Chapter 1: Everyday Life of Shiroe
Part 1
God created the world in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested. This meant that even God needed a
vacation. Shiroe thought humans should follow God in this respect.
Taking a break after work.
Otherwise humans would have problems.
This was common sense.
There was no need to break away from this truth just because they were Adventurers, or because of the
Catastrophe.
Shiroe was sulking because he had been too busy lately.
It was not that his guildmates in Log Horizon were bullying him. In fact, Nyanta, Naotsugu, Akatsuki, and
even the new members Minori, Tohya, Isuzu, and Rundelhous all wanted to help Shiroe. But the amount of
work from the Round Table Council was just too much.
(No, this way of thinking is despicable.)
These tasks were not the result of insidious harassment or abuse of authority.
Probably.
But the answer lies within Shiroe himself.
Shiroe was seen by the Round Table Council as the 'battle tactician with incredible foresight', and he
admitted that it was a proper description. But even if Shiroe acknowledged this, it was not as if he had a
genius-level intellect or extraordinary talents. Shiroe gauged that he was only average in terms of
abilities.
Shiroe saw himself as a typical preparation-type. He thought his talent lay in collecting information
before events, analyzing and making observations, and then writing a proper scenario by taking into
account any changes during its execution.
These types were not rare. Roughly all players who checked a game's walkthrough before starting
belonged to this type. This was just a timid way of doing things, but Shiroe had a unique characteristic.
He was not content with reading a game walkthrough——he had to write one himself. This characteristic
should be driven more by curiosity than timidity.
Because he's not confident, he would put in effort to prepare. If someone requested something from him,
he would make further preparations. Shiroe was the type who got chosen for important positions
unwittingly, even though he didn't like helping others.
Timidity was often seen as a weakness, but that was not the case for Shiroe. When he played a battle
tactician, being cautious to the extreme was not a weakness, but a strength.
Although, that only held true when they had enough manpower. Right now, Shiroe, who was struggling
alone, was unable to breathe due to the pressure of his workload.
This alternate world was an over-sized research subject for Shiroe.
It was better to have more information, and the range of information he wanted to gather was very wide.
The amount of walkthrough information the world of Elder Tales had accumulated over twenty years was
enormous. And there was ten times more after changing into this alternate world. Moreover, this was not a
stationary world, but it was a world that evolved every second as things interacted with each other.
Shiroe tried to prioritize and investigate the necessary data. He lacked manpower and finances, but he
could garner public information through the Round Table Council. He even had a set budget. His
efficiency in gathering intelligence was much better now than right after the Catastrophe.
Even so, the data he wanted or needed was too colossal, he was unable to shake off his feeling of unease.
Shiroe did not start collating data of this world purely out of his own curiosity. Whether to go back to the
original world or to give up, he would still need to live on in this world first. This was the consensus of
all the Adventurers in Akiba.
Information could be a lifeline in many situations.
Just as one would need a map to navigate the oceans, the Round Table Council needed information about
this world. If you were not clear with what was happening, you wouldn't be able to make the correct
decision.
Hence, Shiroe considered gathering and analyzing data to be official business.
As one of the 11 guildmasters in the Round Table Council, he needed to spend a lot of time just doing
daily communications and tasks. Reviewing documents also took a lot of time. If it were a major guild
like D.D.D or Oceanic Systems, there would be a lot of talented personnel to assist and support the
guildmaster.
In a sense, this was the same as having a team of secretaries supporting Michitaka or Krusty in their
administrative duties. Even if it were not at the level of secretary, having reliable companions to help you
review and give feedback would be invaluable.
But Log Horizon had only eight members, including the two new members, so Shiroe didn't expect to have
someone around at all times to assist him in his administrative duties. The most proficient person at
administrative matters apart from Shiroe was Minori, but Minori was still in training. If she helped
Shiroe, her level gap with Tohya, Isuzu, and Rundelhous would get wider, so he couldn't ask for her help
too often.
So the end result was Shiroe being crushed by mountains of administrative forms and documents.
"Woo wah, there is no way I can finish this!"
Shiroe sighed at the paper peaks. It might be in his nature to bear responsibility for everything, but that
didn't mean he doesn't get discouraged. Staying indoors all this time had made him depressed.
