Published at 25th of March 2019 11:06 pm

Volume 2: Chapter 02: Determination

1

Guilds. Formed by Adventurers with no limit in size, it was a system used by Elder Tales' players to interact with each other. Players who had not joined any guild could form a permanent bond by forming a guild with two or more members. Adventurers in the same guild shared a common guild bank account, group chat, and other unique functions.

The guild hall was one of these unique functions, referring to a zone leased to a guild.

For example, Akiba's guild building provided guild halls of 4 varying sizes: 3 rooms, 7 rooms, 15 rooms and 31 rooms, allowing it to accommodate guilds of different sizes. It allowed guild members to store items that could not fit into the personal storage banks of individual players, as well as production materials and equipment.

Large guilds may even opt to use a whole building as its guild hall.

The game story of Elder Tales was set in the future of Earth, and utilized the half Gaia project, simulating the many abandoned buildings and ruins of Akiba. These ruins were empty, and could be purchased by an individual or a guild if they had enough money.

For such zones, players were able to control the area as they pleased, including toggling the “battle allowed” option or banning undesirables from entering.

Some guilds would buy a whole building to serve as their HQ.

The Crescent Moon Alliance guild hall was B class with 7 rooms.

It was not spacious, but the facilities were enough for a guild of this size to operate. 4 rooms, 1 workshop, 1 storehouse, and 1 meeting room. Maryele described it as convenient to use.

Even though it was dubbed the meeting room, there was only space for 15 people. Even if everybody in the guild and Shiroe's party squeeze in, there was simply no room for the 30 people to have any meaningful activities.

To solve the issue of space, Maryele and her guild members decorated all the rooms except the storage room for Serara's welcome party.

Floral decorations could be seen everywhere. The work tables were covered with table cloths. They cleaned every corner of the guild. Coffee tables and plenty of cushions were placed everywhere for people to gather and chat. There was even a row of cYesrs placed along the corridors.

These furnishings were not high quality items, but they were made through the hard work of the guild members themselves.

When Shiroe's party arrived in the city, the Crescent Moon Alliance members received them happily at the gate and escorted them back to the guild hall. As they had been keeping in contact via telepathy, the guild members knew Serara's time of return days in advance.

The Chefs in the guild also learned about the correct method of preparing food via telepathy with Shiroe's group, and had been gathering all kinds of ingredients to prepare for the feast.

Maryele said that the Chefs had been hard at work mastering Nyanta's method of cooking manually.

Even if it were just trying out the food, the guild members were happy to eat food with taste again, bringing joy that was comparable to Serara's safe return.

The new cooking method was not without issues.

Firstly, beginners needed to spend time to prepare the food by hand. Food had always been easy to prepare using the menu, be it steam or boil, it only took 10 seconds to finish. But the new method required Chefs to spend the appropriate amount of time to prepare the food instead.

Also, cooking using the menu required only a maximum of 5 ingredients. But the new methods required the use of all ingredients needed to make the dish. Curry made from meat, potatoes, onions, and spices wouldn't have carrots in it.

They also found out through their research that when Chefs attempt to make a difficult dish, there would be a Chef level requirement. If they were under leveled, they would fail to make the dish no matter what ingredients they used.

On the whole, it was observed that using fried, grilled, and steamed cooking methods required high Chef levels to be successful, but the details remain unconfirmed.

Other than this, there was another issue.

Using the old method, people just needed to gather the necessary ingredients and anyone would be able to cook the same dish via menu selection. The appearance would be similar, but the soggy cracker taste would also be the same.

But for the new method, even if they were the same Chef level and used the same ingredients, the quality of the finished products could differ greatly too. No matter how high the Chef level was, the food was still prepared manually by the Chef. The quality of the food was no longer solely dependent on the Chef level, and there were also no limits to what type of food you could make.

Although the new method had many restrictions, it was not worthless. On the contrary, it was a very valuable discovery. Even if the new method took more effort and ingredients, and the taste varied from Chef to Chef, if one thought about it using the real world's logic, it made perfect sense.

