Chapter 3: Expeditionary Force
Part 1
Raynesia couldn't move until she got down from the griffon. A dance partner would put a hand around her
waist, but she had not been carried around casually like luggage since she was a baby.
She didn't think it would be so embarrassing to be treated this way by a man. Raynesia struggled to loosen
up her tense face and smile, but she knew her face was cramping up.
It didn't feel like reality when she made the decision during the meeting, it felt like she only acted on the
spur of the moment.
Raynesia had spent too much time with Krusty this past week. Compared to facing this young man who
was like a monster who could read her mind, saying arrogant things in front of the nobles was nothing...
that was how she mustered her courage.
But she was unable to do anything about Krusty.
Raynesia knew Krusty was concerned about her and protected her from being blown off the griffon or
feeling too cold. But the more concerned he was, the more embarrassed she felt, and she thought he could
see right through her as well.
She appeared elegant on the surface but was actually lazy and hated interacting with people, only thinking
about rolling around in her room, a useless and incurable person. But Raynesia didn't mind Krusty
knowing all this right now.
But there was one thing if possible... No, one thing she must hide from him. That was her feeling of
embarrassment when she was with Krusty.
"Please."
She took Krusty's hand for a moment and stood on the ground once more.
This was Akiba.
It was now late at night, but the lights in the streets were still burning bright, the light which looked like a
bonfire from the sky was actually a variety of light sources. The seven bonfires in the city square were
orange, the streetlights were yellow, the magic lights were phosphorescent white.
"That... Thank you very much."
Raynesia thanked him with her gaze down, but Krusty was already focusing elsewhere. A group
approached them hastily, they had a brand on their clothes similar to that on Krusty's cape.
Krusty greeted the group and turned towards the young mage who was carrying the black-haired girl
down.
"Shiroe-kun, can you help her with her dressing and schedule?"
"Of course, but is it okay with you?"
"I have no choice, let's steel ourselves."
After talking to the young man called Shiroe, Krusty left with the group that had similar brands as him and
the griffon took off at the same time.
Raynesia felt lost as the young man Shiroe spoke to her.
"Princess Raynesia, this is the first time greeting you. I am Shiroe from Log Horizon, this lady is
Akatsuki."
After Shiroe finished the introductions, the petite girl named Akatsuki nodded to acknowledge, seemed
like she kept to herself.
"Please follow me."
Shiroe turned and started walking, the streets were filled with Adventurers and they seemed to be rushing
about for some reason.
Raynesia declared that she wanted to come to Akiba to convince the Adventurers, but she had no concrete
idea how to do that. The Round Table Council should be something like the nobles' meeting, from her
vague impression, she should first seek permission from them before meeting the Adventurers one by one.
Akiba was totally different from Maihama.
Unlike the beautiful and gorgeous Maihama with fruit trees and crystals by the streets, this town seemed to
utilize the ruins of the centuries past. She would be lost if she lost sight of the young man leading the way,
so Raynesia focused on staying alert.
A female pedestrian lugging a big bag with her gave way to Shiroe and spoke a few words with him
before nodding and going off. Raynesia thought that since Shiroe was chosen as a lieutenant of the
ambassador party, he should be quite high-ranking in the Round Table Council.
(But he is walking so fast...)
The young girl Akatsuki was following effortlessly behind. Raynesia heard before that the Adventurers
were very strong physically, but she never expected to experience this much difference.
The young man named Shiroe covered his ear with one hand and talked to the air as he walked, probably
communicating through magic.
They reached a gigantic black building shortly after.
"Shiroe-dono!"
"Charasin-san, sorry for making you come so far."
There seemed to be 3 men waiting in the lobby behind the door, one of them was dressed like a merchant.
"This is Princess Raynesia."
"Hi! I heard about you, the daughter of clan Corwen. I am a merchant Charasin, leader of the 8th District
Shopping Center."
The man named Charasin was indeed a merchant as he greeted Raynesia with a business smile. But to
Raynesia who came from nobility, his greeting was both simple and practical.
(This Adventurer seems very straightforward and dislikes hypocritical courtesies.)
Raynesia responded with a graceful smile... for her standards, this was a simple greeting. 8th District
Shopping Center was a unique name, but from the way he introduced himself, it was probably a
prestigious family name in Akiba.
"I am Raynesia from clan Corwen, please take care of me."
The merchant called Charasin blushed and averted his eyes, Raynesia was used to such a reaction.
"And so, Charasin-san."
"Here."
"... Eh, how should we do this, which one should we choose. I was thinking something flashy and grabs
your eyes, we need to move everyone with the first impression... Do you have the full set of 'Valkyrie
Mail'?"