Shiroe looked out the window.
This window was just a square opening in the wall a few days ago, but window frames and canvas
curtains had now been installed.
The time was noon, and it was raining outside.
The autumn rain that descended on the city was as fine as silver threads. Falling on every leaf of the
ancient trees of Akiba, it was directly wetting the ground and making a peaceful sound.
This scene was serene, gentle and beautiful.
When Elder Tales was just a game, the weather in different zones would change randomly according to
the game mechanics. It was very pretty compared to other games, but juxtaposed to the shiny silver
threads now falling in Akiba, it was merely pretty in gaming standards.
Shiroe felt the scenes in this world were better than old Japan's in all aspects.
Although they were all rain, they each had their own style, such as the lightning rains in the summer
afternoons, or the mist-like rain in autumn.
Living in Japan, with its developed transportation system where all delivery services could show off their
speeds, Shiroe could only see such seasonal scenery from the NHK. So to him, just the weather alone was
like an epic drama series that had finished airing.
He opened the canvas curtain and saw the city that seemed to be covered with white lines that went
unbroken all the way from the ground to the sky. It was October, so it was not too cold yet but the chill
would slowly start to set in. He could see people all over the city ignoring the rain and Adventurers who
were using this chance to clean their buildings.
It had been two months since the War of Sand Leaf, but the mopping up campaign was progressing slowly.
No, the clean up stage had already passed. They should now consider how to reinforce their relationship
with the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, an organization made up of the People of the Land. This had
been confirmed in reports Shiroe received. According to the intelligence, the number of minor skirmishes
had decreased and issues related to resource transportation and trade were gradually increasing. At this
stage, it should fall under the jurisdiction of the merchant guilds.
The grand preparations for the Libra Festival was the evidence.
Shiroe finally felt the burden on his shoulders when he thought about this.
... But that was only one of his burdens.
What worried Shiroe now was the news from other regions. He did not have energy to spare just dealing
with Akiba, so he had been ignoring them deliberately for a while, but they were reaching a stage where
he couldn't ignore them any longer. The data from his sources was collated and countermeasures executed.
But after gathering further information, he realized that there had been major changes. No, it could be said
that the changes were too extreme.
(I thought this might happen, but it just had to turn out this way, the other areas are really...)
Shiroe relaxed and leaned against his wicker chair while gazing at the ceiling.
Maps, figures and reports flashed through his mind.
The Japan that had been recreated at half of its original size using the Half-Gaia project... This place
known as the Crescent Archipelago, Yamato, contained five player cities. Akiba, which Shiroe and the
others resided in, Shibuya, Minami, Susukino, and Nakasu were known as the 5 major cities and were the
base cities for players in Elder Tales.
When Elder Tales was still an MMO game, these cities were connected by devices called the intercity
transport gates that allowed instantaneous travel between the cities. This made it feel like the cities were
close to one another, but as the gates weren't currently operational, the time needed to travel between
cities had increased. In this world where monsters roamed free, traveling had become risky, resulting in a
decline in the interactions between cities.
It had been 5 months since the Catastrophe.
Akiba, where Shiroe and the others resided, had undergone major changes. It looked the same from the
outside, but the Adventurers' way of life, and relationships with others, had both undergone a decisive
makeover. With their interactions with the People of the Land as well as the League of Freedom Towns
Eastal, there should be no one left who thought that this was just a game.
Everyone in this world have had the equal chance of experiencing these 5 months of time, so Shiroe
thought that the other places would have changed just like Akiba did.
But the change in Akiba was influenced by Shiroe. Shiroe was aware of the efforts needed to change this
city. If that were the case, other cities could have also been influenced by the will of 'someone' as well,
right? Shiroe felt his heart getting heavy as he thought about this 'will'.
Shibuya changed the least.
Shibuya held a special place among the 5 player cities.
To put it simply, Shibuya was the newest city to be set up. It was added to disperse the massive number of
players in Akiba. Shibuya, which was made with this purpose in mind, was dependent on the intercity
transport gate. With the gate not functioning, the city was all but paralyzed.