The important thing was that Shiroe's group and the Crescent Moon Alliance were already sick of eating food that was similar to tasteless, mass-produced rations.

"We have grown numb from the animal feed we have been eating. Animal feed is different than a human dish! Only what we are eating now can be considered a proper meal!"

As mentioned by the young Sorcerer of the Crescent Moon Alliance, it was only after you had tasted delicious food that you would realize what a pathetic life you have been living.

After finishing up the food preparation and the decor, the guild received Shiroe's group as the guests of honor. A festive atmosphere surrounded the guild hall.

They ushered the guests to the grand dining table in the meeting room. They informed the guests that dinner would be ready in an hour and wine was brought out to the group's enjoyment.

Both the guests and the hosts were enjoying this merry event. For the guild members, such a party with great food and fine company was a first ever since the Catastrophe.

"Today is a day worthy of celebration! Let's eat, drink, and play to our hearts' content!"

To the guild members who had lived everyday in depression since the Catastrophe, Maryele's cheerful announcement gave them courage from the depths of their hearts.

Words of thanks filled the meeting room for a short moment, but Nyanta simply said, "I will go take a look in the kitchen" and left. Serara followed him hurriedly. The two of them entered the temporary kitchen that spanned the whole workshop room and started cooking with the guild's Chefs who looked like veterans in a battlefield.

By using the new method, the 'cook book' listed in the menu was no longer relevant, the Chef had to rely on their own skills and knowledge from the real world, which would affect the taste.

The Chefs and Nyanta displayed their cooking knowledge and shared their recipes, making the feast even more fanciful.

The guild members who were unable to squeeze into the meeting room moved into the other rooms to chat and drink.

The food kept coming.

Fried chicken, eggs with tomatoes, corn salads, seafood baked rice, unfermented bread that looks like Indian naan, spicy mutton soup, heavily seasoned deer meat, cut fruits, pancakes with butter.

Serara walked around the whole guild hall holding a big tray to distribute the dishes, but all the people in the rooms told her the same thing, "This party is held to celebrate your safe return, just sit down and enjoy yourself." But she just replied with a smile, "This is my way of saying thanks for saving me," and continued playing her part as a Housekeeper.

This part of Serara was very endearing, and her fans in the guild increased. Everybody wanted to drink with her when Serara visited the room, making her dizzy.

Shiroe's group was also dragged everywhere.

Naotsugu started talking about battles while surrounded by low level players.

Crescent Moon Alliance was a young guild, and just a few members were level 90. And they only reached level 90, but did not go for the content beyond.

"In other words, the important thing is that the level of the teammates match each other. Levels are not important, what is important are the things beyond levels."

"Beyond levels? You mean ultimate moves?"

The young swashbuckler Shouryuu whose face was red from all the drinking asked Naotsugu who was biting into his chicken kebab. Shouryuu was the guild's battle team leader and had raided together with Naotsugu several times. To him, Naotsugu was like a hero.

"Hmmm… That is… Panties!"

Naotsugu's strong announcement stopped everyone in their tracks. The atmosphere in the room was really awkward, even Shouryuu had the expression "What is this guy saying?"

Naotsugu seemed to notice the weird atmosphere, and tried to break his way through and says:

"That was just a joke… eh, what were we talking about? To win battles by leveling, the reason you lose will be your level being too low, right? If you reached the level cap, what does that mean? It implies that at the level cap, you can never beat the opponents you lose to since you can't level anymore. That will just be sad and depressing to the extreme! To avoid such situations, we have to research winning tactics as well as work together with our teammates. Without these two aspects, you will lose no matter where you go. It will be too late if you realize this after reaching the level cap. People who have never co-oped with others will not develop good teamwork with others just because they lost. On the other hand, even if your level is low, you can still work on your tactics and teamwork, and will be the strongest formation when you finish your training. The important thing is to ask yourself "What other ways can I contribute?" My bro Shiroe is a master of this, because he is "Black Heart Glasses", willing to do anything to secure victory!"

The crowd seemed moved by the speech this time.

