herself between the twins and him.
(So powerful... this person is so pretty.)
The pretty lady Minori saw used her flying knee so smoothly it seemed that she had practiced it thousands of times on the Summoner. Her actions were so fluid it looked like some kind of dance.
But the words that came out of her pretty little mouth were both sharp and cruel.
"Just as weak as you look." she said with a face of contempt towards the Summoner.
"Who are you? Akatsuki? Log Horizon? Never heard of you before!"
The Summoner stopped his actions and seemed to be checking with his game menu interface. He said the guild name with a look of disdain.
But the words had no effect on the young girl, she maintained her usual serious expression and replied with a nod.
"Is that so? Isn't the label of the 3rd rate guild Hamelin more shameful? People will laugh at you as you walk on the street, it's so bad you have to run back to hide in the guild hall in shame... Am I right?"
The man was infuriated with her and grabbed her collar. Battles were restricted in the Guild Building but Hamelin members knew very well from experience what actions would be considered as battles.
Attacking with weapons or using offensive magic on others would be judged as battle actions without exceptions. But contact by hand, if it didn't cause excessive pain, would not be seen as combat.
Just like how Yakuza in the real world knew what would be considered breaking the law, they were also aware of what they were allowed to do without provoking the guards from coming.
"What did you just say? You know about Hamelin and still dare to talk shit with me? You smelly brat!"
Even facing such a cold and intimidating threat, Akatsuki showed no signs of fear. Her tiny body was lifted off the ground by this Summoner, but Akatsuki calmly spoke in this position.
"... Ah, my lord? My apologies, I missed one of them. The name is Shredder. A man with bad breath. Just like his name, his face is as ugly as a shredded piece of paper... Yes."
"What are you talking about? When I drag you back into the guild hall, someone like you will..."
The sound was cut off.
Not only the sound, the man himself also disappeared.
Akatsuki landed softly, the man no longer in front of her.
"My lord, thanks for adding him to the list, he is no longer here. Seems like blacklisting someone while they are still in the zone will banish them from the zone, not sure he is outside or in his guild hall. Erm, yes. Understood, we made contact with a lady named Minori as well as a gentleman named Tohya. They seem to be the last two, I will continue my surveillance on Hamelin's guild hall entrance."
The pretty and delicate young girl maintained her serious expression, turned and approached the exhausted twins who were sitting on the floor.
"You are Minori and Tohya correct? I am Akatsuki, my lord Shiroe's shinobi. I will ensure your safety, my lord is still engaged in another battle. But first of all... do you want to take a bath?"
Minori's tears fell with relief.
3
"As I explained, I am proposing 2 basic policies... Improve the vigor of the city and increase security. As for the detailed plan, I will first express my view about improving vitality. I have already discussed this with a few related personnel... Mary-nee."
Shiroe's speech gave Maryele the courage to stand up.
"I think everyone already knows, Crescent Moon Alliance's business Crescent☪Moon is very popular, sales have been great."
Maryele placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. Shiroe could see that Henrietta who was behind her was cheering her on silently.
"Crescent☪Moon provides take-out meals and the main selling point is its absolutely delicious burgers. There have been various rumors and speculations, we have heard about this. As for our secret, a lot of people have speculated that we discovered recipes that are level 91 and above... It is not true."
Except for the production guilds who already knew the truth, this news caused a big commotion in the meeting room.
"I want to announce the secret here, the method is as follows... Just preparing the ingredients normally like in the real world will be enough. But the one cooking must have the Chef subclass. If the Chef's level is too low, the cooking will be judged to have failed. It is that simple, the trick is to not use the in-game menu."
As the crowd began to understand the implication behind these words, the commotion became even bigger.
Ingredients needed to be made via the in-game menu, this was an assumption that had deceived everyone. This was a simple matter, but also a revolutionary discovery.
Maryele took her seat amidst the clamorous atmosphere, and Shiroe added before any other arguments were brought up.
"The one who discovered this method is the Chef behind me, Nyanta. I received his permission to share this with Crescent Moon Alliance, and subsequently started Crescent☪Moon."
"... So that is why Oceanic Systems sponsored them..."
"... Wait, didn't they just get tricked?"
All kinds of conjecture reverberated in the meeting room for a long time. Shiroe ignored the noise and continued.
"I feel that... this discovery has a lot of potential. This was first discovered by Chief Nyanta, but I couldn't have held this meeting without it, and wouldn't have thought of having this meeting in the first place... Michitaka-san, have there been any results?"
"Yes."
Michitaka, replied with a deep voice. The seemingly calm and balanced guild master of a major production guild had a look of surprise on his face.
The 3 major production guilds had been quiet for all this time... the reason lay in Shiroe's speech.
"Our guild... with the help of The Rodrick Firm and 8th District Shopping Center, finished producing a steam engine moments ago."
This announcement shocked the table again, but it did not cause an uproar like the last surprise. After hearing this, the listeners were starting to doubt their ears, and were concentrating on the exchange between Michitaka and Shiroe in order to not miss out any details.
"Technically speaking it is still a prototype, it still has a lot of problems. But the theory has been proven to work."
"Producing results in less than half a day, that is amazing."
"The basic parts are made through the game menu, same with the tools. Making it with existing parts is an excellent idea."
Michitaka nodded at Shiroe.
"Hey... Making a steam engine is amazing, but what is this about?"
'Black Sword' Isaac asked with all his wrath and anger gone.
"Isaac-san, you don't understand? In simple terms: the discovery we mentioned, it is not just about cooking methods and Chefs, but it proves 'players with production subclasses can make things manually' to create things that are not in the game menu selection. Due to Elder Tales' game design, there is nothing related to steam engines. Some food recipes don't exist within the game. But the fact that it does not exist not only affects small things like manual cooking and not using game recipe, but also expands into a dimension beyond just delicious food."
The Rodrick Firm's guild master Rodrick answered Isaac. He explained in a methodical way, acting more like a scholar than a merchant.
"From now on, things not in the game can be created, there will be an inventing craze soon... I think a lot of things in the old world can be recreated here. Let me think... Television is difficult, but there is a good chance of making radios."