Hence, almost all Adventurers based in Shibuya had moved to Akiba. Shibuya was used by very few
players, akin to the villas of Akiba in the neighboring rural areas.
Susukino was evolving just as Shiroe expected. The city's security had been deteriorating since the
Catastrophe, to the point of no return. It had become a lawless city because of this. The Adventurers who
wanted to leave had mostly succeeded in these past few months.
Serara was a beginner Adventurer, but she still managed to hide her tracks and escape successfully. This
was thanks to Shiroe's rescue operation. Shortly after, the Round Table Council sent out several
expedition teams over a period of time to evacuate all those who wished to leave Susukino.
Susukino, which seemed set to fail as a player city, still had more than 200 Adventurers left. They were
not left behind by the expedition teams, but instead chose to stay in the dangerous environment of Susukino
by their own will. Not only this, Akiba and Minami also had a few Adventurers who willingly migrated
to Susukino.
In the Elder Tales world that had changed into reality, there seemed to be some demand for 'lawlessness'.
Susukino had evolved into a city where the minority Adventurers ruled over the majority People of the
Land...
Shiroe did not sense any evil from this. No, to not feel any evil at all was wrong, it was just not obvious.
Shiroe sensed fear.
Shiroe championed the rights of the People of the Land at the Round Table Council for two reasons.
First, it was a problem of survival. The number of People of the Land was ten times that of the
Adventurers. Almost all consumables ingredients, the resources of this world, were made by the People
of the Land. If they governed the People of the Land with an iron fist, friction and conflict would arise
with the People of the Land. Whether they won or lost, they would have to bear a heavy price. Protecting
the rights of the People of the Land was a way of protecting their own rights. It was not based on the
ideals of human rights, but was built on the idea of benefits versus losses.
The second reason was fear.
Shiroe still remembered clearly the People of the Land at the village he visited on his way back from
Susukino. Shiroe had felt for the first time that the People of the Land were humans in that village. He
could feel their warmth, history, personality and intentions, and saw them as 'humans' for the first time.
To enslave an intelligent human was terrifying for Shiroe, who received a standard Japanese education.
This was too much of a taboo, overlooking the reasons for justice——evil and morality——and linked
directly to the emotion of fear. He feared becoming a slave himself, but the thought of owning slaves and
ordering them around was just repulsive.
The chill Shiroe felt from Susukino was cut of the same cloth.
But there were only a couple hundred Adventurers in Susukino, such small scale activities could still be
salvaged.
(But the problem lies over there instead...)
Minami's situation was...
Far beyond Shiroe's expectation and developing at an incredible speed.
Part 2
"Shi...roe...sama!"
Shiroe who was lost in thought heard a moving voice that seemed reproachful with a hint of gratitude.
"Please pull yourself together. Are you eating your meals right? What about sleep? Eh, seems like you
spent the whole day sitting again."
"I am eating right and sleeping well, I went to the dining room just 2 hours ago."
Shiroe replied casually as he stood up to take the box of files from Henrietta.
The strong physical abilities of Adventurers were based on the game stats, so there wasn't much of a
strength difference between the 2 genders. No, compared to Shiroe from the mage class, Henrietta from
the weapon-based class was probably twice as strong.
But seeing Henrietta wearing a secretary-style miniskirt and jacket with a corsage, Shiroe was unable to
bear seeing her carry so many stacks of boxes.
Shiroe turned around after leaving the box on his desk.
"There is no need to trouble you with this, I will come over if you contact me by telepathy."
"Eh... I guess you are right... But I heard Shiroe-sama has been working so hard, so I thought about
dropping by to visit... about that..."
"If you are looking for Akatsuki, she should be coming back soon."
"Ah, fu fu fu fu, it's not what you think."
Shiroe breathed a sigh of relief as Henrietta blushed.
The famed accountant that was the pride of Crescent Moon Alliance, Henrietta who was in charge of
finance visited Shiroe like this often. The guild master of Crescent Moon Alliance was Maryele, but the
operations were all handled by Henrietta, her administrative abilities were beyond praise. Instead of
Shiroe who wasted his time on research and curiosity, Henrietta's contribution to the Round Table
Council was much more significant.
"Eh, this is..."
"The Libra Festival."