But if Shiroe heard what he said, he would probably say something like "Don't use me to draw aggro!"

They moved on to chat about tips and tricks in handling different type of enemies, debating all kinds of topics. No matter whether they were good or bad players, everyone in this world loved gaming, and even after they were transported to an alternate world, they would be eager to learn once they recovered their spirit.

On the other hand, Akatsuki was confined in a certain room.

This was one of the Crescent Moon Alliance's rooms that was reserved for ladies only.

The room had a dressing table and scented sachets, giving it a simple, clean, and elegant feel. Five women surrounded Akatsuki.

"Come here, Akatsuki-chan, it is time for you to give in."

"I refuse."

Akatsuki wore her usual grumpy expression on her face. She searched the room for an escape route, but did not find any.

"There is no need to be afraid, we will be gentle."

"You should be aware that this is a bad guy's line!"

The leader of the ladies, the beautiful Bard with blond curly Yesr Henrietta, moved nearer with her fingers squirming. Akatsuki took a step back fearfully, but a tall lady hugged her from behind.

"How small and cute!"

"Don't say I am small! I am older than you, probably!"

Crescent Moon Alliance master Maryele.

It was rare for women to be guild masters. This led to the proportion of women in the Crescent Moon Alliance being higher than other guilds'. And a lot of the guild members, including the lady in charge of all accounting matters Henrietta, were enchanted by cute things.

Akatsuki's small stature and her doll-like face endeared her to many fans within the guild. There were guys who had crushes on her, but the female fans were more passionate and harder to handle.

"Ding ding, we have 3 sets of summer dresses for you!"

"Hold on, who would wear that for battle!"

Henrietta seemed to misunderstand something and carried on presenting the pretty one piece dress with a blushing red face. Akatsuki retorted immediately.

Since they were girls, Akatsuki couldn't use violence like she did with Naotsugu and could only wriggle and struggle. But the girls even praised her for looking so cute struggling, making Akatsuki lose the means and energy to fight back.

Not only that, they also took out a dark purple dress, and the next moment a lacy dress with lotus flower edges. The overly girly dresses made Akatsuki dizzy.

"I am a shinobi serving my lord, how can I wear such frilly clothes?!"

"We got permission from Shiroe-sama. Come here, time for you to give up."

"You set me up! My lord, did you set me up?!"

Akatsuki could only accept her fate in tears as the girls with wild looks in their eyes moved in together.

2

As the party drew to a close, the happy times flew by with the sound of gratitude, well wishes, drinking cheers, and compliments for the food.

Fascinated by the food, enchanted by the drinks, playing their hearts out.

The moon should have set completely.

The guild hall, with some lingering warmth of the party, was shrouded in the bliss-filled, peaceful air unique to the end of a festival.

Beer bottles, ice buckets, and plates were scattered on the tables everywhere, like in the wake of a hurricane.

Guild members were lying everywhere, some under the table, some on the sofa, some curled up on the floor.

Naotsugu snored in a spread eagle position in the meeting room, while Akatsuki who was all dolled up by the “Crescent Moon Alliance Cute Girl Fanclub" leader Henrietta, slept peacefully on a cushion.

"Woah."

Shiroe caught the bottle that was shaking at the edge of a table, and put it into his Bag of Holding along with the other bottles. The bag was able to negate the weight of items it holds, and was very useful for cleaning up.

In the quiet meeting room where everyone was sleeping, only Shiroe and Maryele were awake.

In the corner of the table was a pile of dishes with some leftovers. Maryele cleaned up the room that was messed up in the drunken party, and covered each of the sleeping members with a blanket. She put both hands on her hips and turned to talk to Shiroe.

"Was our reception good?"

"Ah, yeah."

A voice similar to sleep-talking came from somewhere in the room.

Shiroe smiled at Maryele as a reply after hearing her, keeping his voice down in order to not wake the others.

"What should we do? Do you want to sleep too Shiro-bou?"

"I am not sleepy…"

"Is that so."

Maryele approached Shiroe, with an expression as though they had just met after not seeing each other for a long time.