8th District Shopping Center's Charasin continued where Rodrick left off.
The scholarly Rodrick and Michitaka who were smiling steadily nodded at Charasin's words. Their guilds were witness to the steam engine experiment.
"With more new inventions, it will create more demands, and there will be more ways to earn money. In other words, this will improve the vigor in the city. Because the economy might go out of control, I think we need to consider the details... But this chaos can be controlled, it won't cause depression and stagnation. In this world, items from the Middle Ages, or tools you can use with your hands can be made through the game menu. Since there are templates for everyone to follow, I predict that there will be rapid progress."
"We the 3 major production guilds have confirmed this fact, and are focusing on ways to make money and stimulate the economy. We support Shiroe-dono's proposal and think there is nothing wrong with it."
Michitaka continued after Shiroe finished.
"Then, you guys from the production guilds..."
"Yes, we support the setting of the 'Round Table Council'."
In actual fact, a small business like the Crescent☪Moon franchise could make 50,000 in revenue a day. But with competitors entering the market, there would be a drop in price. The average sales per person would drop from 30 gold to less than 10 gold. Despite that, there were still plenty of potential customers... which was all the players in Akiba, ten times the number Crescent☪Moon could handle.
It was easy to tell that this would have a huge effect on the economy.
The battle guild members could only gasp in response.
With the 3 major production guilds so confident, they could only accept that the proposal would invigorate the city.
"The city is like this because most people are too depressed to have the will to do anything. But I think the main problem is that there is nothing for them to do. The monetary expenses in this world are too low, we need to make them spend their cash to a certain degree, so they will work to earn more money. This is the correct way of doing it. I think there should be more job opportunities in the future, for example Crescent☪Moon is looking to hire more help for the shops, correct?"
"Yes, we have been restricted to using our members for various reasons, but I definitely want to hire more people."
Charasin nodded at Maryele's sincere words.
"Battle guilds will have more job requests such as farming for ingredients, exploration, and escort missions. If the council is formed, there will be a budget to hire the battle guilds to investigate the 'Fairy Rings'. After completing that, the next will be information about each zone, collating the data to be distributed by newspaper or other media... If there is a budget, we can achieve many things."
It had been confirmed that the Fairy Rings were in normal operation. But the rings were affected by the different moon phases and would change its teleportation destination, so the chance of going to your desired location was low. With the fact that you could no longer refer to online guides, there was no way to predict where you would go, so no one used them.
It was possible to investigate the destination you would be transferred to, but it would take a lot of resources. Not only were the 28 days of the moon phases different, the destination changed every hour. The data of each Fairy Ring might differ from another. Even limiting it to the time when the moon was out, the routes of all the Fairy Rings were an encyclopedic amount of data.
It was not that no one wanted to investigate, it was just that this project was too big, it could not be accomplished by a single guild.
But if you created the organization Shiroe proposed, to support the operation, then it was not impossible to map the routes, the battle guilds could take on this big mission.
"Next is the issue of security, there should be people who thinks laws will be restrictive, but I think this is something we have to live with. This is a Middle Ages styled alternate world, even if we don't restrict certain actions by law, I think reason and culture will allow this world to operate smoothly anyway. If there are cases of hogging grinding spots or territorial disputes, if we agree to compromise, it won't come to one party rejecting another unreasonably.
The participants nodded in agreement, including 'Black Sword' Isaac.
"But for some extreme actions, we still need some ways to stop them. One of them is banning PKing in low level zones, for instance, bullying a player below level 50 is meaningless, correct? They don't have enough wealth for themselves, hunting them is just a way to enjoy murder. The details of the restriction can be decided later, but I feel PKing should be banned for all low-level zones around Akiba."
There were no comments for this from the others.
Guilds worthy of being invited here were all big guilds which wouldn't go down the PK line. This was expected, since guilds that would PK were mostly mid-sized guilds who relied on coercion to get what they wanted.
"The next will be human rights, the guarantee of personal freedom. In this world where death is not the end, confinement and kidnapping are more serious than in the old world. Joining and leaving guilds should be a voluntary decision, forceful and coercive actions should be illegal and punishable by law. Other things like murder and rape should be obviously be illegal too."
... Regarding this...
... Adding these rules should be unavoidable.
The meeting room had an agreeable atmosphere, the participants felt that there were no problem with this. Everyone present resented criminal acts like these, and thought 'we should get rid of this criminal behavior'.
But with the system of this world, 'restricting fighting in non-combat zones' would activate punishment by the guards to the violators, but other crimes like confinement and coercion would not activate them. In other words, there needed to be someone to monitor and judge if any laws had been broken, and even enforce punishment on the spot. But this method used a lot of resources and everyone didn't think it would work.
But Shiroe mentioned his 'freezing bank account' card, with this things would be much easier. If there were any disputes among the players, the 'Round Table Council' would investigate and blacklist any problematic players. They would then be unable to live properly in Akiba and be forced to move to another city.
For the participants, Shiroe's suggestion was very sound.
The steam engine and the support of the production guilds in the formation of the 'Round Table Council' were all surprising elements but after the explanations, everything felt reasonable.
Shiroe expressed these specific practices in order to convince the participants in forming the council after listening to the details.
Even though he had not gained total support across the board, it had reached an acceptable level and the atmosphere shifted to what they should do after forming the council.
"This is the last point... human rights not only apply to the Adventurers, but also the People of the Land as well."
Several people opened their mouth slightly. The quick-witted participants immediately linked this to the slavery problem in Susukino as the reason for raising this point.
But Shiroe was talking about a completely different matter.
"It is inconclusive how the meeting will end today, whether the draft I submit will be accepted and the formation of the 'Round Table Council'... is still unknown. But I hope everyone at least has the idea that the fantastical and twisted world we are in has affected the Elder Tales game. But as we learned from the 'Chef' discovery, this is not just a game world, it is an alternate world that follows more real life physics and logic than that. Has anyone here conversed properly with the People of the Land before?"
One of the aides said, "Aren't they NPCs?"
