Log Horizon Book 4 chapter 5

Made changes to book 3 chapter 1 line 554 (sentence was too derpy)
Replace Kon with soul
Replace Paku with Essence
Replace 'falling Paku' with 'failing essence'

http://pastebin.com/u/skythewood
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Log_Horizon


Chapter 5 Contract

"...Please help us, we need your strength Mr Shiroe!"

Suppressing the pain in her heart, the clear sorrow in her voice tells Shiroe something is amiss.

Minori is not a girl who will joke in this kind of voice.

She is a serious, gentle and strong girl.

Shiroe notices that Minori sees him as her role model.

Minori tries to learn everything he does on the battle field and has unconsciously remembers everything even mimicking the way he walks. Because she is such a girl, Shiroe wants to teach her all that he knows.

Minori have always respond to his lessons with more than 100% the effort.

Shiroe don't know what sort of life she lived in the old world and he never asked. Shiroe cannot hope to understand the feeling of a pair of middle school siblings who are trapped away from home and can only hang on to each other.

But her willingness to take up responsibility did not diminish in this alternate world.

This is a virtue Shiroe didn't have, he knows he has been running away, refusing to build his own abode.

A girl who is not afraid of socializing with others and commits wholeheartedly.

Minori seems to admire Shiroe, but Shiroe thinks that he has been saved by her practical character.

Minori has never asked so desperately for help before. She trusts him, is on intimate terms with him, ask him for tutelage, but has never ask for his help so defenselessly before.

It should be the pride in her heart holding her back. Shiroe like this part of her as well and hold her in high regards.

But Minori who is like this is fighting back tears as she talks. She is not asking just anyone, but Shiroe himself, which surprises him.

From the entrance of the tent he can see the sky is turning purple in the evening.

"Someone fell, Mr Rundelhaus, he..."

From the background of Minori he can hear shouts and sounds of gasping breaths.

Telepathy seems to work like low performance cell phones.

The sound emits near the ear drum, so others will not overhear your message, but you need to talk out loud to relay your message and the background noise will be picked up too.

Minori should be still near the battle field, he can hear the sound of other girls and the noisy background.

"He is..."

"Rudie is... a people of the land."

Another voice interrupts.

Shiroe deduce the voice belongs to the bard Isuzu that Minori mentioned. To be able to hear the words so clearly means she is almost touching Minori's lips.

Shiroe understands everything from this.

He stands up almost knocking the table away, grab his backpack and rush out of the tent. After blowing his whistle twice, he didn't waste time for the Griffon to come and run to the central plaza of the equestrian garden.

"Minori, status report."

After taking 3 steps into the plaza, he finds a communication operator nearby and tell him to get Charasin over now.

"A fierce battle broke out while defending Choshi town, we won but Mr Rundelhaus was mortally wounded in the process. Resurrection magic failed, but he still has a pulse and body warmth... But remains unconscious."

...Resurrection magic failed.

The giant wings that spread across the skies lands, Shiroe jump on subconsciously and almost didn't notice Akatsuki following behind and squeeze into his arms. He then give a signal to the magical beast.

The well trained flying mount flew off on cue into the sky that is turning dark.

"The pulse... should be gradually weakening."

"Use a resurrection spell again."

"We've already cast it twice, but he didn't regain conscious..."

Resurrection magic can revive companions who dies.

The magic seems miraculous in nature, but is not difficult. Healer class can learn it by level 20. Resurrection spells also has level, low level spells can revive players but at the expense of the target losing some EXP.

This is the reason why Minori contacted Shiroe after trying it twice.

(No, there should be a more important reason...)

The people of the land are not adventurers, they cannot revive once they die, and they will not respawn at the cathedral. The background at the other end of the telepathy line is the sound of sobbing with suppressed emotion and mourning.

"Your whereabouts and party members."

"Me, Touya, Miss Isuzu, Serara and Mr Rundelhaus who has not been revived, location is the main junction in the central district of Choshi town."

"Is it safe?"

"No enemies around, but they are probably still fighting at the coast area, I don't know when the goblins will strike again."

...It is ending.

When the people land take too much damage in battle and is losing their lives, the term for this is ending. According to Re-Gun's spirit theory, resurrection spells might work in the short moment before the soul separate from the body. Since the resurrection fails, it means he has move into the stage of 'failing essence'.

"Shiroe bro, please save Rudie!"

He can hear a strong voice in his ears.

"Rudie bro is stupid and a fool, but he is also strong and cool, he sacrifice himself to save me!"

"I am the one who brought him to the battle field, no, I did not do that directly but I didn't stop Rudie from coming, Mr Shiroe... I am willing to do anything!"

This sobbing voice came from the other end of the telepathy.

...I need.

He heard Minori's words.

These words made Shiroe cool down.

He visualize an asphalt road that is going to be covered by snow in the winter night, and he is lying on this road and losing his temperature. It is foreboding but clear, a way for Shiroe to release his imagination.

His unrestricted thoughts go out of control, searching for a route through the matrix of possibilities he can imagine, going through the feasibility of all possible combinations.

(Since this is Minori's request, I have to help her.)

This is not his will, but his prerequisite.

To fulfill the prerequisite, Shiroe increase his speed of thinking.

"Instruct Serara to use resurrection magic."

"Yes."

Minori reply immediately.

She didn't question why and did not object that it will not work. Minori trust Shiroe totally, she believes that Shiroe must have a way, that's why she contacted him.

But that is just her one sided wishful thinking.

There are things Shiroe cannot do. Wrong, Shiroe cannot do most of the things, in this strange and unreasonable alternate world, he can even say that he can't do anything at all.

But this is just a small issue, cannot be done means cannot be done, he will think about it when he needs to tackle it. The important thing is Minori believes Shiroe can do it, so there is only one answer for Shiroe.

He believes he can do it.

The heart that believes reconstruct all kinds of combination in his mind, seeing things from another angle and review the concepts that was thought to be impossible.

"The pulse seems to strengthened... But he is still unconscious."

"Wait 150 seconds, Touya guard the area, Isuzu use MP recovery songs, 150 seconds later Minori use resurrection magic."

"Yes."

Shiroe recollect Re-Gun's words.

Rundelhaus is dead.

But it people of the land or adventurers, dead means dead.

Death starts when the body stops moving in this alternate world. The body will not be able to move, the consciousness is disconnected from the body and trapped in darkness.

This is a sign the communication between the 'soul' and 'essence' has ceased.

The 'essence' will then start to dissipate.

'Essence' is the source of energy for the 'Qi' in the body, the diffusion process is known as 'failing essence'. For powerful or high level bodies, they have stronger 'Qi' and the 'failing essence' process last longer.

Rundelhaus is a physically weak mage class, and he is at the beginner level, the speed of his 'failing essence' should be very fast.

The resurrection magic probably came too late.

Resurrection spell cast by the healer will inject 'essence' into the body in the state of 'failing essence' in order to magically repair the connection between the 'soul' and the 'essence'.

It gathers the dissipated 'essence' and use the healer's 'Qi' to replenish any lost 'Qi' of the target, stimulating the body to recover.

Since there is still body warmth and pulse, it can be deduced that the spell have stimulated recovery, but the connection between 'soul' and 'essence' was not repaired, so he did not regain conscious.

If that is the situation, it make sense.

The 'soul' is starting to diffuse... reaching a state of 'losing soul'. 'soul' is the energy that drives the psyche, the human psyche is based on 'soul', as it's connection to the body is severed, it will become a lost 'soul' and lose its identity.

The low level Rundelhaus must have gone into the state of 'losing soul' right after he reach the stage of 'failing essence'.

Adventurers can be sent to the cathedral to respawn where a new body is made, the 'soul' is then linked to this new body. As their body can respawn, they will not go through the state of 'losing soul', so even if their body dies, their 'soul' will respawn in a new body... They will not die for real.

"It has been 150 seconds, casting resurrection now."

"After another 150 seconds, Serara will cast resurrection again, I am on my way there so take turns casting magic for 8 minutes."