"Hmmm? Ah, ah ah, of course... but the legs for that set... Will it be okay?"
But this sense of ease did not last too long. The youth Shiroe and Charasin started to discuss something,
Raynesia didn't understand the content, but she could not pretend not to hear anything.
"Yeah, no problem. From the overall viewpoint, it will be good if we push it to this level. Please prepare
a set, I have the cape so you don't need to prepare that. Can you choose a suitable weapon? A 1-handed
sword with a beautiful design, any equipment below level 4 will do... Akatsuki, can you rent a room for
an hour, it will be fine even if it is small... No, the attack power doesn't matter, it just needs to look
good."
Following that were scenes of shame and confusion.
Raynesia was brought to a simple room. Stripped and adorned with battle equipment with the help of the
young girl Akatsuki.
Most nobles changed their clothes with the help of their maids and Raynesia was the same, she didn't
resist being naked in front of others.
The source of her shame and confusion was due to her first time wearing battle armor.
Firstly, it was as light as feathers.
Breastplate and a shirt made from thin shiny silver chains.
Gauntlets made of metal and leggings with vines carved elegantly on it as if they were the works of elves.
But the problem was... the chain armor around her waist.
The armor only covered the tops of her thighs and you could see her legs down to her knees. Showing
your arms was a common design for dresses, but clothes that showed off your thighs seemed so vulgar,
Raynesia (probably) never wore something like this before.
Akatsuki said simply: "The skirt... I will help you wear." But instead of a skirt, it looked more like a belt
with a scarf sized cloth.
(My... my thighs are showing... And the breastplate's shape is so real, how should I put this, it seems a bit
inflated...)
As Raynesia was stunned by this, Akatsuki hung a sword on her waist and tightened all the straps all over
her body. All armors were skintight after tightening so you would not feel its weight.
From the weight and comfort, this should be a famous magical armor, Raynesia was impressed... But the
curves of her body were also showing and she could not bear to watch.
Raynesia thought her figure was not bad, but this set of armor... left nothing to the imagination. Raynesia
moaned.
"Ermm... Akatsuki-san? If I wear it like this, the curves of my body are a bit..."
"You are tall enough, so bear with it."
Raynesia was too intimidated by Akatsuki's glare to say anything.
Akatsuki took out a comb and straightened Raynesia's hair beautifully. Her actions were more smooth and
delicate than any maid's, but Raynesia was only getting more and more tense.
It might be due to her silent nature, but the young girl had been strangely agitated from just now.
Akatsuki grabbed the procrastinating Raynesia and dragged her outside where Shiroe and Charasin were
waiting. The 2 of them seemed to have been standing outside and discussing all this time. Raynesia
attempted to hide behind the short Akatsuki, Charasin smiled widely upon seeing her.
This expression of lauding from the heart was similar to the knights' and bureaucrats'. But Shiroe seemed
to just have the expression of someone judging and gauging. Raynesia entered Shiroe's name into her
mental note of someone to look out for.
"Charasin-san, it is pretty good right?"
"Yes, I think she is beautiful."
"... Thank... Thank you for your compliment."
Raynesia almost pulled up her skirt to do a curtsy but she restrained herself. The cloth she was wearing
(she didn't want to recognize this as a skirt) was too short to pull.
"Now, let's proceed to the main event. It will be fine, please relax, I have high hopes for the princess."
Shiroe's words and smile sent a chill down her spine for some unknown reason, but she could only nod
now.
Part 2
And so...
"Thank you everyone for gathering here so early in the morning, I am Shiroe from Log Horizon. The time
is now dawn, the war is coming upon us, let me explain our situation."
It was dawn.
The city square was full of Adventurers, the numbers were uncertain, but from the crowds jam-packed in
the city square, there should be more than a thousand.
Akiba central city square.
The debris in the city square had been cleared in the past few months, it was now 20% more spacious
than before the Catastrophe. When Elder Tales was still a game, the debris was just part of the
immovable background, but now they could be moved or destroyed.
There were still shops open at this unearthly hour, the stores had been refurbished and looked very clean,
making Akiba look more vibrant and lively.
Raynesia did not know these details, she only felt this was a city full of life. The sun had just started
rising in the east and yet there were so many people already gathered here. For Raynesia who had not
been through any battles, this was an unusual sight.
And those gathered here were not just human knights.
There were elves, dwarves, even carpenters and merchants. Unlike military processions and meetings of
nobles, the stalls peddled their food and drinks to the crowds, which seemed to be the norm in this city.