"Let's have tea then. It is not convenient here, let's go to the guild master room."

Maryele left after inviting Shiroe, telling him "Wait a moment". She went to check on all the rooms. The members in all the rooms had eaten their fill and were sleeping on a sofa, cushion, or floor.

"We need to do a major cleanup tomorrow."

"I will help."

"I can't let my guest do that."

Maryele looked at her members with a gentle and kind face. Seeing Maryele as she was now, Shiroe was glad that he took the rescue mission

The two of them cleared the potentially dangerous bottles and plates away, and headed to the guild master room together. Before Shiroe left for Susukino, it was in this frilly room that Shiroe decided to make his move after hearing Maryele's explanation of the situation.

The only thing that matched the feel of an office in this room was the big table. Everywhere else was decorated in pink, as if this were Maryele's bedroom.

"What would you like?"

"Anything is fine."

"Then we will drink something that is already made… let me search."

Maryele brought the leftover beverage "Black Tea" over. This tea was suitable to be drunk either hot or cold, and was really refreshing if one added fruits in.

The two of them sat on the sofa for a moment of rest.

In this type of party, Shiroe was always the last one awake. He did not hate banquets. He actually liked them a lot. But the more happy he was, the more he wanted to protect it and was unable to sleep. Nyanta and company had always made fun of him for this habit. Maryele seemed to feel the same way. Her tender eyes as she covered each member with a blanket was a sight to remember.

The guild hall was filled with the gentle sound of people sleeping soundly or turning around, which was more at ease than total silence.

"You have taken good care of us. I am very grateful."

"Don't mention it, it wasn't a big deal."

Similar to the warmth of the festival, Shiroe replied with a warm and fuzzy feeling. He did not expect this level of gratitude from everyone. To be honest, he expected some level of gratitude, but not from so many of them.

He thought back to the Crescent Moon Alliance members' smiles which were almost as wide as their faces.

Shiroe was different from the extroverted Naotsugu and Nyanta. He had an aura that keeps people at bay, but the Crescent Moon Alliance members still chatted with him and expressed their gratitude despite that.

(I did not expect them to be so happy.)

Shiroe was already prepared to be blamed for his arrogance in butting into the business of others.

Shiroe could not endure the world becoming like 'this', and took up the quest to vent his frustration. This was just Shiroe forcing his principles and values on others.

Shiroe thought that was very arrogant behavior.

(I won't be sorry for this, but understand that this is not something worthy of thanks.)

That's why when others said their words of gratitude, Shiroe panicked and didn't know how to react since he did not understand why.

"If this is not a big deal, what would be a big deal? We have to repay your kindness with gratitude."

"Let's not talk about gratitude… When I was gone, how is the situation here?"

"The situation here…"

Upon hearing Shiroe's question, Maryele's expression became complicated.

Shiroe did not press her. He calmly swirled the tea in his cup as he waited.

"Akiba… is more stable now."

"Stable?"

"Yes, PK has decreased, security… I feel it is not bad. No, I don't mean compared to other places. I think that it is better than the worst case scenario, so it is not too bad."

Maryele picked her words carefully.

"But the atmosphere is very bad. I cannot describe it clearly, in other words… erm, I'm not saying it is bad because someone is doing bad things. It feels like something is broken, even if you want to do something, you will be unable to do so. I am sure this is because the tier has been set."

Tier.

This phrase gives an inauspicious feeling.

"We are a mid-sized guild with about 30 members right? We have only four level 90s, half our members are below level 50, this is not something we can control. But this is a fact that cannot be changed. For example 'D. D. D' is the biggest battle guild in Akiba, with more than 1500 members, lots of level 90s. This is also a fact that cannot be changed."

Maryele placed her glass on the table. She adjusted her posture, the tips of the fingers on her left hand touching those on her right.

"I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I understand that big guilds have their problems too. But if the situation continues to deteriorate, we will be going down the path of no return… Big scaled guilds with big facilities, of course they will do well. But this will create an atmosphere and rules in the city, for example preferential treatment in the market."