He hears Minori's acknowledgement. The resurrection spells around level 20 is still primitive, it has a long casting time and they will be defenseless, not practical for use on the battle field and has a cool down of 300 seconds.

But Rundelhaus have both Serara and Minori by his side, they might be new but they are still healers.

By taking turns to cast resurrection spell, they can half the 300 seconds cool down to 150 seconds. Resurrection magic needs a lot of MP, Shiroe don't know how long they can last, but he can only leave it to them.

'Losing soul' is triggered by "Failing essence', When the host body disappears, the 'soul' will also be lost. How much they can stop the 'losing soul' process is dependent on their resurrection spells.

The next will be...

"Akatsuki, hold me."

This made the silent Akatsuki turn around slowly despite the terrifying conditions on the back of the flying griffon. In the strong wind that threatens to tear through her skin, she hugs Shiroe tightly.

Shiroe close his eyes and think of what items he has in his bag and reach in. He don't know what items he need to use, or even if it will work.

But to prepare for the 'spell' he will be casting, he search for suitable items.

The bottle of ink Shiroe took a long time to formulate. The only bottle of soul fragments in the whole world.


2

Raynesia arrive on the battle field accompanied by the female knight in the evening.

According to reports, the vicinity of the valley has secured by of Crusty's forces.

"Woo..."

"Are you okay?"

The female knight did not show much concern in her expressions, but she still asked kindly.

There are very few people who experience the air of the battle field in this world. Because the people of the land and demihumans die very fast, their body will disappear within half a day. No matter what kind of battle it was, the place will just be a deserted land when the bodies are gone.

But this battle field was formed very recently.

The stench of blood is too stimulating for Raynesia, fortunately the summer breeze can be felt through the greenery making the smell more bearable, but she is unable to look down around her feet.

The female knight took a step forward to confirm the details of the battle.

The female knight who introduce herself as Takayama Misa belongs to the 'field monitor' group.

In the heat of battle, especially in a large scale like this, your field of vision will be obscured and limited, it will be hard to grasp the whole situation from the front lines.

So D.D.D will detail a group with the size between a party or 'full raid' to survey the battle field and support the 'Legion raid' group fighting on the ground. Their main duties is to use optical items and reconnaissance spells to gather intelligence and report to the front line commander.

Raynesia thinks Takayama Misa is a high ranking officer within D.D.D because of the attitude of the people around her.

Because they scouted a trail without the need to bash through the vegetation, they reached the bottom of the valley earlier than expected. Raynesia along with her escorts came to the wide rocky river bank near the stream.

This is upstream of the battle field they can see from the platform above, there are no signs of any goblin corpses, only the cool flow of the stream warding off the summer heat.

The adventurers around are resting in their preferred way, some of them are showering topless, others are doing weapon maintenance.

This is the center of the battle field, but with no enemy formation around, so everyone is resting except the sentries working on shift.

Raynesia has reviewed the parade procession of knights as a princess before.

But she do so from the stage and gives a prepared speech. She will occasionally head into the parade square and greet the knights as she walk pass their formation, but the knights of Maihama will always be in perfect alignment and holding their spears at the perfect angle for her review.

So she has never been up close and personal, walking among knights who are considered rowdy by nobles standard.

Raynesia is a people of the land, the daugter of the family ruling Maihama. Even if Akiba joins the 'League of fredom cities', as long as they don't have a direct lord subordinate relationship, the knights have no obligation to respect Raynesia. Raynesia don't wish to upset them too since she is gradually accepting the adventurers have a different culture from her.

Raynesia already knew they do not like to stand on ceremony, so she was not offended although she was a bit surprised.

What astonished her more was that the group did not ignore her.

Whenever Raynesia pass by them, the adventurers will greet her in a loud voice.

"Don't worry princess, we will settle this war in no time."

"Heavens, Caucasian type looks like angels."

"The blitz group will be enough to take out all the goblins."

"The princess is here, where is the camera!"

"Is it okay to wander here princess? Ah, so Miss Takayama is here, god bless."

"Ha ha ha! Our commander is just ahead princess."

"Wah, wah!"

"Be careful of stray arrows!"

They are crude in their words, giving Raynesia the impression of the rumored mercenaries, but she do not feel any distaste about them. Maybe she knows the adventurers was not being rude and looking down on her when they say these words, that is the usual way they act, and they are friendly enough to joke with her.

Raynesia lives in a cocoon.

She does not converse well with others.

She has been relying on her perfect lady education to handle all the situations she faced, but she realize this is not effective on the adventurers.

The adventurers are not familiar with the culture of nobles, they won't misinterpret her slight change in expressions and overreact.

After Raynesia's rare session of thinking, she invented an original method to interact with the adventurers with simple etiquette to avoid shaming her Corwen heritage.

The method is to smile and wave her hand at chest level.

If someone gives her advice or speak with her, she will think about the meaning for a while and reply "thank you. Adventurers are the same breed as the mind reading monster, she will be seen through if she only work on her appearance. Even if she shows her her side unbecoming of a lady, they are not nobles and wouldn't mind... This is the conclusion made by Raynesia.

According to the strict standards of the social world, Raynesia's attitude is on the borderline of being rude. But they are adventurers and this is the battle field, Raynesia explain to her grandfather in her heart.

But Raynesia did not realize her sincere smile and cute actions after gingerly crossing the line of etiquette in her heart as made a good impression on the adventurers in the blitz group who welcomes her readily.

The hybrid task force is led by Crusty, he base the structure of the group around D.D.D members to ensure the integrity of the command structure. But if he only uses only D.D.D members, Crusty will be showing too much strength in the round table council, so he has to show the unity of the round table council when he arranges the raid group. So half of this hybrid army is formed by veteran players not affiliated to D.D.D.

They include guild members from black sword knights and honesty, there is a variety in cape color and coat of arms, which Raynesia interprets as aristocratic clans, so this band of knights looks strange to her.

The relationship among the nobles' clan is complicated, with blood relationship and alliances making it more sophisticated. It may not be the same for all the nobles, but there are generally some hostilities between the clans. This is the reason why the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' are not united.

But such conflicts are not apparent in this battle field.

From the colors of their cape and their coat of arms, they seem to have divided themselves into smaller parties. But some of them are eating, some are helping with weapon inspections, others are running around distributing resupplies.

Raynesia noticed the source of her discomfort.

With so many knights around, there are no squires or attendants around. Takayama Misa explains they are a select group of elite forces so weaklings will only get in the way, but how can there be so many knights without any squires?

(The adventurers seem to be free from class systems...)

Even though she knew they are very free, but to see it in action with her eyes, every little details surprise her.

"Yes, I can hear you, please continue."

Crusty is at the front edge of the bank where the stream bends and form a pool, wiping his sweat off his topless body.

He is communicating with long range magic even when he is wiping his sweat, but he turn to face them when he sees Takayama Misa and Raynesia's group.

Crusty calmly wipe his body with a cloth he wrung dry. Takayama Misa seems used to his bold and calm actions, as she approaches him to report with document in hand.

Crusty listen attentively with his back to her.

"What an amazing body..."

Crusty with his elegant clothes in the courts doesn't give such a feeling of impact. She can feel his overwhelming strength just looking at his bare back. His muscular back has the beauty of a wild beast as Raynesia lost herself looking at it.

(...Eh! What am I looking at!)

Raynesia shakes her head and sulk.

She always lose her pace when Crusty is around.

She miss the peaceful bedroom in Maihama. She really like living in a cocoon, she just want to sleep after eating and live lazily like plants. Her biggest hobby is sun bathing, she is looking forward to becoming an old lady and enjoy her life like a hermit.

According to Raynesia's ideals, it is not wrong to say she has changed or become depraved.

"Understood, I will increase the amount of survey groups at the next location."

When Takayama Misa finish her report, Crusty has already dressed himself. He is wearing the same armor but he seem to have changed his shirt. His calm expression is the same as his time in the 'Ancient palace of eternal frost', he is so calm that it makes Raynesia mad.