Raynesia did not know the Round Table Council members who had been standing by on shift had made all
the preparations after Shiroe contacted them. Gathering the veteran Adventurers, setting up the stage, and
parking the 'secret weapon' beside Akiba's riverbank had all been done.
Raynesia who was staying inside the tent next to the stage could only see the Lumiere called by the
Summoner illuminating the podium.
They were using the valuable mage, the highly respected Summoner, as a stagehand. This went against the
common sense of Raynesia, but the contents of the speech made her even more lost.
"... Because of these reasons, centered around Sand Leaf peninsula, in the northern hills and forests of the
Kanto region, there is an army of about 20,000 goblins. This force is attacking the surrounding areas.
There are several Adventurers in Sand Leaf reporting about this attack. The governing organization in
Kanto, the League of Freedom Towns Eastal is exposed to this threat. According to the analysis of the
Round Table Council, this threat is just a threat, the League of Freedom Towns Eastal will not be wiped
out if we leave them alone, but will exhaust at least 30% of their total fighting force... this number is
equivalent to the destruction of their military, but it is not to the extent of wiping out all the People of the
Land."
The report Shiroe was reading out was more detailed than that of the nobles and he was merciless in his
speech. If Raynesia was not wrong, his words had hidden poisonous barbs.
But the scene that amazed Raynesia the most was not Shiroe's attitude, but the comprehension in the eyes
of all the Adventurers listening.
From what she could observe from the tent, not one person looked bored or confused. Some of them even
opened up pieces of paper, probably maps, and were noting down the important points in the speech.
This was a scene that made Raynesia, one of the People of the Land, amazed. Weren't the people gathered
here equivalent to peasants? Why did they have so much comprehension skills?
Raynesia thought that the Adventurers gathered here were just common soldiers, but their comprehension
level surpassed that of officers, and was on par with the bureaucrats of the courts. There were so many
people with military and geographical knowledge, and they seemed to know the political situation of the
League of Freedom Towns Eastal, this almost made Raynesia fall down in shock.
What were nobles? What were peasants? What were farmers?
The worldview in Raynesia's heart had been shattered.
"On the other hand, we feel that defending Akiba from this army is something simple... apart from food,
this city is very self-sufficient and even more so in terms of technical knowledge. We have enough
defense capabilities, it is not necessary for us to aid the League of Freedom Towns Eastal. In terms of
gain and losses, we do not need to help them, let me repeat, we absolutely do not need to send aid... I
hope everyone will listen to the words from this 'person' while keeping this in mind."
It was as though everyone present gulped.
When many people gather together, they would create a certain warmth. In the heat of the silence, Shiroe
looked to the tent and pointed to this 'person'.
"Ah?"
Someone grabbed Raynesia's hand while she was stunned.
She turned around and saw Krusty in a sky-blue armor, she was not sure if it was for ceremonial or
practical use. Krusty had his usual gentle expression and smiled as he said: "Let's go on stage."
"Eh? Eh?"
"Come."
Krusty dragged her out of the tent and a sudden bright white light shone onto the city square.
It was the light of dawn, the first ray of sunlight in the morning illuminating the whole square from the
east.
In the cool morning breeze of the summer, Raynesia was suddenly pushed forward.
This was the center of the stage, the forefront where there was no escape.
Raynesia felt hot as she came on stage and did not know what to say or do. In front of her were several
thousand Adventurers, a being that was different from the People of the Land. Even if they had the same
form and language, they were fundamentally different creatures.
She could feel this from her short contact with them.
Her lips were trembling, her knees were losing strength.
A sharp sound came from her right.
She turned and saw Krusty with his calm appearance like a heroic guardian angel. He stuck his twohanded
axe into the floor and placed both his hands onto its handle. The sound just now was the axe
hitting the floor.
This was followed immediately by a dull thud from the left. Shiroe who moved here was holding a
ceremonial pewter staff that was taller than him vertically like a spear. Shiroe didn't have the staff a
moment ago.
With Krusty and Shiroe on either side of her, Raynesia took a step forward on the stage. Her temperature
was rising gradually, the scenery in her eyes was changing its shape, but her thoughts were unexpectedly
clear. Her breathing was so loud that it irritated her, and she could strangely hear the conversation of the
Adventurers chatting softly in a corner clearly.
"... Everyone, this is my first time meeting all of you, I am one of the People of the Land. I am a resident of
the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, the daughter of the Corwen clan governing Maihama. My name is
Raynesia Elart Corwen, I came here bearing a request for everyone."
Her voice was so clear she surprised herself.
Raynesia's words reached every corner of the city square in the morning air.