Shiroe picked up a file as Henrietta explained from the side.
October. The air was becoming more chilly every time it rained, but the liveliness of Akiba remained
warm. With the normalization of the relations with League of Freedom Towns Eastal, there had been more
commercial exchanges stimulating the prosperity of the production guilds.
Food, clothes, machines, medicine, organic materials, and types of items were imported and exported at
an astonishing rate. Akiba was now a city that focused on re-exporting after processing materials.
Adventurers could gather basic items like food ingredients and minerals, but it was easier to get them in
bulk by purchasing them from the People of the Land.
People of the Land, especially nobles and merchants, had a strong demand for goods made by
Adventurers. They were very interested in finding out the secrets of their production and were very active
in all kinds of trade.
As the production guilds became more lively, the battle guilds also reaped its share of the benefits. The
'Fairy Ring Analysis Project' that started last month resulted in tons of quests being given out, increasing
the number of players going out of town for missions.
In this situation, the unexpected project that started was the Libra Festival. This event that the Adventurers
of Akiba were looking forward to was a festival celebrated by the entire city.
When Elder Tales was a game, apart from events set by the developers, there were also plenty of
unofficial activities organized by the players themselves.
There were all kinds of activities that spanned from an entire city to mega events that spanned the entire
server. Unfortunately, there had been no news of such activities after the Catastrophe as no one had the
energy to spare. But as life stabilized after 5 months, everyone should be anticipating this lively activity
and letting go of the feelings of uneasiness after a while. Shiroe understood this point.
But instead of preparing for the Libra Festival, Shiroe was swamped with all sorts of administrative
work, so he didn't know the details. He only took a glimpse through the memo that was sent to all the guild
masters and had a very rough idea.
This was a trading activity that would be held in Akiba a few days later, that was what he thought.
"How is the liaison committee?"
"Charasin-san is working hard, I really take my hat off to him, the preparations are going smoothly."
Henrietta, who was arranging the files with her back to Shiroe, replied.
"As expected of the advertisement agency."
This project was directed by the production guilds and the 'Production Guild Liaison Committee'.
With the formation of the Round Table Council, there was a slew of new inventions bringing a boom to
the economy of Akiba. The Round Table discussed issues regarding these new inventions but had finally
reached their limits. The Round Table Council was the governing organization that decided the general
direction Akiba should take, it couldn't keep handling trade disputes or complaints.
Practical problems related to items and delivery didn't need to be strictly handled by the 11 guild masters,
so they decided to set up a dedicated department.
That was the 'Production Guild Liaison Committee'.
The Production Guild Liaison Committee was situated 2 levels below the Round Table Council's
conference room in the guild building and operated 24/7. It was manned by Adventurers who had nothing
better to do and it was a laid back and kind committee. The liaison committee had the atmosphere
between a conference room and an office, anyone could visit any time.
With their policy of revitalizing the small guilds, this place became the hang out for guilds with small
guild halls. Michitaka from Oceanic Systems and Rodrick from The Rodrick Firm treated this place as the
training ground for future leaders.
A big notice board was full of all sort of requests such as buying resources, trading items or information
exchange. They could also source for new items and business partners, a noisy and lively urban
community center. It was just a liaison committee and lacked the seriousness of the Round Table Council.
The Production Guild Liaison Committee was the organizer of the Libra Festival.
Crescent Moon Alliance was one of the small guilds that was part of the Round Table Council and should
have plenty to work to do. Henrietta had had more work at the Production Guild Liaison Committee than
she had at the Round Table Council recently.
"Will Crescent Moon Alliance be participating?"
"Of course we are. Our blacksmith will be selling short swords at the flea market, Crescent☪Moon will
also be making a comeback. Serara is also working hard on this as the new kids didn't have a chance to
eat it. But the main event will be the fashion show."
"Fashion show?"
"Yes, you didn't know?"
"No, I did hear about it..."
The idea of the Libra Festival started out by someone suggesting 'Let's hold a merchandise exhibition
event alright?' at the Production Guild Liaison Committee.
The first thing the Adventurers who came to this alternate world desired was normal food and drinks.
With this settled, the next was the increase in demand for a better living environment and fashionable
clothes...
