Log Horizon - Volume 9 - Chapter 2.2

2 
Thekkek was a featureless People of the Earth village. 
That was only to be expected. If something randomly generated by a program had character, it would be a problem. This “ordinariness” that generically matched the terrain was exactly what had been intended. 
It was probable that each server and region had a list of general data and registered models. The houses in the dusty village were made of sun-dried bricks and gnarled wood, and they really did look as if they’d been built in the wilderness by a nomadic people. 
The well at the entrance was built from neatly assembled dark gray rock—the only structure in the village that was. In the early-autumn sunlight, the broad-leaved tree that stood at its edge cast a deep black shadow. 
There seemed to be about thirty houses. 
Most of the villagers were inside, in neighboring narrow fields, or on their way back from the wilderness while following astonishingly large flocks of sheep. It was a small village, tiny enough to take in with one look around. Its entire population could have lived within one city block in New York. That seemed to be the entirety of this bubble that floated on the wasteland. 
As Leonardo’s party traveled down the road that ran through the center of town, the People of the Earth moved out of their way. They seemed wary, but not afraid. Leonardo thought it was likely, even if they hadn’t had any direct contact with Adventurers, they’d at least heard rumors of them. 
Up until he’d arrived at the Tekeli Ruins and encountered that hideous trap, Leonardo had traveled across the vastness of Aorsoi by himself. Due to his experiences in Big Apple, he’d avoided groups of other Adventurers, but he’d stopped at a few People of the Earth villages for necessities like food and oil. 
Judging by that experience, the reactions of the People of the Earth in this village were par for the course. 
“Say! Is there a place that sells food around here?” 
Kanami, who was up ahead of Leonardo, cheerfully chatted up a local man, middle-aged and wearing a square cap on his head. He looked taken aback at being addressed, but after thinking for a little while, he answered her. 
“There’s no place where you can buy cooked meals. We’re a tiny village, see. If you’re after travel rations, though, I think you could get some at Yagudo’s place.” 
“Yagudo?” 
“The village chief.” 
From that brief exchange, they learned that this village had no independent shops. 
You couldn’t expect much else from a town whose population wasn’t even three hundred; peddlers provided all the commercial goods they needed from the outside world. Leonardo had stopped by villages about this size before, and they’d all been similar. 
“I see. Thanks!” 
Saying that there was no need to thank him, the middle-aged villager returned to his house. 
The People of the Earth around them also went back to their own jobs in twos and threes, tending the fields or drawing water. The Adventurers had probably struck them as unusual, but they seemed satisfied upon learning that the strangers were in the midst of a journey and had only stopped to replenish their supplies. 
All villages are the same, Leonardo thought. 
Though, he preferred this sort of awareness. The People of the Earth here were much better than the ones in Big Apple. Back there, all he’d seen in their faces had been despair and emptiness. In that case, the wary expressions in this village were far better. They were the sort of thing you often saw in wilderness villages, and if Leonardo had been in their shoes, he probably would have felt the same way. 
Come to think of it, I’ve been traveling through Aorsoi all this time, but… 
“Hey, Kanami? Elias? Where did you come from?” he wondered aloud. “Have you been traveling on horseback the whole way?” 
“Yep,” Kanami replied immediately. “Well, though I guess we’ve been together since Ulster.” 
“What’s Ulster?” 
“Britain.” 
“So you went to England, too? But then what was the Via de Fleurs business?” 
“We ran into Coppélia near Paris. Before that, I circled around Europe. There were lots of things I wanted to know.” 
Kanami’s answer sounded a bit absentminded; she’d gotten down from the hakutaku and was rummaging through her magic bag. Maybe Elias noticed; he’d also dismounted and was stroking his horse’s neck, but he helped her out: 
“Lady Kanami and I met on the outskirts of Londinium.” 
“Oh, really?” 
Leonardo dismounted from his horse as well. 
Traditionally, this area was populated by nomads. The People of the Earth—even the children—were skilled at horseback riding. However, he thought staying on his horse in the center of the village might be a breach of etiquette. 
Coppélia was hesitating, and he gave her a hand. 
She was unexpectedly heavy. It was apparently due to her armor, which looked like a maid outfit at first glance. 
That said, Leonardo’s arms were stronger now that he was an Adventurer, and the weight wasn’t much of a burden. In this world, he wasn’t an IT worker–geek who holed up in his house and took in maintenance work for servers and e-commerce sites. He was an unbeatable ninja hero. 
“You said you went around Europe. So, uh…how are things there?” Leonardo asked. 
When he thought about North America—his home—hesitation came through his voice. It wasn’t clear whether or not Elias had noticed it; the Ancient sighed heavily and gazed into the distance. 
He was looking at the western sky. 
“‘Europe,’ hmm? The word isn’t familiar to me, but the western parts of Eured are as I expect you imagine them to be, Sir Leonardo.” 
As he continued, Elias took his horse’s bit and began to walk. 
“The coastal areas of Liderutz and the Land of Seven Queens have been sealed off.” 

“Sealed?” 
“Independent cities. Perhaps ‘city-states’ would be a better term. Both keep groups of Adventurers as if they were knight brigades and are protecting themselves and guarding against other cities.” 
“Is there a war on or something?” 
“No, not in so many words. However, the world is unforgiving. If left undisturbed, the monsters’ numbers grow, and they begin attacking people. Royals and aristocrats have chosen to fortify the cities in which they live and barricade themselves inside them. A few good rulers are working to defend their territories and maintain peace and order, but most small towns and villages, those with no defensive walls or soldiers, are being abandoned.” 
“What do you mean?” 