"How was the battle field?"

Crusty ask as he walks towards her.

Because of their height difference, Raynesia has to tilt her head up, which makes her feel unpleasant. She can neither feel the joy Crusty has when he fights nor the feeling that he might disappear like a flimsy illusion.

The mind reading monster is standing prim and proper in front of her, that feeling she had seems to be like a dream.

"Did you feel scared?"

Raynesia was trapped in her own thoughts and slow in responding, so Crusty ask her again teasingly.

"No such thing, I believe Sir Crusty will protect me."

Since Crusty put on his mask of courtly manners, she has to reply in kind. She wants to show him she has much more experience in the rhetoric and culture of the aristocrats.

"... The princess sure is popular."

Raynesia turns around and see a group of adventurers observing Crusty and Raynesia from afar without moving. This made Raynesia feel uneasy, so she wave her hands gently and smile, and the adventurers go about their business with smiles on their faces.

"No such thing matters Sir Crusty."

Raynesia face Crusty again bearing the frustration of going off topic. Crusty is always showing this type of attitude, making Raynesia unsure of putting on her courtly manners or to adjust to the adventurer's way.

"Also..."

Just as Raynesia step forward to speak, the howl of wolves echoes through the entire valley. It came from the eastern ridge, it is obviously from a distance away, but it still drives a chill into Raynesia's heart.

"That was..."

"Dire wolves, should be large in size judging by the sound.

"From the goblin king's escort?"

"The goblin king is not here, he will not leave 'Fortress of seven falls', this is their royal guards."

"Royal guards..."

Raynesia clasp her hand in front of her chest, he saw the rampage of Crusty's army and believes in their strength. But Raynesia do not know anything about battles so she is afraid, and Crusty seems so dangerous when he throw himself into battle.

She is not sure if she should ask him to take care of himself or to motivate him for the upcoming fight.

As Raynesia hesitates, the wolves howl again. Crusty grins at the sound and did not notice how Raynesia feels ad he says with a cruel smile:

"We will wipe out their nest later, let's take out the trash in Sand Leaf for now."



3

The long central road in Choshi town is an excellent landing runway for the griffon. The magic beast did not flap its wings as it glides down. Shiroe pat Akatsuki's head, looks down and whispers :"Please clear the area, don't let any players or monsters come near."

Akatsuki nods without saying anything.

Even though the speed is faster than a horse, the 2 of them jump off the griffon without any concern and move off separately. Akatsuki moves weightlessly forward, her light body disappearing behind the roof of the stone building.

After seeing her off, Shiroe rush towards Touya who is waving his hand.

There are 5 people in Minori's group, all of them have anxious faces. From the reports he received through telepathy, the Ocypete has arrived but is unable to dock because of the Sahuagin's resistance. Naotsugu's party is dealing with the goblins in place of Minori's group.

(That will be more convenient.)

Shiroe do not know if the spell will work. Even though the theory is sound and Shiroe has experimented repeatedly, it is still a gamble. Considering the impact on the future, it will be better to have fewer witness even if it succeeds.

Is that a tavern or hotel in front?

A young man lies motionless under the roof of an open concept building, the crying girl besides him should be Isuzu, a cute young girl with freckles.

Familiar faces surrounds Shiroe, Touya with his painful expression, Serara with her look of worry and Minori and her sense of purpose.

Shiroe calms his heart.

It is hot out here, but his mind is like the winter night sky.

"Minori, add me to your party."

"Yes."

Minori nods without further questions. Shiroe is thankful that she is nottalking in this situation. He observes Rundelhaus' face, he looks like an elegant nobleman. He still have body warmth and pulse, but he is still unconscious. The party status screen is flashing the word 'death'.

"I recall you are Miss Isuzu? continue 'Nocturnal mediation' I am going to cast a new spell, please keep this an absolute secret."

Shiroe tells the beginners with a strict tone.

"If you cannot agree then give up or leave."

The group shakes their head in respond, no one flinch away at his words.

"Alright, let's begin."

Shiroe chooses the spell from the menu and cast 'Mana channeling', a unique spell of enchanters.

The effect is draining all the MP of his allies and distribute them equally.

(Correct... The psyche lies in the 'soul', and MP is the manifestation of the 'soul', if that is the case...)

As he chants the spell incantation, the MP of the whole party gathers inside Shiroe.

Shiroe's out levels all of them, the draining party of his 'Mana Channeling' is a heavy burden on Minori's party who is less than level 30.

Minori, Touya and Serara looks pale. Their MP is gradually drained away, making them feel dizzy and lost. Isuzu's continue to hold Rundelhaus hand and sing her sad ancient ballad despite her face turning white.

Shiroe feels the effect of the magic with his eyes half closed.

The MP he gathered from his allies are all under Shiroe's control. He can feel the lingering scent of their 'soul' although it is only a faint hint. Touya's one track mind, Minori's seriousness, all of these expand out under Shiroe's control.

It also include Serara, Isuzu, Rundelhaus and his own MP.

The MP with different subtle taste mixes into primitive spiritual energy and is guided along the magical circuit connected to his allies.

Shiroe divided the MP evenly and distribute it.

(Hnng!)

The rapid loss of MP gives Shiroe a feeling of anemia.

His MP is more than the other members, enchanter belongs to the mage class and their maximum MP is among the highest among the classes. And Shiroe is level 90, re-allocating the MP evenly with level 30 adventurers is the same as refilling all their MP in one shot.

"Minori cast Resurrection, Serara continue to heal."

These are all preparation work, Shiroe continues to give instructions, but the time is short, there might only be one chance and one sentence.

Rundelhaus is a people of the land.

He is not an adventurer, so he will not revive after dying.

But Rundelhaus is now dead.

That's why Rundelhaus will not revive.

This is an iron clad rule that cannot be overturned.

The mana chaneling spell of the enchanter restores the MP of the group... in other words, to revitalize their psyche and soul.

He did not regain conscious because his 'soul' and essence are not connected. This is the same as being comatose, so they need to find a way to force it to connect.

For the next phase, Shiroe took something our from his backpack.

"It will be a race against time."

Shiroe used 'Hades incense of soul recovery' as he finished his sentence.

This is used to wake your allies or creatures for a short time, a medicine mainly used for special monsters. The effect is not resurrection, just regaining of conscious for 3 minutes before you die again, and the adventurer will be forcibly sent back to the cathedral.

But for Rundelhaus whose 'essence' is dissipating continuously, this item holds a certain possibility.

No matter what happens, his body will be destroyed, the psyche and 'soul' residing in the host body will also perish.

'Hades incense of soul recovery' will re-energize his 'soul' and forcibly connect it to his body, but at the expense of death after 3 minutes. He can only pull Rundelhaus back to this world for 3 minutes.

A fake resurrection with a time limit.

The group seems to understand this as Isuzu tightens her grip  on Rundelhaus' hand with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Ah..."

Rundelhaus opens his eyes slowly as if he just woke up from a dream.

Isuzu can't stop crying as she hold his hands. It is unclear if he has regain consciousness, even his eyes opening might be just the reflex of his body.

"Rudie...?"

"Miss Isuzu...ah, everyone, that's right... seems like... I died."

He has some awareness after death, just that the connection between his 'soul' and 'essence' has been severed. For adventurers, this mean the monitor loses its color, you can only watch your comrades fighting in black and white. It is not clear how it is for the people of the land, but Rundelhaus seems able to grasp the situation.

Rundelhaus smile and speaks with a tired voice to the others.

"Don't be like this everybody... don't make such a face. If you fight you will risk death, isn't that natural?"

"Only... natural..."

Touya's voice made Shiroe's heart ache.

It is something they don't joke about in the game, the heavy topic of death... is only natural for the people of the land.

"I want to be an adventurer despite of that, please don't blame Miss Isuzu okay? I wanted her to help me keep this a secret."

"No, I already noticed, but I chose to ignore it!"