In the past when this was a game, your residence was just a place you used to log out. The furniture were
just toys to decorate your personal space that had wonderful variety but lacked functionality.
It was the same with dressing. Among the corporations that took part in Elder Tales development, F.O.E
(Fujimi Network Entertainment) was a development agency reputable in design (Suitable for Otaku
culture of Japan), but they did not consider functionality when they came up with their designs. They didn't
even include underwear as part of the items that could be crafted in the game by Adventurers.
But such inconvenience had been solved recently. The Adventurers had been creative and came up with
more inventions everyday.
But the citizens of Akiba might miss the information about unpopular items. The only way to get
information about new inventions was by chance, word of mouth or the periodic advertisement fliers.
The proposal to host a merchandise exhibition event was started this way, and after much discussion, they
would be holding a fashion show, underwear exhibition, food market, and an exhibition warehouse for
new inventions. There had been increasing demand to include more items for the exhibition.
Most guilds had at least one product they would say "We're the best at!" and recommend strongly and
wanted to exhibit to a wider audience.
'Since that's the case, let's hold a festival centered around exhibitions!' That was what they decided 2
weeks ago.
These discussions were held in the Production Guild Liaison Committee, but half the citizens of Akiba
belonged to production guilds so the news spread like wildfire all over the city.
The production guild members were all participants, so pure tourists belonged to the minority. To be
precise, only visitors from outside the city would meet this criteria.
And so, the exhibitors were also the customers, akin to a school cultural festival.
Shiroe had been focusing on using the Round Table Council as a way to gather information from the
outside and had been neglecting the news within the city. "Neglecting" was based on Shiroe's standard,
his knowledge of what was happening in the city was much higher than normal Akiba citizens'. Simply
put, the knowledge he had did not meet his tactician level of standards.
Shiroe knew the story of how the festival started out, and understood that the exhibition would energize
the economy (they just wanted to have fun under the pretext of work).
The organizer of the festival was not the Round Table Council, but the liaison committee working under
it. Charasin of the 8th District Shopping Center was the reliable director of this activity.
This was the reason Shiroe decided not to be involved directly and left them alone.
"Shiroe-sama."
"Hmm?"
Henrietta said as Shiroe arranged the files neatly.
"How is Isuzu-chan doing?"
"Ah ah, ermm.... I have been meaning to talk to her properly one of these days, but I have been busy and it
slipped my mind."
"Shiroe-sama is a good friend of Crescent Moon Alliance, so please don't hold back. But Serara has been
worried about how she is doing."
"Yeah, she is doing well and keeping up with her daily training. She got a tan in the summer, since the
only good thing about this place is that it's spacious."
The subject of the topic Isuzu was a young female Bard who transferred from Crescent Moon Alliance to
Log Horizon. This young girl with freckles joined Log Horizon together with Rundelhous.
The Sorcerer Rundelhous and the Bard Isuzu, they were the 2 newest additions to Log Horizon since
Tohya and Minori entered the guild. The transfer proceeded smoothly after a peaceful discussion between
the 2 guild masters. Isuzu was also a beginner confined by the nasty guild Hamelin just like Minori. Her
time in Crescent Moon Alliance was short and there wasn't much of a problem with the transfer.
Log Horizon and Crescent Moon Alliance had always acted like sister guilds, often holding beginner
training session or forming raiding parties together. Even though Serara worried about Isuzu, they had still
been meeting once every 3 days.
"Shiroe-sama hasn't gone out the entire summer."
Henrietta said reproachfully. This was the truth so Shiroe couldn't say anything to defend himself.
Henrietta was a core member of Crescent Moon Alliance, had similar roles as adviser like Shiroe and
was also handling the accounts for Crescent Moon Alliance. She must be busy, but Minori and the others
said that she would occasionally show her face during beginner training sessions and participate actively.
Henrietta's words were rather harsh to Shiroe's ears.
"... I am reflecting on that."
"Very well, please take a look at this."
Henrietta handed over something like a venue brochure. The copies of such printed materials could be
duplicated using Shiroe's Scribe subclass. The original must have been hand written, but it was easy to
make copies.
Shiroe browsed through it roughly, Akiba seemed to have several exhibition areas set up all over the city.