"They are not NPCs, they have unique personalities. They have their own worries, dreams, and moral view in this world. They call themselves the People of the Land, and refer to us as Adventurers. But I need to make one thing clear: they are the original citizens of this world, we are the parasites. Akiba is an Adventurer city, so there are less People of the Land here. But in this whole world, there are definitely more People of the Land than us. Adventurers and People of the Land have different responsibilities in this world, if we carry on like this, we won't be able to build a good relationship with them."
"Relationship?"
Shiroe's words, even if part of it made them feel "so that's how it works, if you think about it he is right" and nodded their heads, but some parts were too abstract for them and annoyed them. 'In this alternate world of Elder Tales, they are not NPCs, but the people of this world' this point even if it was not convincing, but it was a logical conjecture. But for most players, this was not sentimental enough to move them.
"Ah... Let me add on to that point."
In the air of confusion, Maryele said gingerly.
She was always tense in such formal gatherings, but she maintained her cheerful nature and explained,
"Erm, Crescent☪Moon is very popular, but our customers are not just players, in other words, not only Adventurers... The People of the Land also want to buy them. Even though I don't really know how to describe this, and we are not sure ourselves... But these people also want to eat tasty food."
The meeting room became silent.
The shock this revelation gave the crowd was enough to give the sensation of the ground you were standing on cracking and caving in.
NPCs to most of the players are just NPCs, even if Brigandia in Susukino went too far, the normal players in this city treated them as 'talking vending machines'. In Elder Tales, there was nothing wrong, but that was only when this was still a game.
But because of this, to the experienced players of Elder Tales gathered in this room, Maryele's report was like a punch that destroyed common sense.
"I won't suggest that we give up returning to the original world, and I don't want to say this either... But we need to recognize that we have been in this alternate world for 2 months now, we cannot continue to be a selfish visitor. We have the preconception that the People of the Land have no emotions, but they do. In this world, according to the Elder Tales setting, we are a special class known as Adventurers, with the ability to be 'mercenaries who can learn special skills and raid the nest of monsters'. But the People of the Land are the majority in this world, because services such as banks are provided by them. They should be able to live on without us. But if we don't behave ourselves in this world, it could result in a irreparable bad end."
Shiroe sat down after he finished without waiting for any response. He was tired but felt content.
Even though Shiroe had finished his proposal, the meeting room remained silent.
Everyone was as still as a statue, Shiroe's speech was so abnormal and shocking. All present felt that they did not become trapped in the Elder Tales game, but the game world had become their reality.
Even now, they were unable to dismiss this thought.
The numerous things raised by Shiroe, such as not using menu selection to create items, the People of the Land were a force to be reckoned with in this world and had their own personalities, these facts shattered their knowledge of this world that they learned through the past two months.
"... Shiroe-kun is hinting that there may be a war with the People of the Land?"
Krusty asked in a philosophical tone.
"I think this is not my inference, but the inference the members of the council came up with."
Shiroe gave an irresponsible argument.
The arrow had been shot, Shiroe had shown his hand, disclosed all his information. In simple terms, he had displayed the world as seen through his eyes.
This was a battle Shiroe started willfully, but Shiroe wanted to win, with no one forced to lose. He just wanted victory, but not to grab it from others.
Shiroe didn't want to be too overbearing, but if possible, he wished everyone could reach this goal. Everyone referred to all the people in Akiba.
(If the people who don't understand after I have explained so clearly are in the majority... there might be war.)
Shiroe moved his gaze to the side and caught Maryele's eyes coincidentally.
Maryele seemed to be troubled, but she continued giving her sunflower-like smile. Henrietta beside her shrugged, giving a 'please help yourself' expression.
In the time that felt much longer then it really was, the first to speak in this silent meeting room was the guild master of the biggest battle guild in Akiba... D.D.D's leader 'Berserker' Krusty.
He announced in a calm voice,
"D.D.D agrees to the formation of the 'Round Table Council' as a governing group, and is willing to join."
This was followed by Soujirou in a teasing voice,
"West Wind Brigade agrees to its formation, it's been a while since I saw Shiro-senpai's 'total battlefield control' technique, I wish you had joined my guild."
"I can't allow Akiba to fall apart after all, the Black Sword Knights will join."
"Honesty agrees, we will work on improving our relationship with the People of the Land from now on."
'Black Sword' Isaac and Honesty's guild master Ein also replied.
"As we said before, we the 3 major production guilds support Shiroe and the 'Round Table Council', and hope to earn a lot of money from its formation."
Rodrick and Charasin nodded to acknowledge Michitaka's words. They had already inferred the many possibilities from Shiroe's report, and were instructing their members to carry out all sorts of experiments.
The participants after that just followed the flow and expressed their willingness to join. Grandeur and Radio Market, these small guilds also expressed that they were willing to represent the other small guilds and join the council.
Maryele seemed to have pushed herself too hard, and just threw herself exhaustively onto the table with her smile still active. Shiroe smiling sheepishly relaxed his sweaty fist under the table, being careful not to let Maryele find out.
On this day, the 'Round Table Council' was born in Akiba.
4
"Captain Maryele! I finished packing the kitchen cabinet!"
"Don't call me captain, jeez, I can't stand you..."
There were people busy packing, some writing numbers on the packages, some wandering around confused.
A week after the formation of the Round Table Council, Crescent Moon Alliance's guild hall was enveloped by the hustle and bustle.
"Captain Maryele is our guild master, please sit down!"
"No, no can do! We are a small guild, you can't treat the guild master as a great person, haven't I been emphasizing this?"
"Mary, you are very clumsy, so just sit in a corner and drink your tea, don't be a bother to the others."
Maryele who was arguing with the new member was stopped by Henrietta. Her words made Maryele all teary, and she went to a corner of the office in a sulk saying "So I am such a useless fellow..."
Crescent Moon Alliance was in the middle of moving.
All the members had been active, cleaning or arranging the furniture, working hard at their assigned task. Maryele watched over the members that had grown in number, lost in her thoughts.