"Just as Shiroe-sama described, Yamato is facing a great crisis. I announce without any reservation that
the guardians of Yamato, the 'Knights of Izumo' are missing right now. The League of Freedom Town
Eastal will need to handle this crisis themselves. The goblin invasion force is the biggest ever in history,
and they are advancing fast. They are already within the sphere of influence of the League of Freedom
Towns Eastal. The People of the Land have city walls, magic barriers, and soldiers, but how effective our
defenses will be is still an unknown. Even at this moment in time, my fellow People of the Land are
polishing their blades and fortifying the walls in preparation for war. But even with all these efforts, we
cannot avoid making major sacrifices to protect our homelands."
Raynesia threw her gaze far away.
What she saw was not the crowd before her, but the scene a few hours ago.
"It might sound shameful, but the League of Freedom Towns Eastal has not come to a consensus even at
this critical stage. Before I arrived here, they were still arguing selfishly for the safety of their own
territories and were reluctant to send aid to each other. Not only that."
Raynesia hesitated at this point.
But she was unable to stop.
"Not only that, we are wishfully thinking about pushing the holy task of defending our homeland to the
Round Table Council's ambassadors. We were scheming to rely on the immortal Adventurers, rely on
everyone here for help, hoping to use everyone's battle power to protect our lives and territories. I am not
worthy of apologizing on their behalf... But I am deeply sorry, and I also feel remorse over one more
thing. The thing is, I am here today to raise the same willful request."
Raynesia did not notice the bright purple cape and 'Valkyrie Mail' that Shiroe chose complemented
Raynesia's feminine features to the limit. Raynesia under the dawn light was the image of a valkyrie that
everyone respected and adored.
Raynesia did not realize this.
When she made her plea to the Adventurers, Shiroe turned his head slightly and gave Krusty a look.
Krusty gave a bitter smile and an expression of resistance.
"Both the League of Freedom Towns Eastal and I do not have much to offer in terms of rewards...
Everyone is living in such a prosperous city, I do not know what to prepare to give as thanks, and I don't
want to use worldly items to exchange for everybody's freedom. But as a daughter of the Corwen family, I
love Maihama deeply and have the obligation to protect my nation... that's why... I have come here before
everyone today."
Deluding themselves with wishful thinking and only thinking of protecting their own interests was indeed
shameful.
Raynesia fell to her knees naturally and gave a deep bow.
If the Adventurers present were knights or bureaucrats, or in other words nobles, she wouldn't lower her
head this way. In the culture of nobility, a lady was treated as a valuable item, a noble lady of high status
was their top protection priority.
But she learned one thing after knowing Krusty, the Adventurers were not the same.
With her title, she would also be respected as a noble in Akiba. But she would not have a group of people
attending to her needs which was the norm in nobility culture, she would at most receive the 'respect' of
the people on the street.
This was a heterogeneous city.
She would not receive the princess-level of attention she was so used to in this city. But she would also
not be discriminated at all like a lady in a noble's social circle.
The woman in the social circle of nobles did not have rights.
She was treated kindly, would receive all sorts of gifts, and be given numerous compliments and hollow
words of admiration.
She just needed to frown slightly and the young knights would present her with the most valuable
medicine. But they were seeing her as an individual to adore.
They were just after her as a 'noblewoman', a prize in the diplomatic battles among the nobles, that's why
she was treated with care.
A 'noblewoman' was treated like a gem in the noble's social circle, she was a 'noblewoman' who came
with a guarantee of high pedigree, she was just a top-class trophy.
Raynesia who spent her days brooding in her room was more aware of this than anyone else, and she
understood that she was powerless to deny this fact.
"I am cowardly and lazy, an ignorant vase... but... I want to go to the battlefield, so, if you are able to, if it
is fine with you, will you be willing to go with me? Are you willing to help me based on your kindness
and freedom? I wish to do all I can to protect the 'Freedom of the Adventures'..."
(Even if I say that... Even if I want to protect their freedom...)
She was a member of the Corwen family, but she did not have such authority because she was born a girl.
She could plea with her father or grandfather to buy clothes or jewelry for her, she could grant
testimonials to one or two Adventurers and she could hold dinner parties.
But she had no further political powers.
Raynesia also thought she was giving an empty promise.
But instead of saying it was a lie, it was more like her aspiration.
Krusty was the first one to acknowledge she had the freedom to take to the battlefield, Adventurers
probably had never doubted the freedom of doing this. Raynesia wanted to protect their freedom. For
Raynesia who never had such freedom all these years, this was the first time she had such an aspiration in
her heart.
"I sincerely ask everyone to help me."