“Exactly what I’ve said. Even if monsters attack, no help comes. At the very least, the lords’ soldiers don’t go to save them.” 
“Why not? Even though it’s their own territory?” 
“They claim that, if their main stronghold were to be attacked while they were off providing aid, more of their citizens would suffer.” 
Elias’s face twisted in disgust. 
“In order to protect themselves from monsters, they gather Adventurers and keep them close. However, you see, if a city has assembled Adventurers, the surrounding cities begin to fear invasion. And so, in defense, they must form contracts of their own with Adventurer guilds and set them to work defending their own cities. It’s an arms race.” 
The sight rose vividly in Leonardo’s mind. 
It was the sort of thing that seemed terribly likely to happen in this chaotic world. 
“In the Land of Seven Queens and the Military Nation of Galient, the unions of People of the Earth have become mere figureheads. The venerable Ulster Knights Sword Alliance has fallen apart. The fortified cities are competing to see which of them can contract with the strongest, most celebrated Adventurer guilds. Cities that have successfully hired powerful Adventurer guilds advertise how safe they are, strengthening their influence over nearby farmers and traders. Because the church’s forces are also cozying up to the Adventurers, contract deposits are going through the roof.” 
By “powerful Adventurer guilds,” he probably meant the sort of major guilds that took part in raids. Guilds of that size could put together legion raids, which were combat units composed of ninety-six members. 
In Elder Tales, that was probably the strongest military unit in existence. Of course, the People of the Earth could put together armies larger than that, but each Adventurer had outstanding combat abilities, plus they were able to communicate using the telechat function. A unit of ninety-six Adventurers would have higher combat potential than several thousand People of the Earth. 
“However, the money for those contract deposits is taken from the populace. In their attempts to cope with the Catastrophe, the nobles and lords have set heavy taxes everywhere and ruined public finance. It’s terrible—riots are breaking out. There are also some lords who want to pay Adventurers for their contracts in rights and interests, and in material goods.” 
“Material goods…?” 
“Please don’t ask. I don’t even want to say it. Although I don’t think much of the people who accept such things, either.” 
“Even so.” 
Hearing a murmuring voice, Leonardo turned. 
It was Coppélia. 
She went on, gripping her horse’s reins, her face expressionless. 
“Coppélia says that life in the urban areas is safer than it is in the wilderness or in remote regions. The danger of life in a farming village is one thousand five hundred percent greater than it was in the previous year. This is due to the influence of patrolling Adventurers and uncleared quests.” 
Leonardo and Elias had fallen speechless. Coppélia continued. 
“Poison Ghouls appeared in Romalnes. Death that resembles a contagious illness is spreading through the People of the Earth who reside in that region. Coppélia subjugated fifty-six hundred and twenty-nine Poison Ghouls in the salt-sown land of Romalnes, and yet the situation did not change.” 
“Why so many? All by yourself?” 
“When Lady Kanami and I passed by,” Elias added, “Lady Coppélia was fighting alone.” 
“……” 
Coppélia nodded as if that was nothing. 
Her pure white maid’s headdress wavered over her indigo bobbed hair. Did her struggle mean nothing to her? Still wearing no expression in particular, the girl impassively went on: 
“On the green plain where Coppélia was fighting, there was a village very similar to this one. It was a commonplace village, the sort one can find anywhere. Commonplace villagers lived in it, four hundred fifty-nine of them. Conveniently for Adventurers, it had a Blacksmith who was able to repair weapons. It also had a grocer. Both were People of the Earth, and there was nothing particularly noteworthy about them, age and gender included.” 
Leonardo listened closely to Coppélia’s voice. 
“To Coppélia, that village was a very convenient base. Coppélia had been patrolling in order to hunt targets in the area, and she often returned to that village to have her equipment repaired, and occasionally to replenish items. On Coppélia’s seventh visit to that village, the village had acquired another resident. A young Person of the Earth child with no real distinguishing characteristics had joined it. The villagers requested a blessing from Coppélia. They seemed to anticipate that, as a Cleric, Coppélia would have beneficent abilities of some sort. Coppélia did not know how to give a blessing.” 
It was a strangely moving story. 
“Coppélia asked, ‘Do you wish to be healed?’ The villagers did not seem to understand. Coppélia used a level-85 Symbol of Sun. Because the villagers were ignorant, they seemed to believe that its effect was a miracle. They thanked Coppélia effusively. Coppélia learned to ask others what they wanted. It was useful knowledge.” 
Coppélia gazed into the distance as if remembering something. 
However, to Leonardo, it didn’t look as if she’d found what she was searching for. 
“On Coppélia’s ninth visit to the village, the village’s population was zero. There were several dozen Poison Ghouls still in the village. Coppélia eliminated the targets, then went to the plain and continued to do battle. There were many targets, and Coppélia had no shortage of opponents. Her weapons broke, and the lack of a base where they could be repaired was inconvenient, but the results of her hunt were favorable. Even when her armor was destroyed and she lost her shields, Coppélia obeyed her orders perfectly. If she had not encountered Master, no doubt Coppélia would still be carrying out her previous orders.” 
Leonardo couldn’t tell how the young woman felt as she told her story. She was only giving a report in a matter-of-fact way. 
“Coppélia, you’re—” 
Just as Leonardo started to speak to her, although he didn’t know what he should say, there was a loud crash, and a cloud of dust went up far ahead. It was beyond the house of the village chief that had been pointed out to them. There were screams in the clamor. 
“Elias!” 
“Yes, Sir Leonardo. Kanami’s gone. Tch! So she’s charged in again, has she?!” 
Leonardo and Elias sprinted straight for the uproar.