The Round Table Council was formed the day Hamelin was disbanded. In the same guild building that the meeting was held, Crescent Moon's Shouryuu, Serara, and Log Horizon's Akatsuki were successful in receiving the beginners who escaped from Hamelin.
Shiroe was the chairman-organizer of that meeting, and was in charge of chairing it and directing the course of the discussion. But very few people knew he was coordinating the destruction of Hamelin at the same time.
Maryele wouldn't have noticed if she was not informed about it beforehand.
Hamelin's members were blacklisted from entering the guild building, so they were unable to give chase to the beginners.
Akatsuki found out all the names of the Hamelin members. When Crescent☪Moon was in operation, the reason she was not present was not only to avoid being caught by Henrietta and becoming her dress-up doll.
All the beginners who escaped into the guild building were instructed by Shouryuu to complete the guild membership withdrawal paperwork. There were a total of 35 beginners confined and managed by Hamelin, all of them were covered in sweat and dust, a sorry sight.
As Serara and the volunteers from Crescent Moon Alliance prepared food and clothes for the beginners, Hamelin's members started to have a rough idea of what was happening.
The guild building was the only place that links to the Hamelin guild hall zone. Hamelin's members couldn't enter the guild building, so they were trapped in the Hamelin guild hall.
As Shiroe predicted, they still had the means to escape. The first was to use the 'Call of Home' to teleport to Akiba. Since the last place of visit was Akiba, they could teleport back to the city, it was normally used to return from a faraway zone to the city instantly.
But there was no restriction preventing you from using it while inside the city or in a guild hall. Using 'Call of Home' teleported you to the entrance of Akiba.
Another way was to commit suicide in the guild hall. You would lose some EXP as a penalty, but you could respawn at the cathedral, which was at the center of Akiba, but in essence this was a way to teleport as well.
As the Hamelin members finally realized the methods and executed them, the sun had long set and the meeting agenda had been mostly been dealt with. What was left were the details of the laws that needed to be enforced.
Things progressed to the point that Hamelin could no longer retaliate. Even if they escaped the prison that was their guild hall, they were still barred from the guild building.
The battle was already decided several phases before that.
Something unexpected had also happened.
Maryele and company were planning to introduce the beginners to the various guilds they wished to join, or to provide aid until they were independent. This plan had already been submitted to the Round Table Council for discussion.
In fact, all those present at the meeting were willing to take in the beginners and provide them with aid.
But the situation was that 16 of the beginners wanted to join other guilds, the other 19 wished to join Crescent Moon Alliance.
From what Serara said, Shouryuu was overly manly when executing the rescue operation, giving the impression of a dependable leader, increasing the number of people wanting to join Crescent Moon Alliance.
Henrietta described it as 'chicks who are imprinted by a toy chicken', which was beyond Maryele's expectation.
But Crescent Moon Alliance was a member of the Round Table Council, since the council had decided the policy of providing them with aid, they couldn't throw them out like abandoned kittens. And Crescent Moon was a warm and gentle guild that could take care of low to mid-level players, so Maryele and the members decided to accept them with a warm welcome.
But this also created problems for the operation of Crescent Moon Alliance as well.
The number of members in Crescent Moon had nearly doubled, so the guild hall had become overly crowded.
It was not compulsory for the members to all live in the guild hall, members of any guild were free to rent a hotel room in his name for a night, months, or even a year. Many adventurers did this to ensure they had their own personal space.
But this was too big an expense for beginners, and Crescent Moon Alliance members were on good terms with each other, so quite a number lived in the guild hall.
... The guild master Maryele herself also treated the guild hall like her own room, so her members would also emulate her.
"Mary, Mary? We are ready, stand up. Hold this, it's your luggage."
Maryele hugged the teddy bear and cushion Henrietta handed her, and left the office she was so used to. All the furniture had been removed, with no sign of the old days left.
"Captain Maryele, the office in the new guild hall is ready!"
Maryele thanked and smiled at the lively and eager member, and began to move.
Just like this, with the original guild hall unable to accommodate the needs of Crescent Moon Alliance, they moved to another guild hall also located in the guild building.
Even though Maryele was moving away, she was just leaving the old guild hall to the guild building corridor and entering another door from the neighboring corridor, a short distance to travel.
But the level of the new guild hall was different, increasing from 7 rooms to 31 rooms, the rental also increased 3 times. But there were still some funds left from the Crescent☪Moon operation.
The strict accountant Henrietta guaranteed "I think there is no problem", so Maryele was assured and made the decision to move.
There were more than 30 members, but the new guild hall was able to accommodate them, with a kitchen, meeting room, workshop, storage, living room, plus every room was much larger than before. The 31 rooms were structured like a mini castle.
The most amazing thing was the guild hall had 2 levels, and even stairs.
"So spacious!"
"Amazing, so big!"
"It feels like even a dragon can come in!"
The members frolicked around in joy, and Maryele smiled naturally. There were all sorts of ongoing tasks in every corner of the new guild hall, such as arranging furniture, removing packaging, taking notes of what things needed to be purchased.
Thinking of the expenses for carpets and tables was troubling, but the bare minimum could be created by their own production members. Even if they still needed other items and required money, they could just treat farming as an adventure.
Thinking of the city becoming lively again made Maryele's heart itch.
(There are so many things to do... and so many things I want!)
The new office was spacious, 3 fold bigger than the last. It was so wide that it was hard to keep calm. The table and couch of the old office was in the room, but the tiny furniture would only make visitors see the room as deserted and empty.
"This... is really big, is this bigger than our old meeting room?"
Henrietta who entered holding some documents was also speechless. When she was here last time to scout, there was no furniture, only the opinion that bigger was better. But with the furniture added in there was still too much space, giving it a lonely feeling.
"What should we do, I have to live in this place?"
Maryele said in an embarrassed voice, in some ways this was troubling for her.
"I think it will be okay if we separate the area with screen doors and plants."
Henrietta made notes of the necessary items in her notebook. She was right, with such a spacious room, they could create a space for the receiving of guests. Maryele thought of separating into 3 areas, the inner one being her bedroom.
"Seems like we will need lots of things..."