"Things like this…"

"Things like this are not written rules. But they have so many people, and the people who can throw their weight around on the streets all belongs to the big guilds. The guilds are powerful in all aspects, so their members can act arrogantly, which makes sense to me."

Absurd.

Big guilds had more people, so they were more efficient in all areas. For example, a battle guild's main income source was from item drops after defeating monsters. Fights against monsters in order to secure item drops were known as raids. The number of people available was tied closely to the efficiency of the raids. If a guild wanted to maximize the use of the item drops, having members with production subclasses in the guild would help to bring out the potential in each item, and was more efficient. But this did not mean that every member of the guild was strong or great.

If it was <her>, she would probably laugh it off.

She would just laugh heartily at the pathetic players who crowded together, saying that they were not cool at all.

"Didn't I just mention PK has dropped? This is the same logic. By comparing guilds, one will be stronger than the other. If a guild is stronger than another, their tier will be clear, and there will be no point in fighting it out since the lower tier guild knows they will lose. In order to avoid conflict, they will not contest with that guild for the rights of the raiding ground, and move to other grounds. But the other grounds are either very far away or have bad item drops. Even though PK has decreased, this is only because the big guilds have already divvied up the raiding grounds. You cannot fight in the city, so there are no conflicts. But even so, invisible territorial lines are forming, and this is what I meant by tier. ”

Shiroe was not drunk, but he still felt his mind become clearer. This was a more annoying situation than the deterioration of security. This situation was indeed not the worst case, since there was less conflict and PK.

(But, I feel that… it is irritating and annoying.)

Shiroe thought that this was not cool at all.

The feeling of irritation became a vortex that kept spinning.

Maryele said that it was not bad because someone did bad things. For example, hogging a raiding ground was nothing honorable, but you couldn't really say it was a bad thing. There were no laws in this world, so you couldn't say anyone was guilty.

A method to maintain efficiency in raids was to camp in a specific area and accumulate the experience and knowledge of the zone in order to operate efficiently. Becoming an expert on the tactics of a specific zone was not anything wrong.

And the big guilds needed to spend a lot of resources to keep up this tactic, and even needed to send out patrols to protect these areas.

Shiroe would not criticize this strategy without reason.

If you allowed the weak to criticize these methods, it will lead to the weak discriminating against the strong.

Shiroe could understand Maryele's view of "no one is at fault." In actual fact, this was just "going with the flow."

Despite that, Shiroe was still unable to accept the situation.

In this alternate world without laws, could a man of merit obtain a higher position? If it was possible to give an uncool answer, it would be "no." But Shiroe understood the reason he answered "no" stemmed from Shiroe's own preferences.

"Did the small guilds do anything to change the situation?

"Err… Yes. For example a few small guilds suggested setting up an alliance to solve the problem of raiding grounds. But it didn't go too well… Since all of us are small guilds, our member sizes are not the same. There will be disagreements when going over the details, which leads to discontent. Or people unable to suppress their willful opinions. In the end the alliance broke after a quarrel and a number of the guilds decided to end it, and get absorbed by a large guild."

So there was such a thing, Shiroe thought.

In a way, this couldn't be helped. While it was the same as securing raiding grounds, good raiding ground vary for each level. Hence the grounds preferred by each group differed according to the level and number of members of each guild.

If you wanted to work together to secure a raiding ground, you would need to keep your selfish desires in check and work together selflessly. Big guilds might have enough control over their members, but for small guilds, conflicts were unavoidable and it was hard to come to a consensus.

If you thought about it, the transport gate being down and the problem with Fairy Rings had a big impact. Japan servers had to control tens of thousands of zones. The number of guilds were about one thousand, so the problem of not enough raiding grounds was hard to imagine.

But with the transport gate down and the unknown nature of the Fairy Ring transport schedule, the movement range of Adventurers was very limited. Players with griffons like Shiroe were exceptions, so most of them were confined to walking or traveling by horse. Raiding grounds that were one day's distance away from the city were much more limited compared to the past.