The content was mostly fashion and dining but there were also armor, weapons and furniture made from
steel or wood. The festival eve events started the day after tomorrow while the actual festival would last
for 2 days.
(The dinner party and the after-festival party...)
Shiroe confirmed the event dates and it overlapped with the return of the spy. The spy should be able to
sneak in easily with the crowd during the festival, but it would take some effort to secure their reports.
(We can't make any reckless movements during the festival, guess we have to wait...)
Even if he wanted to gather more data, the intelligence they could collate during the festival would not be
reliable.
"Really, why are you making such a face... Since Shiroe-sama is reflecting on his actions, you should say
something right?"
"Ah?"
"For instance, use this festival as a chance to deepen your relationships with your friends in Log Horizon"
Shiroe was stunned by her words for a moment, but she did have a point and it was a good idea. He
should be fine doing this once in a while.
"I will."
"Also..."
Henrietta shook her slender finger. Her actions together with her thin frame spectacles gave her an
alluring air of mischief akin to an elder sister.
"Log Horizon is one of the representatives of the Round Table Council, please do your part to make this
event lively."
"Ah... I will handle this appropriately."
"And that's a promise okay?"
Henrietta informed with a smile.
"Both Akatsuki-chan and Minori-chan are very cute, I am looking forward to it. Heavens, really... Just
imagining it can let me go on without food. As the saying goes, 'People can't go on with only bread, but
they can endure most hardships with bread and imagination'. My god..."
Henrietta who was twisting her body with her hands on her cheeks looked horrifying. Shiroe could not
send his precious guild members to uncertain death, so he needed to find out the details of this 'promise'.
"What can they do to help?"
"It's very simple, they just need to help with the sales of winter clothes exhibition."
Being a salesgirl should have nothing to do with being very cute correct?
Shiroe saw through the blueprints of Henrietta's future plan and apologized to his guild members in his
heart, thinking of how he could make it up for them.
Part 3
Raynesia was wearing comfortable casual clothes and sitting on the couch, enjoying her small lunchbox
with pretty designs. This was a common take away lunchbox in Akiba.
(It's delicious...)
The vacation she was looking forward to.
Even as Raynesia immersed herself in this feeling of sweetness, her supple feminine body still trembled
when she recollected her recent crushing work load. Raynesia sighed heavily and drooped her shoulders.
Yes, she had been conned. Conned by Krusty.
She was baited by the sweet talk of '3 meals provided with afternoon nap included'. She was remorseful
of her rash actions.
It was obvious if you thought about it.
The Adventurers were the key to influencing the world. The nobles of the League of Freedom Towns
Eastal' which her grandfather chaired also knew this, and was attempting to recruit and use them in
political and military terms. The reason Raynesia gave her speech in the nobles conference was because
she could not stand their attitude and behavior.
Back then, she worked so hard as she wanted to protect her homeland and not force the Adventurers to
accept their willful and rude demands at the same time.
In a sense, Raynesia's effort had borne fruits. With the kindness of the Round Table Council and the sense
of justice of the Adventurers, her homeland Maihama and the League of Freedom Towns Eastal was
saved.
After the war in Sand Leaf ended, the situation reverted back to the way it was. No, with the Adventurers
showing their might to the aristocrats, the development that follows was much more concrete.
Adventurers didn't only show their military prowess, but also their advanced technology, economy, and
unity as well. With their display of force, no nobles held any ambition of conquering Akiba and worked
towards deepening their relationship with the Adventurers in order to increase their gain through taxes.
Raynesia had seen so many examples this month that it irritated her.
Raynesia took on the role of ambassador in Akiba under her grandfather's orders... her position was
something between confinement and martial arts training. She was also the first residential ambassador
from the League of Freedom Towns Eastal to coordinate relationships between the two groups.
She often received invitations from the Round Table Council to attend events like ceremonies, and would
also participate in balls as a noblewoman. Thanks to her perfect lady education, these gatherings were
nothing to her (even though they were troublesome), but the problems lay elsewhere.
For example, clans who focused on business, which the Adventurers called 'production guilds', would
visit her and ask her opinion on business matters. On the other hand, the merchants and nobles from the
League of Freedom Towns Eastal would also ask her to introduce influential people in Akiba to them.