Minori cries out loud, telling everyone the impact this has on the Minori who always act calmly.

"Ha ha ha, yeah, thank you Miss Minori... there is no need to feel bothered about this."

"No, there is a need."

Shiroe interrupts.

There is no time.

Shiroe lets his mind run free as he thinks about the horrifying thing he is about to do. It might be a big mistake, it might even threaten the laws of the world.

He doesn't know how this will affect the world if he is successful, or how the world will receive this 'proposal'.

But the young man who is accept his fate and is bidding farewell to the rest calls himself an adventurer.

This is not the term to describe players, but the term for traveling the world and seeing a sunrise that no one has seen before, the name of Shiroe's companions.

Since he calls himself that, he is also a scion of 'hers'.

"No, you need to feel bothered. Rundelhaus Code, a fellow who gives up so easily calling himself an adventurer will only trouble others. This is not enough... Did you spent your whole life training and learning in order to die in an alley like this? What you have found in the dungeons are not tactics or strategy, but the will to survive, the grit to do anything to keep living on no matter how hard you have to work, the spirit to never give up right?"

"Shiroe bro..."

"Rundelhaus, your resolve is not strong enough!"

"Then what do you expect me to do?"

Rundelhaus' eyes is full of regret and dismay, even if he says this is only natural, his heart refuses to accept it as his tears start to flow.

Because of this, Shiroe decides to use that 'magic'.

"Pay attention and listen up!"

Shiroe took out the document he scribbled while he was on the griffon's back and put it in front of Rundelhaus' face.

"This is..."

"A contract?"

The document Shiroe took from his backpack is indeed a contract, it is written in 'Carved dragon eye ink' on the 'Fairy king paper' made from top class ingredients, the only one in the world.

"Contract... Log Horizon representative Shiroe, and Rundelhaus Code agree to the following terms: 1, effective immediately, Shiroe invites Rundelhaus to join the guild Log Horizon. 2, Rundelhaus will act appropriately and carry out task assigned seriously befitting his position as a member of Log Horizon. 3, Log Horizon will provide Rundelhaus with necessary support to aid him in carrying out his task... including the identity of an adventurer. 4, This contract is based on mutual agreement of both parties, what ever things either party gain will remain in effect even if the contract lapses. As above, there are 2 copies of the contract, both parties will keep one copy after signing the agreement as proof."

Sounds of gasping can be heard.

"Adventurer...?"

"This is... Mr Shiroe, this is...!"

This is developing a spell that is not in the game.

Shiroe noticed this possibility a long time ago.

Chefs can cook food manually without using the game menu, making dishes with normal taste.

Nyanta explained to Shiroe on their way back to Susukino.

And this has proven to be correct.

And Shiroe convinced the round table council that this is not limited to chefs.

People with the corresponding skills can use them to create items without using the game menu, making things that did not exist in this alternate world.

This is the real meaning behind Nyanta's discovery.

2 months after that, Shiroe has been researching things he has visualized and conducted experiments repeatedly. He kept this as a hidden ace to be used if the round table meeting did not go smoothly, but further research and data keep accumulating and it evolves.

His conversation with Re-Gun about spirit theory gave Shiroe an inspiration and one of his research topic is going to bear fruit here.

Rundelhaus is a people of the land.

And he will die in 3 minutes.

People of the land cannot revive.

Rundelhaus will disappear.

If that is the case, the answer is obvious...

He needs to make Rundelhaus into an adventurer in this 3 minutes.

His experiments prove that Scribes can make simple contracts and all sort of documents such as 'Mission request forms' or 'IOU' that have magical binding powers. A scribe with high enough level can create these with magical ingredients.

But among these type of contracts, this one is top class.

Allowing a people of the land to join a guild and bestowing the identity of adventurer on him, this contract looks like a fraud to Shiroe. So Shiroe used his level 90 Scribe skills and the top class magical ingredients and ink he collected during the time when Elder Tale was a game without regret in other to fulfill this request.

Shiroe moves the contract closer to Rundelhaus' face.

"I have already signed this, the rest is up to you."

"...Ven...turer..."

"You can realize your dreams."

The young sorcerer with mud all over him says in a weak voice, as Shiroe explains to him.

"This contract has a risk, you will be altered in some ways after the contract takes effect, becoming a different being. Adventurers are still new to this world, you might get caught in some other events, adventurers might not be as glorious as you imagined."

"I want to become..."

The status screen still shows the flashing word 'death', his HP is reducing gradually, Rundelhaus replies without hesitation.

"I want to become an adventurer, people who help those in need, I won't mind the small details... I am not after the glory... I just want to be... an adventurer."

Rundelhaus grabs the pen with his trembling hands and it falls out of his hands immediately. 'Hades incense of soul recovery' is losing its effect, Rundelhaus might be unable to keep his 'soul' and 'essence' connected.

"Rudie... don't worry."

Isuzu holds his hand.

"I will sign this together with Rudie."

suzu embraces Rundelhaus from behind, Touya helps from the side, Minori and Serara cast healing spells repeatedly, the four of them watches over Rudie as he signs.

His trembling hands gain warmth with his comrades encouragement, Rundelhaus uses the magical ink to writes down his name, the signature burns with a golden light. Shiroe's skills are acknowledge by this alternate world, becoming a brand new law.

"Rundelhaus, you will die... and respawn in the cathedral."

Shiroe says as he feels the cogs are turning somewhere by this spell. The dissipating 'essence' turns into dancing light particles and flies towards Akiba, the other players watch this dream like scene with stunned expressions.

The act of developing magic is the reason why he earns the nick name 'Chronicler of the east' in the future.



4

The battle continues in the dark.

In the heart of the Sand Leaf central hills.

The venue is a valley like the previous battle, the only difference is the size place and the scale of battle. When she ask Takayama Misa why they choose to fight in valleys, the answer is :"A large group need a lot of space to gather, we can organize ourselves in the forest or the hills, but it will be hard to accommodate everyone there.

Raynesia think about it and agrees.

Goblins might be demihumans, but their intelligence are low. But since they are moving in an army, they will follow certain rules.

Since they are fighting in the valley, there are several ridges where they can see the whole valley.

Takayama Misa's observation team is based on one of these ridges but it is different from last time. They only set up the minimum observation table. It may be that they might need to move on short notice, or because Raynesia declines the chair, but from the looks of relief from Takayama Misa, Raynesia predicted the previous time was a special arrangement just for her. <TL: Derpy chinese source.>

But these are trivial matters.

Raynesia, Takayama Misa and the others are already concentrating on the battle in the valley.

Takayama Misa explains that the team leading the dire wolves are goblin tamers. The barbaric goblins don't have complicated society like humans, but they have primitive division of labor and classes.

Most goblins are lightly armored warriors or spearmen, but some of the goblins have special classes, the most common one being goblin tamer and goblin <shaman/kannagi/shrine maiden/shrine priestess>. The goblin tamer breed beast like Owlbear, Hippogriff and dire wolves.

They can see the enemy formation have hundreds of dire wolves, as if the dark ground has gain sentience and squirms, a scene from nightmares.

"Seems like a mutant breed."

Takayama Misa explains calmly:

"We fought them in a raid before, it is wolf with poisonous fangs raised in the miasma of the undead. To have raised so many means the goblin king have a tribe of goblin tamers... Elder Tale has such an intriguing detailed secret setting."

"Would... Would they be alright..."

"Worrying is an absurd action."

Takayama Misa maintains her cold attitude and words, but Raynesia is not so optimistic. There are a few hundred enemies spread out across the valley, the goblin general must be in the center, probably in the exotic tent with wheels that is essentially a mobile fortress.

Raynesia is not worried about that monster knight, but his subordinates are knights as well. Even though they won't die, it will still be painful if they get hurt, which pains her too.

But the two sides engages suddenly without regard to Raynesia's worries.

"Square shape... so pretty."

"This is the square formation."

Takayama Misa walks to Raynesia's side probably to chat.

She points to Crusty's army that is aligned on 4 sides in the shape of a square and continues.