"You are right... But it is a good thing."
Henrietta smiled as she looked at her notes. This beautiful smile made Maryele happy that they felt the same way.
"I love you, Henrietta!"
Maryele hugged her passionately to express her feelings.
"How did the topic change to this! Mary, you are really random!"
Henrietta struggled in surprise just as a new member came in. "Sor... Sorry for intruding!" he said as he left. As the two of them struggled in the room amidst Maryele's laughter, the two of them only stopped after using all their energy.
"Really, you..."
"I have already said I'm sorry... forgive me please! Alright? Alright?"
"I only said that buying furniture to stimulate the growth of the economy is a good thing."
Maryele's attitude made Henrietta's face red in embarrassment and her eyebrows furrow in a frown. She was always hugging Akatsuki, but couldn't get used to being hugged. The smile of her BFF made Maryele smile brightly.
"Really, this feels like the sun is suddenly coming out."
What Maryele meant was not the coming summer.
It was the Akiba after the formation of the Round Table Council.
That very night, there were tens of notices about the Round Table committee in the Akiba's central square. The news spread like wildfire. By dawn everyone knew about this notice.
But this move raised some voice of objection naturally.
This was because the governing Round Table Council members were not elected democratically. By the standards of a common Japanese, this was the same as forcing the players to accept this, with the major guilds pulling strings behind the scenes.
But in anticipation of this, the notice included all the guidelines and policies behind the formation of the council, the actions it would take in the short term as well as their execution.
Other then this, Crescent☪Moon's curious new cooking methods were also disclosed without any reserve.
Akiba was filled with all kinds of food just after one night. The food with taste that could only be purchased at Crescent☪Moon could now be prepared by all the Chefs.
The new method not only required the Chef skill level, the Chef's knowledge and practical experience with real food was just as important. Some food that could not be said to be good were also made, but it was still miles better than the tasteless meals of days past.
Some impatient Chefs set up stores immediately. Some sold freshly baked bread, some sold fruit juice, some were even selling food as simple as roasted sweet potatoes. There were even people who set up a camp fire on the roadside with a large pot of fish or meat soup and sold them by the bowl, just like people trying to reap a profit in the wake of a disaster.
The desire for good food of everybody had been met. Food that had good reviews sold out in a blink of an eye. The joy of shopping for good food that was not imaginable just yesterday was now a reality in Akiba.
The citizens welcomed this change.
And the people cheering at this change were not only the Adventurers, but the numerous People of the Land as well.
Revitalizing the city, setting up legal systems to maintain security, improving relations with the People of the Land, collection of tax to maintain the operation of the administration. A speech was given the following day to express the reasons for the policies.
The people giving speeches in the central square of Akiba included D.D.D's leader 'Berserker' Krusty, Oceanic Systems' boss Michitaka, and others. The famous representatives of Akiba were all gathered to announce the formation principles of the Round Table Council.
Collecting tax raised some doubts among the people, but by confirming the tax was half-automated and low in amount, the citizens agreed to it reluctantly. Tax revenue was based on the usage of the guild building. If players needed to go to the guild building, they would need to pay the tax of 1 gold for that day.
This was one of the criteria for entry the owner of the zone could set. According to Rodrick's estimation, the Round Table Council would be able to collect roughly 400,000 in taxes as the budget for the council.
Most of the players thought setting laws are necessary, even more so for players who were not members of a big guild. The people now understood the importance of improving the vigor of Akiba.
With food as the catalyst, the revolution that lasted a single night made all the citizens return to life.
From the end result, the Round Table Council was accepted by almost all the citizens. A governing system was just a matter of time, so instead of a dictatorship... such as one formed by a single large guild, the formation of a working autonomous institution was tens of folds better.
The 11 founding representatives of the Round Table Council received cheers and ovation as they moved to deliver their speech. Instead of the courteous applause of a political party, they were more like the cheers and encouragements of a well-meaning audience in a large banquet.
The surrounding were slowly dyed in the colors of the setting sun. The central square was full of audiences, those who were unable to move into the square watched the stage from the high-rise floors of the surrounding buildings.
They had food like bread, desserts, and kebabs in their hands as they attend this event of gigantic proportions. There were some who were drinking alcoholic beverages, the mood was closer to a festive event than a political speech.
In conclusion, the representative of the Round Table Council, Krusty, announced officially, Akiba would be setting up new organizations, as well as several projects such as the investigation of the Fairy Rings, they would need the support of the citizens.
As the people cheered to welcome this announcement, an alarmingly large amount of production players brought in all sorts of food and beverages. The 3 major production guilds under the lead of Oceanic Systems said "today is the joyous 1st day of the festival", and announced loudly "We want to empty all the delicious food in our warehouse", bringing the festive atmosphere of Akiba to its climax.
"Partying to this extent, my brain is turning into mush."
"You are right."
Maryele laughed softly, but Henrietta had a troubled look on her face.
Following the endless cheers and drinking, the hour grew late.
It had been a week after that night.
Akiba continued to receive the blessing of the sun.
Everyday there was news of new food being made, production players other than Chefs were also doing all kind of experiments, hoping to make new products.
Maryele and Henrietta were most interested in shower equipment. When Elder Tales was still a game, bathtubs were just one of the many decoration that sat in the background. But to live in the alternate world, bathing had a different meaning. The humidity was lower than Japan, so the summer wouldn't make you dizzy from the heat... Despite this, the girls were still interested in this.
They heard that West Wind Brigade was the fastest in getting a Mechanic, Blacksmith, and Carpenter to help them build a large bathhouse in their guild hall castle.
Everyday there was news circulating of someone finishing a new idea. Akiba was really reinvigorated now, the young man who planned all this, remained low profile in the rowdy festival and speech, but was satisfied by all this.
Every time Maryele thought of Shiroe and his partners, she would have the feeling of joy and gratitude, with an unexplainable feeling flowing freely.
Hamelin disbanded that day.
(He really destroyed a guild. Wah, Shiro-bou is such a terrifying child, so dangerous...)