As she finished her speech in a whimper, there was a loud wave of iron clashing. In the middle of the city
square, a group of people in blue with a coat of arms on their cloaks clashed their weapons and shields
and stomped their feet.
A company of knights in black armor unsheathed their swords and swore to take to the battlefield; on the
open balcony of a ruin a band of elves with bows on their backs sounded their war horns; dwarves
holding axes howled mightily in the crowd.
Werecats, wolf fangs, foxtails, and other minorities did not seem to be discriminated in this city.
(Ah...)
Krusty walked to Raynesia's side while she was stunned, Shiroe was at her other side the next second.
"And so, this city... We will be sending out our first expedition army, the condition for enlisting is level
40 and above. This is a quest given by the Round Table Council, there is only one reward, the gratitude
and respect of this People of the Land onstage. Comrades who are willing to take up the quest please ride
for Maihama! Considering the crisis of this situation, we will also be sending a blitz force against the
enemy. The formation of parties will be done while on the move, I hope everyone will cooperate. I am
Krusty and I will be the commander-in-chief for this expedition army."
"The role of tactician will be taken by me, Shiroe. Within 15 minutes from now I will be contacting the
blitz group through telepathy. The members who receive the message please head downstream of Akiba to
Akiba River and the experimental dock. 'Ocypete' will be waiting for you there... For the members who
do not receive the message in 15 minutes, you belong to the main expedition force, please head to the
registration counter situated at the city's east gate to collect your quest forms. You can proceed as
instructed after being registered on the friend list of the registration staff. There will be instructions for
the formation of parties while you make your way there, the preparation time is 15 minutes, please give
me your utmost support."
"Ah, ah..."
An army of a thousand soldiers howled in front of the speechless Raynesia.
"Why are you acting so lost and panicky?"
"How... How can you say that, as a gentleman... As a gentleman..."
Raynesia's voice was trembling as she couldn't find the words to say.
The city square was full of the noises of armor clinking and people talking, the words that shouldn't be
heard remained a secret... Except for Krusty.
Krusty extended his hand gracefully like a noble. He and Raynesia were full of suspicion, overexertion,
and mutual understanding as their eyes met. But to the bystander, they were the perfect couple smiling
beautifully at each other.
Anyway, the expedition plan had been set.
The enemy were the goblins that were moving towards the ruined capital Eastal from Sand Leaf
peninsula, numbering over 10,000. And so, Akiba formed an expedition army for the first time, heading
straight for Sand Leaf peninsula.
Part 3
Minori's group headed towards Choushi in the morning.
They were exhausted both physically and mentally, but their expressions were still spirited.
Although it was only one night, the tense hours in the darkness sapped the energy of the 5 people in
Minori's group. The consecutive battles from Ragranda forest until now had made them gain several
levels.
After going through multiple fights, their teamwork gradually became more polished. They could
sometimes understand what their comrades were thinking even without saying anything.
The 5 in Minori's group were more relaxed walking on the farm trail than staying in the forest, but they
did not let down their guard, watching each other's back and blind spots as they surveyed the
surroundings, but they maintained a peaceful atmosphere as they advanced.
(I am still scared when I face battles, but...)
Minori might be scared, but she was no longer fearful.
Real fear was the feeling of dread flowing in your veins, making you over-cautious and let go of your life,
this feeling was almost the same as giving up.
In this world without death, giving up was equivalent to death. But inversely speaking, you would still
stand a chance as long as you didn't give up, even if it was shameful, even if you were shivering, there
would be a chance for things to get better if you stood up and fought.
It was a bit late to call this morning.
It should be close to afternoon.
"Hello...! Hello...!"
As confirmed by telepathy earlier, Naotsugu's group was resting in an empty space behind the trees.
In this alternate world, dirty equipped items will become clean automatically when they were repaired.
All sorts of items had a set durability, its wear and tear was insignificant when you used it normally.
Since it was insignificant, the visual cleanliness would correspond directly... This was the logic behind
the equipment becoming clean when it was repaired.
But since there was a set durability value, if you used the equipment roughly, the value would drop.
Armor and weapons would gradually wear out after long periods of battling, so there was a need to send
it to the blacksmith for repair periodically.
The 4 in front of Minori were all veteran level 90 Adventurers, they were several times more powerful
than Minori. They took advantage of their might to charge into the center of the pillaging goblin group to
disrupt them and conduct guerrilla warfare.
The formation centered around 2 Swashbucklers must have had battles much fiercer than Minori's group.
"Doing okay? Hi Tohya, did you protect everyone?"
"Teacher Naotsugu, I did!"
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