This is a common formation used in raids, the groups are usually formed in multiples of 4, the same number of sides as the box. So in terms of command, squares are the easiest formation to adopt. It is basically a defensive formation, with the tanks and melee fighters to the front supported by the range and magic attacks as the main source of damage dealers. But since this is a tight knit formation, it will be bad against enemies with powerful wide area attacks. But against groups of wild beast, it can be an iron clad defensive wall.

"So that is how..."

Raynesia guessed right.

The strong vanguards deflect the attacks of the wolves easily, with arrows and magic flying out from behind them. The balms ensure Raynesia have clear vision in the dark, but great columns of fire all over the valley made it so bright that she can see without any assistance.

"They are moving."

Takayama Misa points straight at the battle field.

The whole formation seems to move with her finger. It turns into the shape of a trapezoid and advances, taking out the enemies in it's way.

Takayama Misa says this is a defensive formation, but this seem to be an unreliable evaluation.

This is the first time Raynesia views a large scale battle, she has never seen the defensive battles of the castle knights, so she has nothing to use as a reference, but what she sees cannot be describe as defensive.

She sees it as a square hole.

Crusty's army seem to be digging a dark hole into the goblin army. Both the goblins and wolves will be dealt with when they touch the hole. The way the formation handles the enemy is akin to a neat freak, giving off a sense of madness.

"Look closly."

At this moment, a bonfire seems to be lit in the center of the formation and 4 flaming birds flew out from it and spread orange and crimson flames in all 4 directions, obviously a summoned beast. But Raynesia has never heard of summoned beings like this. From what she knows, summoned beings range from the size of a fist to that of a puppy, she has never seen such powerful and dignified creatures.

"That is the Phoenix you can formed contract with at level 86, a high level spirit with fire affinity. The summoners need to complete a very difficult quest before they are qualified to form a contract with such graceful and holy beast... what is it?"

She ask me what is it?

That creature has flame on it?

(Adventurers can... can summon such creatures, there should be a limit to such foul play correct?)

Raynesia finally understands.

Crusty was not putting on a brave face, this is how he acts naturally.

No wonder Takayama Misa says worrying is absurd.

No one can predict what will happen in the battle field. But there are people in this world who are fine in this unpredictable battle field and uses their extraordinary experience no common man can hope to match to rule the arena.

The army this man is leading are also adventurers who has accumulated overwhelming experience and training. Raynesia recognize from the bottom of her heart that the common sense of knights cannot be applied on them.

Adventurers are an existence beyond Raynesia's comprehension.

The goblin general's giant mobile fortress explodes with a bang. The heavily armored guards and gigantic ferocious goblins flew out from the shattered fortress. Crusty's forces continue to advance.

Raynesia heard an impossible voice.

... Well then, let's enjoy this sumptuous meal.

The calm words with a hint of joy definitely came from Crusty.

Raynesia do not have telepathic abilities, she couldn't have heard Crusty from so far away, but she did hear his voice.

Crusty swings his 2 hand axe and point it at the enemy, his forces charge forward as if elongated black spears came out of the square formation. A group of warriors dual wielding blades shred through the goblins like thin clothes.

"We have finished the main course... Let's leave the rest to the nets spread out by our headquarters tactician."

Takayama Misa close her report file with a soft sound, her voice so calm she seems to be saying something obvious.

5

In the end they linked up just before dawn.

The resistance of the Sahuagin was stronger than expected, Ocypete took a lot of time to dock. Ocypete has a lot of functions installed as an experimental prototype, but it is basically a transport ship.

It is not a military amphibious assault landing craft.

It is hard to suppress enemies that can move freely in the waters, so it is hard to executive bold attack maneuvers.

But at midnight, Naotsugu and Nyanta summoned griffons to ferry several players by air to reinforce the defense of Choshi town. With summoners on both sides of the coastline, it is only a matter of time before the repel the Sahuagins.

"Wah, I didn't expect you to come Shiroe!"

Mareille smiles so happily.

Shiroe who appeared out of nowhere walked out from the town just as the sun was setting. He reorganized the limited manpower and establish another defensive line at the north side of the farm.

Shiroe is the guild master of Log horizon.

That means he is one of the 11 guild masters that forms the round table council, but he is not well known.

The background behind the formation of the round table council was no secret, so well informed adventurers all know about Shiroe. But compared to Crusty or Issac who are the guild master of major guilds, or the Marielle with her wide social network, the number of people who knows his face is much fewer.

If you talk to him, you will know that he is a good young man who values friendships. But he seems scary in the beginning... Marielle thought.

(He is a good kid! But that face! Those eyes! So scary!)

Marielle nods as she made this conclusion, but Henrietta chided her "Most adventurers are good kids in Marielle's eyes."

Anyway, Shiroe's appearance are not well known, but the impact he brings to the battle field is quite significant.

Even if he is not well known, Shiroe is still the tactician for the expedition army. The morale will increase when headquarters send reinforcement over.

Shiroe appears in town the moment Ocypete arrives, making the defensive team think he was the one who led them here.

Marielle use this effect to the limit.

She raise her voice to motivate the defense team.

The team facing the unrelenting waves of Sahuagins recovers their fighting spirit when they hear news of reinforcement arriving and Marielle urging them on. With the artillery support by summoners conjuring creatures to perform super long range attacks, the beginners engage the sahuagin with renewed vigor and passion.

The corpse of the sahuagin was either wash away by the tide or disappears into thin air after some time, the fierce battle continues til midnight.

The adventurers won the grueling fight at midnight.

The adventurers taking part in the summer training camp are exhausted, relaxing in their own way at the port between Sand Leaf River and the beach

The sentry and defensive task are handled by the reinforcements who still have energy to help. All those gathered here are the summer camp participants who fought the goblins and the sahuagins.

Marielle was thinking of maintaining a more spirited attitude as a role model, but she end up spreading her cape and lie flat on the ground.

(Fu... We somehow made it through...)

Crescent moon alliance has no experience with large scale raids or defensive battles, Marielle had never commanded such a complicated battle line before.

She is a total amateur at this, the reason they succeed is because of the passion and determination of the beginners, as well as the support of the veterans led by Naotsugu.

"Are you alright Miss Marielle?"

This voice was closer than she expected.

And just when she was thinking about him.

"Woo wah?"

Naotsugu sit beside Marielle who spring up in surprise. He has changed into baggy shorts and summer shirt.

"Why are you making weird sound Miss Marielle?"

"Wah, that was sly of you Naotsugu, when did you changed?"

"No, it is because... The armor is heavy and someone is taking my shift tonight so I can relax."

Marielle relentless questions made Naotsugu gaze wander all over.

She looks around and see their exhausted comrades moving slowly like zombies, hoping to change their clothes too.

"I I I... I need to change too?"

"Are you okay?"

Marielle press her temples. She has been using magic non stop the whole day which makes the her head heavy and numb.

Cleric is the master of healing, apart of standard healing spells, they can also cast all sort of magic. If you focus only on defense and healing, the variety of skills of the cleric is the best among the healers.

In this group battle, Marielle did not form a party, running all over the battle field by herself casting healing spells on all the parties she sees, a heal and run tactic.

She don't think that was a wrong tactic to use, but it was more tiring than she imagined. Marielle experienced the feeling of exhausting all her MP 10 times in a day, making her head hurts.

"Rest a bit more?"

"Woo hoo hoo..."

To be honest, Marielle don't want to move at all.

"The bathhouse is still full anyway."

"There is a bathhouse?"

Bathhouses are new facilities in Akiba, Marielle is shocked that Choshi town has such advance installations.

"Of course there is. The reason why Akiba don't have shower rooms is because the crafting menu for adventurers do not include shower facilities. Or rather, we can craft such facilities, but only for decorative purposes, they do have water storage or heating functions. When Elder Tale was just a game there was no need for us to bath, but the people of the land need to shower from the very beginning and so they have the appropriate facilities to do so."

"Is...Is that so?"