Maryele hugged her knees on the grand chair in her office, recalling Shiroe's determined eyes behind his round frame glasses. Chairing the meeting with the fire of his conviction, he displayed a spirit that was to be feared.
The Shiroe Maryele knew was an experienced player who was always thinking about something, binding himself with all possible negative thoughts, but still has a kind and honest nature.
If you considered it, he was just a Mr. Nice Guy, always roaming around, mature, a hard to understand but dependable Enchanter.
But the man with iron will who was like a man in a duel or a serious chess match, his fiery tenacity forcing his opponents to the brink, Maryele didn't recognize.
(But, he helped us...)
Maryele buried her face in her knees, and let out a laugh. Shiroe, Akatsuki, Nyanta, and Naotsugu, these dependable friends saved Serara on behalf of Crescent Moon Alliance, and restored life to Akiba.
The four who were able to separate their personal relations and see things from the view of a bystander, searching for the 'best solution'. And the four who peacefully drank tea and chatted in the Crescent Moon Alliance guild hall. Maryele was not able to see them as the same people. But even so, the fact that they were benefactors had not changed.
"... Hmmm, speaking of which, I did not see Shiro-bou and the gang today, what are they up to?"
Maryele thought of this suddenly and asked Henrietta.
"Oh, haven't you heard? Shiroe-sama and his guild are moving to a new place today."
5
At this point of time, Shiroe and friends decided to purchase a building complex in the outer edge Akiba, closest to the north border of the city zone as their guild base.
Shiroe's Log Horizon guild that was formed by him several days ago, currently had 4 members.
Harmonious in his dealings, but once he was set on something, he would do whatever it took to achieve his goal. The Enchanter Shiroe with the nickname he disliked, 'Black Heart Glasses'.
An apostle of panties, frivolous, witty, and loved to jokes around, the Guardian who was like an iron wall Naotsugu.
With long black hair and a small stature, who played the straight man to Naotsugu's antics with a serious face, the young beautiful Assassin Akatsuki.
The chef in charge of food and life counseling teacher, the silver Swashbuckler, Nyanta.
There were only four members, even calling it a small guild would be overstating it, it was closer to being a mini-guild.
Oceanic Systems' Michitaka mentioned that Log Horizon seemed to be a temporary guild formed for the purpose of organizing the Round Table meeting. As he said, it was hard to dismiss the impression that it was just a one-trick pony.
The player known as Shiroe's long gaming life had always kept a distance from the organization known as guild, so it was no surprise others thought of his guild like that.
After the night which he spent looking at the bright moonlight, Shiroe brought Naotsugu and Akatsuki along to the Akiba which was still misty from the morning fog.
In the light of the rising sun, and amidst the singing of the crickets, Shiroe who had been cracking his brain on what to say, chose the words 'I want to form a new guild, are you willing to join?' these simple words.
(I messed up, I should have made a more intimate excuse.) Shiroe started regretting moments after speaking, but the two of them agreed to join immediately.
'... So that's what this is about, Shiro finally wants to do this? I thought we will be guildless buddies forever.'
'... Shinobi will always be with my lord wherever you go, my lord just needs to say the word.'
Just like this, with Nyanta who he invited earlier, Shiroe's guild Log Horizon gathered four members. From the number of members, Log Horizon was more like 'borderline horizon', a weak guild that held a small opening ceremony.
"My lord, are your finances okay?"
This could only be described as an empty and spacious high-rise building, Akatsuki asked as she continued cleaning.
Akatsuki had reason to be concerned, a weak guild like theirs normally wouldn't need a base.
Guilds with less than 10 members usually rented their own room in hotels, very few would rent a guild hall.
Since there were few members, the items and loot they needed to store were also few in number. Meetings could be held in the central square or in bars. There was no problem discussing battle tactics on the roadside, and even telepathy should be able to suffice.
Guilds with slightly more members could rent a guild hall from the guild building as a base.
The guild building was near the city center, the price was reasonable and the environment was clean, so it was very popular. The number of rooms ranges from the cheap 3 room to the 31 rooms enough to accommodate a hundred people, suitable for all sizes. The market and bank were also near. In short it was very convenient, most guilds would make use of this.
As for even bigger guilds, the guild hall would be too cramped.
The biggest room provided by the guild building was 31 rooms, Crescent Moon Alliance's Maryele felt that this was a castle, but that was for a 30-40 member guild. If the number went above 200, this space would not be enough.
Hence, big guilds on the level of Black Sword Knights and West Wind Brigade would opt to choose a building within Akiba for purchase, and the zone within would serve as its headquarters.
Production guilds like Oceanic Systems which claimed to have 5000 members, would divide themselves based on their specialties into different departments, and each department would have its own building. For situations like these, the guild would have several buildings as bases.
Log Horizon's average level was 90, but their numbers were small. A guild like this owning a building was inefficient. If they wanted to set up a base, renting a guild hall from the guild building would be more than enough, Akatsuki was worried about the money involved.
"This part is, yeah, I can still afford this."
Shiroe brushed the wall with a scrub on a long stick as he answered. The complex which was originally used as a warehouse with a big shopping area was pierced from the 1st to the 6th floor by a giant tree.
The middle of the floor had a large hole, the tree with moss which was probably hundreds of years old grew through the gaps on each floor towards the sky, and spread its leaves out on the ceiling into a green dome cover.
Akiba was engulfed by the greenery, but trees merging with buildings on this level was a rare sight.
"This complex is cheap because of the state it is in, and the lack of stairs makes it undesirable."
"Hmm... you are right."
Shiroe moved away debris in response. The main bulk of the clearing operation had already been done with the assistance of the young Crescent Moon Alliance guild members over the course of several days. But it was still in ruins, and a long way from being habitable.
This place might have been a store selling large family appliances, the 1st floor had few walls and the ceiling was high, maybe 4 or more meters.
In ancient times, that was the time when these buildings were built, there must have been stairs here. The empty space where the stairs used to be and the stairs that were definitely beside the elevator well had probably been swallowed by the tree branches.
A building of this scale was cheap but unpopular probably because it was far from the city center and inconvenient to use.