For Akiba, there were roughly 50 zones in the region, with about 300 raiding grounds. If you considered the level, distance from town, and safety, it was easy to tell that the most popular spots would be heavily contested.

After the Catastrophe, all zones were available for purchase. The prices were determined by factors Adventurers did not understand. But there was a factor that was apparent, which was its size. All zones that were big enough to be used for raiding were incredibly expensive. But for guilds that had enough manpower, there was no need to purchase the area, they just needed people to just camp there.

"Another thing, the Black Sword Knights and Silver Sword guilds are attempting to break 91."

"Ah?"

91, that should be referring to level. With the 'Novasphere Pioneers' expansion, the level cap must have been increased, so this was not surprising. Since the level cap had been raised, you would be able to develop beyond the old level limit of 90.

But didn't you have to defeat monsters level 85 and above? Since the game world had become our new reality, Shiroe wondered if there was a need to risk such a dangerous battle.

"Big guilds are already strong now, but it is impossible for the number of players to increase correct? So it is not just players, the number of high level players will also affect the influence of the guilds. Consider this, Black Sword Knights are elitist…"

Shiroe nodded and agrees with Maryele's point.

Black Sword Knights were an arrogant force in Akiba. With their elite-only policy, there were no members that were lower than level 85. The guild only allows members over the level of 85 to join anyway. Black Sword Knights was a pure-blooded battle guild.

"Black Sword Knights is still upholding its joining requirement. Black Sword Knights is a famous guild, our Crescent Moon Alliance cannot even compare to them, right? But compared to the 1500 members of D. D. D, they pale in comparison, since they have absorbed quite a number of small guilds. As for the Black Sword Knights, they are unable to absorb guilds due to their entry restriction, so they are aiming to go beyond level 90, focusing on quality over quantity to win."

"But how are they going to…"

This was the core of Shiroe's doubt. He understood the motives and also the considerations and tactics, but was there a way to succeed? "By using 'EXP Pot'."

"… EXP Pot."

In Elder Tales, this was a famous support item. By drinking this potion, you could slightly increase your attack and recovery powers, and receive twice the EXP in battles.

There was another effect. In a normal case, you need to defeat monsters that are less than 5 levels below you. But with the potion, you can gain EXP even if you defeat monsters 7 levels below you.

The effects of the potion last for only 2 hours, but it would help you earn EXP during its effective time.

This type of potion might be powerful, but there was no need to complete major raids or quests to obtain it, so almost all players had used it before.

As a game withstanding the long test of time, Elder Tales had been increasing its level cap over the years. This resulted in a trend where people who joined later needed a longer time to catch up to those who joined earlier. To counter this issue, the developer provided all kinds of aid to help them level faster. This potion was one of the measures.

To put it simply, players below level 30 would receive a free potion every day. This was a kind service by the developers hoping the players will "reach mid-level faster and enjoy the game".

"But those potions…"

"There is a guild known as Hamelin. This guild announced that they want to save the beginners, and recruited many of them after the Catastrophe. It was a period of confusion, and the masses did not have any time to help the beginners, including us. But Hamelin sells the 'EXP Pot' for money and makes a killing. The big guilds use the 'EXP Pot' to level up. No one knows who is at fault, or if there is any bad guy. This is how the situation is changing, and no one can stop it…"

3

The warmth of the party was completely gone.

Even though it was early summer, the wind at night was still icy cold. His cloak fluttered in the strong wind.

The shadow of the cloud flashed across the floor.

The moon was overly bright, able to cast shadows late at night. Shiroe seemed to be chasing the contrast between the shadow and the moonlight, as he walked in Akiba at midnight.

He didn't have any place he wanted to go.

He just wanted to get away from this unknown dark feeling, or he wanted to confirm this emotion. Shiroe was not sure what he really thought.

He felt that there was a heavy thing in his chest, similar to how the sea at night provided no sense of ease. It felt like asphalt, dense and dark and incomprehensible, an unidentified object. Even though it had a big volume, there was nowhere to vent it, it simply existed there.