Marielle hold her head with her hands and falls.

So there are shower rooms if they visit one of the few homes of the people of the land in Akiba?

Marielle recalls discovering Henrietta pouring hot water from the kettle to a basin to wipe her body secretly in the middle of the night. It almost ended in a big commotion. Just remembering Henrietta's scary face during that incident makes her face glum.

"But we all rushed to the showers at the hotel and mayor's place, so it is full right now. By the way, the hotel is for men, the mayor's house is for ladies."

"Oh, now I know... I will enjoy the breeze here for a while more."

"Yes yes yes."

Naotsugu sit with his legs crossed.

Marielle spread her cape on the grass and sit lazily.

The 2 of them bask in the clear moonlight.

A gentle and soothing breeze made Marielle shift her gaze and look at Naotsugu.

Naotsugu looks at the bright and clear moon as he fans Marielle using a big leaf from a tropical tree.

(Ah...)

Marielle can feel the remnants of the heat in her blood that boiled during the battle cooling down finally. It is thanks to this interesting man who accompany her without a word that her raging emotions is finally calming down and gaining peace.

"Naotsugu, let me ask you..."

"About what...?"

Naostugu leisurely voice gives Marielle the concrete feeling that the battle is really over, everyone survive and protected this town. Some of the adventurers was hurt too badly and went back to the cathedral in Akiba, but the numbers are small.

"We did well right?"

"Of course, we protected the town successfully."

Marielle is aware her smile is more brilliant than normal, it must be a giddy smile that she cannot show in public, but she doesn't mind at all.

Just for this moment, she want to immerse in the kind and gentle wind Naotsugu is giving her under the bright moonlight.




6

There is a sound of a bell coming from the distance.

There is a refreshing fragrance and particles sparkling around him.

Rundelhaus sits up on the marble bed with elaborate carvings.

(This is...)

He can see the night sky out the window. it should be night time right now.

In this room made of stone, the plants placed all around are spreading out shiny pollen that illuminates the room.

(I see, so this is... the cathedral.)

Rundelhaus is able to comprehend. He had heard about this place, but this is his first time here. People of the land are different from adventurers after all, even if they pray in church, they will not seek spiritual guidance in the cathedral.

Cathedral is one of the facilities related to the adventurers, it is more like magical architecture than a religious construction. Rundelhaus follows the examples of other people of the land and have never visited it before.

(Anyway... Good, seems like I can move.)

He sit on the bed and move his body carefully.

Right hand, left hand, both legs, shoulders... there seems to be no problem, but he feels tired to the bones, probably an after effect of respawning.

He heard that respawning in the cathedral deducts EXP, Rundelhaus open his status to check and was stunned.

The status screen of the adventurers is much more detailed than he imagined. His stats are adjusted to reflect stats gain from his equipment, the details of how his equipment affects his stats are also displayed, his MP and HP are also shown in numerical values with increments of 0.1%.

He looks at his EXP gauge which has dropped significantly. It can't be helped, he not only respawn here, he had numerous resurrection spell cast on him as well, this is the price he must pay.

He is alive.

Rundelhaus' chest is filled with a slew of emotions.

He is not after the identity or status of the adventurer, not is after their way of life. Rundelhaus is the 3rd son of a corrupted noble family, the freedom and sense of justice of the adventurers who fight for the people is dazzling and stole his heart.

Rundelhaus unconsciously follows his gaze and open another tab on the status screen. He found the word adventurer.

Name: Rundelhaus Code

Class: Sorcerer

Subclass: Adventurer

Rundelhaus stared blankly at these words for a long while.

(That's right, I do not have a subclass, that contract force me to take on a new subclass adventurer...)

Rundelhaus check the abilities of the subclass in a hurry, a list of unfamiliar abilities he heard about: 'ability to respawn in the cathedral', 'telepathy ability', 'adjustment to EXP gain', 'use of bank and warehouse', 'detailed status screen', there is also many more abilities Rundelhaus don't understand, and they are all listed together here.

(So many... If I have this power...)

He cannot gain back the time he lost or change his past, but he won't spend his nights feeling frustrated and helpless at his weakness.

More importantly, he can live in Akiba without hiding his identity. He can live together with the friends he have grown close to during the training camp. Rundelhaus might be able to rebuilt his old home, creating a place he live life to the fullest.

Rundelhaus try to recollect.

He remember an adventurer that wants to wipe out all these corrupt nobles.

That is what we wants to be, but is cursed to never to achieve. Rundelhaus swore that given another chance, he wants to become an adventurer. He then review this miracle he always dream of.

This small stony room is his new starting point. The serious young man with glasses is also an adventurer that his two friends Minori and Touya respects, and is also the guild master of their guild.

(That young man Shiroe should know about places I have never seen before...)

As Rundelhaus immerse in the joy of respawning, he hears approaching footsteps.

"Rudie!"

Isuzu barge in only knocking off the stone doors. She looks both angry and perplexed, staring at Rundelhaus from the entrance.

"Hi Miss Isuzu... Is anything wrong?"

"Is.. Is anything wrong... You ask..."

She walk towards in big strides and bend her upper body backwards.

Her head is in a taller position than the sitting Rundelhaus, so he cannot see her expression. He can only hear the sound of sniffing, but Isuzu's voice is definitely angry.

"Overexerting yourself so much, what if you die stupid Rudie!"

"Miss Isuzu, calling me stupid is too much, there are somethings you have to do even if you have to risk your life. Just like no one can put a collar on the free spirited adventurers, no one can stop my battles."

"When I command you to wait, you have to wait properly!"

"You are being unreasonable..."

"You must wait!"

Isuzu's voice sounds aloof and Rundelhaus feels anger rising from his heart.

But he realize something when he wonder why Isuzu is here.

Isuzu is the only companion who knows Rundelhaus is a people of the land. Actually, Minori noticed too, but the one who press Rundelhaus for the truth and assist him in achieving his dream is only Isuzu.

She being here right now means she used 'Call of home' to chase Rundelhaus who respawned in the cathedral in Akiba.

"Sorry... I seem to have worried you."

The moment Rundelhaus say these words, a punch so painful that it made him cry falls on his head.

Rundelhaus don't understand why he was hit, but as a noble who has live to this age, he understands that he has to apologize repeatedly in a soothing voice when woman is in this type of condition.

"Sorry Miss Isuzu, it's my fault." "I...I apologize, i won't make this mistake again." "Anyway, can you tell me why?"

He was hit 2-3 times every time he speaks, Rundelhaus' head is heating up from the abuse and his conscious is starting to fade.

"I understand, I will listen to Miss Isuzu's command properly."

"Really?"

"Really, I swear to god."

"You must tell me about your childhood Rudie."

"Why must I....! I...I understand, I will talk."

"If you are so reckless, it won't be enough no matter how many live you have."

"I am reflecting on my actions."

"Okay, shake." <http://youtu.be/-QEuYdcP6o8>

(Ah...?)

This word made Rundelhaus look blankly at Isuzu.

Isuzu's cute freckled face seems to be throwing a tantrum and being angry at the same time. Only her eyes have a hint of shyness as she extend her hand gently.

(If you make such a face, I can only surrender right?)

Rundelhaus gently place his hand on hers in response.

This is a strange action that do not exist in this world. To Rundelhaus, this is the reverse action of a knight guiding a lady, so it is somewhat embarrassing.

He heard from Isuzu later this is the action of dogs swearing fealty to their masters, which make him mad. But right now she had him cornered, he has no way of venting his frustration.

Seems like Rundelhaus is fated to never go against this young girl with freckles.



7

Akiba's first expedition army returns in victory. This was named the east expedition army in the future as the west also sent out an expedition army to deal with the 'Pheonix Door's Ghost festival' incident at the same time.

The expedition army did not defeat the goblin king, they only trap the invasion army in Sand Leaf peninsula and wipe them out. The whole war ended one week after Crusty's forces defeated the goblin general.

Shiroe and Crusty was looking out for reinforcement from 'fortress of seven falls' all this while, but there were no signs of them til the very end.