"But... Akiba is a crowded city, So this is a great find right? We can just rebuild the stairs."
Just as Naotsugu who was coming down from the 2nd floor said, the metal stairs linking the 1st and 2nd floors had been completed. It looked dull and cold but it was steady and wide, there was no problem using it.
"So, why is it that we cannot fix the hole in the floor of buildings when it was still a game?"
Shiroe agreed with Naotsugu.
Nyanta's discovery not only had an impact on the culinary world, all the production players were now researching and publishing new products all the time. No, not only production subclasses, even role-playing subclasses were doing experiments, testing what they could do with their skills in this alternate world.
These stairs were the result of one of the experiments.
When the Elder Tales world was still a game, moving the walls or floors was something that was unimaginable, but experiments for the past week proved it could be done.
There were only stairs between the 1st and 2nd floors for now, the 3rd floor onward required the use of ropes, but stairs would only be built if there was a need to expand.
This zone was cheaper than the market rates, but it was still a considerable sum of money. Other than that, he was also prepared to pay more cash to hire people to make the stairs. The finances of a weak and small guild were not enough to refurbish the whole building.
Building the stairs and repairing the floors designated to be individual rooms was a big project, and they hired Oceanic Systems to carry it out. The guild master said "With some creativity, ruins which are suitable for living can be used in other ways. Making stairs is an interesting idea." and agreed to take the job.
Michitaka personally came to supervise the project, Naotsugu bargained with him "Hey, since this is such an interesting idea, give us a discount!" Michitaka considered this seriously, which was amusing to Shiroe.
Even though they knew this would become a new business, the ease of making parts from materials through the game menu differed largely from the real world, making it hard to calculate a reasonable cost.
Henrietta mentioned before about the balance of supply and demand, full employment and minimum wage, these kinds of professional terms. Even though Shiroe understood the theory and structure, using it to calculate a value practically was near impossible. No matter what, the economy of this alternate world was full of holes, how much real world economic concepts could be applied here was a big question.
Now they could only use what Michitaka described as 'Give a rough estimate, wait some time for it to stabilize, and use that number as a guide for pricing', allowing him to name a price he guessed to be okay.
Today, the four of them also woke early and started cleaning.
But with only the 4 of them, it was impossible to clean the 6 floors and 1 basement level of the complex. And the hole in the ceiling got larger the higher you went, and all the windows were broken.
The 4 of them had long given up cleaning the whole place, just concentrating on the 2nd floor that would serve as the living area. The 2nd floor only had 2 areas with gaping holes, they should be able to clear out 8 rooms to serve as personal living space.
With this there would be no problem in the short term.
But they did not know if they could finish in the summer, or if it would drag into the fall. Shiroe considered the temperature and weather, and hoped to finish before winter.
But as Shiroe was busy creating their own living space, they had many guests visiting. Shiroe set this zone to be freely accessible to all, so anyone he knew could just waltz into the 1st floor of the building and call for them loudly.
Henrietta who should also be moving today came with a basket of fruits politely, congratulating Log Horizon on founding their base. Akatsuki who received the gift fearfully was caught in an instant and forced to wear a 'special complimentary gift', but let's not go into details.
West Wind Brigade's Soujirou along with the beautiful healer Nazuna who was also in the Debauchery Tea Party, came to visit with some peach wine. The fragrance complimented the summer nicely, and was said to be made with care by the brewer of West Wind Brigade.
8th District Shopping Center's Charasin also came to discuss things with Shiroe.
Charasin proposed hiring People of the Land to handle the administrative duties of the Round Table Council... which was mainly mail and clerical work.
Asking an Adventurer to sit in a office and deal with menial work was hard and expensive. The two of them decided that they should move in this direction.
Charasin expressed that he planned to ask the People of the Land he had in mind and left with a smile.
Battle guild leaders who spent the most time was surprisingly Black Swords Knights' Isaac. He came with a few Summoners from his guild without invitation, said "Hey, 'Black Heart Glasses', this is a convenient and spacious place, lend it to me to do some battle simulations."
Before Naotsugu had time to complain, the Summoners conjured 'Undines of Flowing Water', and flooded the 1st and 2nd floors with water, washing it thoroughly. In this world with no tap water, this was a great help.
Isaac finished the fruit Henrietta brought and left. But Chief Nyanta said softly "Black Sword Knights are not bad guys nya", which left a deep impression on Shiroe. Perhaps this was the way Isaac wanted to restore his relationship with Shiroe.
The reason Shiroe decided to buy a building... this building for his guild, half of it was this.
Since he was a member of the Round Table Council, he would have quite a number of guests. The people in his friends list were also increasing every day. Some friends were not added because he wanted to deepen his friendship with them, but for the chance of increasing his networking, so he needed to add them for future telepathy use.
There would be a lot of visitors from now on, and it might involve long discussions and talks. It was uncertain if there would be grand events similar to the setting-up of the Round Table meeting, but if that happened, the kitchen, workshop, and storage were all necessary rooms.
Shiroe considered all these factors, that's why he chose a spacious building in the outer edge of the city.
"This is what they mean by 'a big environment can be flexibly used for small things'."
"And it seems like Naotsugu likes tall places."
"Shiro, it's because you are like this that Akatsuki keeps bullying me and calling me stupid. My stock market price has fallen to the limit."
To Shiroe, Naotsugu was the friend he could talk most freely with heart to heart. Even when they chatted about pointless things, he could feel at ease.
"Okay, Shiroe-chi and Naotsugu-cchi stop bickering, if we don't clean up we won't be able to make it to dinner nya."
"Curry? Is today's menu curry? I love curry!"
"Stupid Naotsugu, it is indeed curry today."
"Is that so? Yahoo!"
Nyanta and Akatsuki joined the conversation.
In Shiroe's long experience playing Elder Tales, he had joined guilds before. But now he understood that he was there as a guest, he was not really a member.
He couldn't view the tag of a guild as the same level as the home for him and his companions.
He needed to treasure it from the bottom of his heart and protect it.
He already learned this reason in the Debauchery Tea Party. Instead of caring whether the group had the tag of a guild, it was more important to form camaraderie in their time together.