She needed to investigate the details thoroughly before handling such requests, or there would be trouble
if she lost her reputation.
There would be no failures if she declined them all, but there were some request she could not reject in
the social world. Even if she came from the most influential Dukedom in northeast Yamato, she was not
the head of the family, just a granddaughter, so not everything went the way she wanted.
At the same time, she was amazed at the lack of schemes in the actions of the Adventurers. In their eyes,
Raynesia was a direct descendant of one of the two Dukedoms in Yamato. Even if they were curious and
treated her with respect, they didn't think they had to grovel at her feet.
They approached Raynesia as a Person of the Land to understand how a People of the Land might
understand or feel about things, not to take advantage of her position for their own benefit.
They probably saw themselves as powerful Adventurers, and even if Raynesia was a noblewoman, she
was just a Person of the Land in the end. That was what Raynesia felt.
From Raynesia's angle, this made her sad.
She was happy that the crowd didn't treat her like an aristocrat and saw her as another human being, but
this joy and the pain were both sides of the same coin.
She was happy to be a common Person of the Land, but it pained her that she was a powerless noble.
(But, let's ignore this for now...)
This type of emotion was like a trap.
To fulfill the request, dignity and restriction of the nobles, she needed to learn more about the Adventurers
and Akiba. Not only her, the People of the Land as a whole did not know much about the Adventurers,
even the nobles. They assumed they understood each other because they shared a common language, but
their lifestyle and culture had a major gap. In the process of trading or helping, there would be conflicts if
they didn't have the minimum amount of knowledge, which had happened numerous time.
If she didn't advise the aristocrats and merchants this way and only help with introducing Adventurers and
production guilds to them, it would cause major problems one day.
On the flip side, the problems with the Adventurers made Raynesia feel gloomy. Adventurers were very
practical and wanted practical information. All the Adventurers were intelligent and educated, talking to
them made her feel she and her country were ignorant of so much.
(Because I am not with the military, because I am not a bureaucrat, because I am not a man...)
Raynesia had not come into contact with the diplomatic issues facing her Dukedom clan for various
reasons, and she thought this was obvious. But her conversations with the Adventurers made her realize
she didn't even know what the citizens on the street or the farmers were eating, where they were living.
What would interest them, what made them happy or sad.
It was acceptable if she didn't know about the Adventurers, but she didn't know the lives and hearts of her
citizens either, making Raynesia realize what a shameful excuse of a noble she was.
In order to seriously deal with the requests of the nobles and the Adventurers, she would need to amass a
wealth of knowledge and investigate them thoroughly. This made her so busy that the words '3 meals
provided with afternoon nap included' had disappeared without a trace.
"Woo wah... This is never ending."
The worse fact was there were no limits to this type of knowledge. Even if thinking of a brilliant plan,
advice or coordination, there was no guarantee that it was the best way.
If she considered it, or investigated it even more, there might be an even better idea. Or if planned more
carefully, she might be able to avoid the worse outcome. These doubts lingered on in the corner of her
mind 24 hours a day, even Raynesia who admitted she was lazy by nature was unable to cut corners.
Elissa lectured her when she collapsed with a fever after studying the books too hard. She did not
remember the content of her preachings, but it was nice to have 3 days to recuperate.
"That's it, I'm not going to do anything!"
Raynesia enjoyed her lunch elegantly with her petite mouth.
Stewed vegetables, cold dishes and the brown object known as mini hamburger steak. This was a lunch
that mixed western and Japanese styles.
From the perspective of aristocrats, the dishes packed inside the small box were vulgar and shabby, but
Raynesia liked it a lot. Even if the dining table was full of roasted meat, stew meat and fried meat, she
couldn't finish them and preferred her bread and fruits as she smiled. Her appearance, like this, had been
described as delicate and ethereal which gave her a headache.
Comparatively, this small takeaway lunch box was a calming meal for her. The dishes after the revolution
could not be compared to before, she couldn't remember her pre-revolution diet anymore.
Pickles and the rice, which Adventurers liked to eat, intrigued her, and the sweet omelette she loved were
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