The 'fortress of seven falls' they are watching closely should still have several thousand monsters inside. This is about a fifth of the whole goblin invasion army, but the numbers are not a big threat.

To measure military powers by numbers is a concept from the old world. In this alternate world where the difference in fighting power varies a lot, they can be as strong as a soldier or as mighty as a tank, so numbers are not an absolute gauge for military might. The Akiba expedition army's success prove this point.

The goblin king is still in the 'fortress of seven falls' along with several beasts of colossal proportions. The goblin <kannagi/shaman/crazy shrine maiden/shinto priest> should be waiting inside as well.

It is more important to determine the threat of the remaining forces rather then their hard cold numbers.

They didn't leave 'fortress of seven falls' alone because it is hard to tackle. Even if there are some stubbornly strong monsters, the round table council judge that with the strength of the adventurers, it is just a matter of time before they raid them.

One of the reason they postpone the raid is because they prioritize signing a treaty with 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' first.

The round table council also have other considerations.

The round table council set a suitable rewards and announce a ton of quest, the content of the quest includes patrolling the northeast communities as well as raiding the remnants of the goblins.

Monsters like goblins are easy enemies for party level groups, so there is no need to send out large armies to deal with them. Minori's party with their level around 30 are able to fight them on equal grounds, which is the best evidence for this.

So the raiding quest is more suitable for beginner and mid level adventurers instead of high level veteran players. They are happy to take on these mission and many of them set out from Akiba to accomplish them. They roam in the forest and hills of the northeast region, making the people of the land feel the adventurers are active again.

By reducing the strength of the forces outside the citadel, the 'fortress of seven falls' will also strengthen their defenses. If you take out the goblin king, the goblins will go out of control.

The goblins who lost their leader will spread out and raze the land, this is the main argument of Shiroe that convinced the round table council. Put simply, the action of sealing them in is preparation of raiding 'fortress of seven falls' in the future.

Shiroe just feel they should make full use of the current situation, but the people call his tactics villainous which leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Shiroe insist there is no black or white in tactics, but there seems to be plenty of holes in this self assessment.

Shiroe did not know that most of the adventurers in Akiba think Shiroe is the mastermind who forced princess Raynesia to go to the battle field. That means he conned the naive and beautiful princess and send her out to fight with his honeyed words, giving off the impression of a very shrewd man. With this system, whenever the princess gains sympathy with her beautiful and kind demeanor, Shiroe's reputation will take a hit.

Shiroe who is unaware of this just has the feeling 'why are so many people targeting me'. He is a bit bothered, but Henrietta encourages him and says :"Mr Shiroe's villian level is far above this standard!" This comment makes him feel complicated.

In this buffer time they earned, the round table council and the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' sign a treaty with a basic treaty, a mutual trade agreement treaty and a peace treaty.

It has been a month since the Sand Leaf siege battle.

Maihama is holding a festival to celebrate the signing of the treaties.

Many noble families from the north east of Yamato gathered in the beautiful streets of Maihama. The nobles meeting is on hiatus, the lords who have returned to their territory gathered again in Maihama city. Different from the nobles meeting, there are no obligations for this festivities so 2-3 of the nobles did not attend, but most of the nobles and merchants did.

Akiba is at its peak of economic development.

The big festival celebrating the signing of the treaties is a rare chance for them to make friends with adventurers. For the nobles, this is a chance to tout the specialty products of their territory and secure major contracts. The nobles maintain their competitive nature, their motive and the heat of the festival triggers a fierce negotiation war.

But it is the same for all the guilds in Akiba, not only the production and merchant guilds, the battle guilds are also involved considering the elements of transport, so they are also here to enjoy this joyous festival.

All type of resources are going out of stock making your eyes dizzy, that is the state Yamato is in.

The hotels in downtown Maihama are all fully booked, a lot of residence become temporary hostels. The ones doing business here are mainly small merchant guilds or small guilds taking on escort missions. The businessmen of Akiba also want to reap a profit using this chance, bringing everything they can sell from food ingredients to armots and weapons, more than doubling Maihama's population.

The meeting room and the visitors room in the courts are all open for the guest, even the knights room are also used. The nobles struggles with their negotiations here, trying to come into terms with the major guilds.

Most of the players in Elder Tale are young. From the earth's standard, their slyness and cunning is far below that of the experienced nobles, putting them at a disadvantage in the negotiation. But the nobles are unable to grasp what the adventurers want and their delicate nature, which will sometimes end in confusion.

Both parties know there are negotiating with strangers, so they have already steel themselves and lowered their expectations, most of the negotiations ended peacefully.

This is a festival of gigantic proportion that happens only once in a hundred years.

To handle the increase in population, all the people of the land working in the restaurant, shops, snack stands are working til their face are red, the adventurers are so engrossed in crafting and selling things that they forget to sleep. Everyone made huge profits in the festival and used it to buy alcohol, meals and clothes, making the consumption demand sky rocket.

At the courts, the butlers that wants to make everything perfect give out instructions, all the maids and helpers are busy running around to fulfill their task. But in this noisy atmosphere, it is impossible to welcome all the guest perfectly, a serious supervisor will probably faint from this.

If all the adventurers request the same service as the aristocrats, they will need at least 3 servants to take care of their meals, showers and changing of clothes. Even the grandest Maihama court in the whole 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' won't be able to handle that.

In the eyes of the nobles, the simple way of life of the adventurers are astonishing. The smarter aristocrats will simplify their daily life during this period as well to accommodate the adventurers. So the snobbish and extravagant aristocrats are more sensible during this festive period, the attendants and maids in the Maihama courts all breath a sigh of relief.

The treaty signing festival that includes nobility, peasants, merchants, craftsman and even farmers is heading towards its climax.

Under the elegant music of the orchestra, 'Cinderella castle' holds a grand ball in the middle of its hall.

This hall is more spacious than the 'Ancient palace of eternal frost', illuminated with countless candle and the magic light conjured by summoners. This ball host over 200 people from nobles, merchant bosses and adventurers.

Duke Sergead Corwen announce the opening of the ball after a simple speech, and a louder and clearer music welcomes the participants to enter.

Unlike before, there are adventurers taking part as well, the knights and princess hesitates in this situation, the first to enter the dance floor was Raynesia escorted by Crusty.

The young hero from Akiba who saved 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' from the goblin threat Crusty, and granddaughter of the clan Corwen who chairs the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' Raynesia. This couple tickles the curiosity of the crowd just with their names alone. And the expedition started because of Raynesia's visit to Akiba to ask for aid, the adventurers are moved by her sincerity and take up arms with their righteous heart, these events akin to stories of heroes will be chronicled in their history forever.

There is a rumor that Crusty challenged the goblin general one on one and defeated him, but contrary to the stories, he looks like a sensible young man. His calm face with glasses shows no signs of worry, his height is fitting of his title of a knight, but he doesn't give the slow and heavy feeling that goes with the description of burly knight. Crusty in his classy tuxedo is just like a nobleman.

On the other hand, Raynesia has the reputation of the most beautiful princess in all of the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal'. She is wearing a formal dress with its color is in layers going from light blue to light purple with fine embroidery sew on with silver threads.

The design that covers her shoulders look conservatives, but the cutting on the chest and back is enough to attract the attention of men and accentuated her beautiful slender neck like a swan.

The two of them walk to the center of the floor, drawing murmur and sighs of praise from the crowd. It was a distinguished scene like that of a poem.

"Are you not going my lord?"

On the 2nd floor seat that overlooks the hall, Shiroe sips his black rose tea as he watched.

Akatsuki is wearing the same pretty gown she had back in the 'Ancient palace of eternal frost', probably forced by Henrietta.

The pearl colored gown is the same as last time, but she has a translucent blue and purple shawl tonight. The light color dressing accentuate Akatsuki's black silky hair to the fullest.

"Not tonight, Crusty is playing the leading role right now, I can't last long anyway... I am so tired."