Whenever the city was dyed in the red light of the sun, Shiroe would have a special feeling. When it was a game, the evening was just a special effect on the screen, but that was not so in this world.
The group of black birds returning from the forest let out a loud and lonely cry as they flew past.
The Adventurers returning from their raids walked along the shops on either side of the main paveway into the central square. Teams with good loot discussed their future plans in high spirits. Parties that did not do well swore to clear their shame of failure next time. The abandoned building and ruins covered with vines were dyed dull red. These warriors and the production players in the city, both the Adventurers and the People of the Land, left their long shadows on the ground.
This week, it seemed that even dusk had its fragrance as well.
The many shops sold dinner to the tired warriors and the production players who had spent the whole day working. In the bars operated by the People of the Land, not only was the beer tasty, they also provided simple dishes as well.
As the night becomes apparent, the red bronze sky changed to a deep rose color gradually, then into dirty green and finally blue. In this world where night came later than in the old world, the citizens had already finished their work for the day, and were preparing for tomorrow.
"My lord, the first star is out."
"That is not important, I am so hungry that I cannot move anymore."
After finishing moving the things, Akatsuki and Naotsugu chilled beside the window.
In this dusk before the lights came on, the two partners turned and looked at Shiroe.
Their calm expressions made Shiroe believe that this was his home.
The Debauchery Tea Party was now gone from his heart, this process had taken a very long time. If he compared the two, he would unconsciously hurt many people and places, Shiroe reflected on this.
He did not understand such a simple thing, and took such a long detour, he felt so useless. Shiroe reproached himself this way, but the two of them just give him a strange look and asked: "My lord, what is it?" "Are you hungry? Hunger is so dangerous."
"Hmm? Where is Chief? He's not back yet?"
Shiroe perked himself up, discovered that Nyanta was not around, and recalled that he was out purchasing spice.
"Now that you mention it, Chief is slow today. Could he be shopping on the streets and eating? "
"That is not funny at all."
As Shiroe listened to the two bicker, Shiroe was still concerned. At this moment, a calm and slow voice came from the floor below: "Shiroe-chi... Naotsugu-cchi... Akatsuki-nyaan..."
That should be Chief.
Were the things too heavy? No, that shouldn't be the case in this world. The 3 discussed as they made their way to the stairs. In the moonlit and empty first floor, they saw a shape that looked like it was made with wires... Nyanta.
"Chief, what's up, I'm hungry, let's eat some curry..."
"Yes, I am hungry, Master."
Naotsugu and Akatsuki popped the upper half of their bodies from the top of the stairs saying these words like children. Nyanta laughed heartily "Nya hahaha", and pushed two things from behind to the front.
"... Eh"
"Ano... Ano..."
"Isn't this Tohya and Minori?"
The twins Kannagi girl and Samurai boy, their faces were so red that you could tell even in the night. The two of them who tidied their hair and changed into clean equipment over the past week were being encouraged by Nyanta.
"I saw them wandering round and round the building when I returned from grocery shopping. If it was me I would be turning into butter candy nya."
"Are the two of you alright? Crescent Moon Alliance is moving today right?"
Shiroe asked them. Crescent Moon Alliance was also moving to a guild hall 2 levels higher, there should be a celebratory feast after finishing the move. Maryele who liked lively atmospheres wouldn't let their 2 cute new members wander around in the night.
"We are fine Niichan, that is..."
"Yes?"
Tohya looked at Shiroe who was halfway down the stairs, and let out a loud voice that he usually used.
"... We came to let Niichan take us into the guild."
"Ah...?"
"We want to become Shiroe-san's students... the Crescent Moon Alliance has been taking good care of us for the past week, but we didn't join their guild... not even now. Tohya and I are the last two beginners who left Hamelin that are without a guild."
Minori added in details to her brother's overly direct words.
"We have worked hard thanks to Niichan's lessons. If Niichan starts a guild, we also want to join. I might be weak now, but I will become stronger."
"We might trouble you... But we decided not to use this as an excuse, please let us join you."
"Ah... that is..."
Maybe they would be rejected.
What would happen to them then?
The twins who forced out these words with all their might were so tense that you would feel nervous just looking at them.
Shiroe heard of the harsh conditions in Hamelin. They were new players to Elder Tales and had no friends to rely on, this must be a hard experience.
If they stayed in Crescent Moon Alliance, there must be many comrades with the same experience, and of similar level, and they would be treated well. But the two of them declined joining Crescent Moon Alliance, and came to Shiroe with the risk of having nowhere to go if they were rejected.
Shiroe was unable to understand their feelings, but he could feel their do-or-die determination.
The last week of Elder Tales being just a game was spent together with them, Shiroe did not know what he said during this period that made them like him so much.
He never thought he would become a guiding post for others, Shiroe didn't have such experiences before, so he was silent when facing their request, unable to give a proper reply.
Nyanta gazed at Shiroe, his slit-like eyes filled with gentleness and slowly becoming a line, and said with a kind tone.
"Shiroe-chi, don't daze off, you are the guild master nya..."
Guild master.
Master of a guild.
Leader of a guild.
That's right, he was correct in saying that, Shiroe realized. Because he was too familiar with his companions and they understood what each other was thinking about, Shiroe didn't feel like a guild master even after forming a guild.
He was never a guiding post for others before.
He had been using others to guide him all the while, but he had never imagined that he would become a guiding post too.
Shiroe turned and looked at his two hungry comrades who were sticking their heads out. Naotsugu was sticking up his thumb and saying "Of course." Akatsuki was nodding her head with a gentle expression.
"Alright, we, the Log Horizon guild welcomes Tohya and Minori to join. The first task of the newcomers is to eat curry with the core members of the guild... Are you ready?"
"Yes!" "Niichan!"
Adding in the two tender voices, the members had increased to 6.
In the alternate world which used to be a game called Elder Tales, a new guild was officially made.
... The guild was named Log Horizon.
In the rural area of Akiba, where an old tree pierced though an abandoned building, this was where the small group of companions lived.
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