Akatsuki sit down quietly besides Shiroe when he finished.

This balcony has a small table and several chairs and there is no one else around. This is meant to be a resting area for the high class nobles, but there is a ball with adventurers taking part right now, the attendants have no time to take care of this place as they are busy attending to the ball that is just like a festival.

He can see everyone in the hall clearly from here.

The orchestra who is wearing similar costumes focus on playing; The wealthy merchants and the elderly nobles hogs in a corner to enjoy the banquet; The adventurers who looks nervous; the people of the land who talks boldly to the knights and merchants in a casual manner.

There are many stories playing out in this ball, Crusty and Raynesia goes to the center of the hall and dance like the blossoming flowers.

"..."

Akatsuki who is watching intently turns and look Shiroe straight in the eyes. Akatsuki looks like she is about to say something, but close her lips as if she is giving up. She looks so lost and uneasy, but it makes Shiroe feel so peaceful and at ease.

"Are you laughing my lord?"

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are laughing."

Shiroe repeatedly denies it while Akatsuki keeps pressing him, but she suddenly apologize in a gentle tone.

"I didn't help much this time, apart from fighting, I have been holding you back."

"That's not true Akatsuki."

Akatsuki's words stunned Shiroe, throughout this one month since they attend the nobles meeting, Akatsuki has always been by his side. She has been collecting intelligence from the dark and performing bodyguard duties in the light. The 2 of them also visited Re-Gun's library and come into contact with a part of the mystery of this world.

Shiroe tells her this, but Akatsuki still look depressed.

(It is so hard to convey my gratitude.)

Shiroe just want to build and protect his home and this quiet young girl has always been helping him achieve his dreams. Shiroe who finally notice this stand up without thinking.

"Let's dance."

"Ah?"

Shiroe stands up and give his hand to the petite young girl looking at him from her chair. A round of applause sounded from the hall below and the second piece of music started to play.

The bright lights shining down at the hall illuminates the balcony on the 2nd floor from below.

"My lord, that... about dancing..."

"You have practiced right?"

Shiroe take her hand and help her up.

Shiroe remembers that night where Akatsuki practiced her footwork at the palace courtyard. The steps that is complicated but not like martial arts is the dance steps Henrietta taught Shiroe.

The quiet girl who is about his age but look so young was practicing her dance in secret in the cool night breeze, repeating the movements until it is a part of herself, reflecting the uncompromising nature of Akatsuki.

Only Shiroe knew this in the whole world.

"My lord... you cannot laugh at me."

"I am also a beginner, I won't laugh."

In the dim and narrow balcony on the second floor, the 2 members of Log horizon danced awkwardly to the waltz playing in the hall below.

These are clumsy dance step of the 2 who harbors concern for each other.



8

Crusty and Raynesia dance to the tune of a waltz under the bright lights in the classy hall.

In Raynesia's eyes, Crusty is a big tiger.

Crusty who is like a towering city wall seems to betray his image as the general of the expedition army as he guide his partner in a proper and elegant dance.

The court seems to agree that he is a gentle and handsome young man (Raynesia heard about this from the maids), but having seen how he is on the battle field, Raynesia just want to say their eyes are just decoration made with ink.

(He is a tiger! This man is a tiger monster!)

He is a bit skinny among the knights... Someone commented, but that is because Crusty is very tall so he looks slender from far. With his hands on your waist from so near, you can feel his strong arms and thick chest. He is a different species of human from Raynesia... or rather, a different creature.

"What is it princess?"

"It is nothing Sir Crusty."

Raynesia make an expression that seems like a smile to the surrounding nobles and adventurers and answers with a low and unhappy voice.

Crusty is also keeping his voice down, with the hall filled with the noise of the music and chatters, there is no need to worry their conversation will be overheard.

People might be able to tell they are talking from the movements of their lips, but they will definitely judged it as friendly interaction judging from their expression and situation.

Raynesia understands that to the maids who are depraved of romantic topics, their conversation must have been interpreted as whispers of lovers, she has already heard about such rumors.

"...This is so infuriating."

"What is it?"

The most infuriating thing is Crusty's attitude of not denying these rumors. His denial might get reject, but his cool attitude frustrates her to no end, she cannot stand how Crusty is taking all this in stride.

"Nothing."

"You seems to be in a bad mood."

It is your fault I am saying these and showing this attitude. Raynesia says in her heart. But she was speechless the next moment when he says :"Anyway, it is indeed my fault."

(Really, he answers the words in my mind! And he doesn't sound sorry at all!)

Raynesia sighs when she thought of the future.

Her granddaughter adopt a very calm demeanor regarding this incidence. The treaty between the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' and the round table council was signed on equal terms.

When east Yamato was facing the crisis of being razed by the goblins, Raynesia approached the adventurers for aid as an individual, the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' holds the utmost respect and gratitude for them, but they don't owe any favors to the adventurers.

Grandfather made this very clear to Raynesia.

(Simply put, I have to repay my debts to the adventurers by myself...)

The ceremony and festival treats the adventurers as the guest of honor, but the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' will not share the expense of this war, which makes Raynesia pales when she heard about this.

When Raynesia made the speech in Akiba, she was hoping everyone to volunteer and help. She expected the 'League of Freedom Cities Eastal' to provide some sort of sponsorship or gift of thanks, but they are actually not doing anything for the adventurers who got hurt in the expedition.

As Raynesia think of these troubling things, she continues to dance gracefully thanks to her years of training.

One step right, another 2 steps right.

Quarter turn, left step, raise her hands and gently touch Crusty's fingers.

The steady flow of the flute, the bittersweet sound of the violin, Crusty and Raynesia dance in the mesmerizing melody that threatens to melt you away.

"Are you so unwilling?"

"It's not like that..."

The plan to appease the crowd is to send Raynesia out as an ambassador. In the culture of the nobles, noble women are symbols, they may be granted political position for their beauty, with no expectation of them having any administrative talents.

According to her grandfather, 'Raynesia cross this protective net on her own initiative', so there is no need to worry about this. Raynesia will be the ambassador for the embassy in Akiba, she will need to live her life traveling between the embassy and Cinderella castle.

... Since this is your debt, you need to repay the adventurers by staying there according to proper etiquette correct?

Her grandfather Duke Sergead says sternly, although his eyes are laughing. This is a rare expression, so this must be the best arrangement he can do for Raynesia.

Raynesia gets even more depressed when she think about this.

"3 meals provided with afternoon nap included."

"Ah?"

"3 meals provided with afternoon nap included."

Crusty says with an unpleasant and resigned voice.

"You are going to the ambassador in Akiba correct? Akiba will be more developed in the future, the nobles will want to have an office or place for negotiations, so I understand why they want to set up a place in Akiba, the effect should be good... But adventurers like us are not really interested in the daily life of the aristocrats, the number of tea parties or banquet will be very few. Since the princess is coming to such a city, I feel that you should enjoy the cocoon life of 3 meals provided with afternoon nap included."

Crusty's sudden hint filled Raynesia's chest with hope.

Could this be the situation she longed for?

Leaving her parents side means not being under their supervision, this might be her chance to fulfill her dream of operation 'living 3 days lazily without showering'.

"I think 3 days should be an acceptable range."

Crusty's words that seem to have read her mind but Raynesia blush. This despicable monster is so hard to deal with, she furiously tighten both hands, but it only feels like a weight of a bird to Crusty.

For the uninformed audience, this scene is the decorated young knight leading a beautiful princess in a dance, their tender whispers and words of love made the sorrowful princess blush.

But the rumors might not match the reality, and even if the rumors are true, correlation does not imply causation, so only the subject themselves know the details.

"I can finally return to my dissolute life, don't you agree Sir Crusty?"

"That might be hard to say, the princess seems to have the tendency to self destruct."

The 2 of them squabbles as they continue to dance, they are like rivals but also accomplices, moving to the music that celebrates the coming peace.


Book 4 ends.


No plans to do book 5 yet, thank you for your support over the past month!
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