(It simply exists, but…)

Shiroe understood.

This emotion that he had nowhere to vent.

Evildoers exist, Hamelin did not have good guys, and given the chance, Shiroe would fight them just like he did with Brigandia.

But even if Hamelin was evil, they were just a small part of the evil. The current situation in Akiba was not the fault of Hamelin, it was due to all sort of events that "could not be helped". The current Akiba was the result of these events accumulating. The depressing atmosphere of Akiba frustrated Shiroe and he had nowhere to vent it.

Shiroe understood that if he vented this emotion on Hamelin, he was just throwing a tantrum.

He held his breath and kept walking.

Throwing a tantrum was ugly.

Shiroe was unwilling to vent his frustration just to make himself feel better.

Shiroe was unable to shake this dark emotion. In Shiroe's mind, venting out at Hamelin was even uglier than what Hamelin is doing.

(But, if it is like this…)

If it was like this, Shiroe wouldn't have any place to vent his frustration.

Hamelin was the small-time evil, so it was still okay.

But, who was the greater evil?

Big battle guilds might notice the source of "EXP Pot", but they pretended not to see in order to expand their influence, were they wrong?

Even though the beginners know they are being oppressed, but they were willing to accept that they were weak and hope to gain protection by submitting themselves, were they wrong?

Small guilds understood the inequality between guilds, and wished to break the stalemate by forming an alliance. But in order to protect their own interests, they turned to infighting, playing politics. Were they wrong?

All the players understood the atmosphere in the city was worsening but they chose to not do anything about it, and not take responsibility. Were they wrong?

It was wrong.

All of them were evil.

But they were small evils, only to the extent of foolishness and selfishness. None of them were the hidden evil mastermind, similar to the evil of fairy tales. You could not solve the problem by defeating an enemy, it was not that simple.

The twisted nature of everything led to the feeling of frustration.

Shiroe himself was inside this twisted world, feeling more and more out of breath. As the lopsided rules started to take shape in Akiba, even if Shiroe's level and equipment was better than most players', he still could not do anything. Even if he understood the situation, he would choose to ignore it, and carry on like that.

This fact frustrated Shiroe. This was no different from an apathetic citizen. And someone he knew was caught up in the trouble, which made it even worse.

Even though Maryele failed, she still pushed the development of the alliance to this stage. But Shiroe had not reached this stage yet.

And that the Shiroe who didn't reach that stage thought that "small guilds who can fight among themselves are at fault", it was so embarrassing that he nearly drew blood biting his lips.

(I am just as bad… Maybe I am the worst of them all.)

Shiroe did not know when he he came to the bridge. This old western style bridge covered in moss stood above the river. He leaned against the railings, the moist air and trembling voice dissipating in the reflection of the moon.

Then, what needed to be done?

Shiroe unconsciously pushed this feeling and thought about it. Whenever he saw a problem, he could not help thinking about it as it was his nature. This was also how he molded his sense of responsibility in the Debauchery Tea Party.

Many concepts were created and discarded.

Shiroe's right hand was the red poker cards, his left was the black poker cards. They dueled using the lance of negative and the sword affirmative, each clash producing the sound of logic, eliminating unnecessary facts, going through all possibilities, the deduction and inference flowing along with the river in the night.

He was unable to come up with an answer. It was impossible to come up with an answer. Shiroe knew that a perfect answer did not exist. And he was carrying too big a burden from the start, and he was carrying it on his own free will.

(Thinking that it is a burden is an arrogant thought, this is just the debt I owe… I am just running away, I became a solo player on my own free will.)

Shiroe was not sure what <she> would say. Shiroe moved his gaze from the river to the the moon. The clear and bright moon illuminated Akiba in the night.

(She was a forthright person… Not like me, weak and indecisive.)

Shiroe thought that <she> would definitely laugh heartily and solve the issue like a hurricane, or just abandon Akiba if it were too troublesome.

Speaking practically, she would do whatever she wanted and say to Shiroe after the fact "Shiroe will think of how to deal with this mess! You are willing to, right? Any objections? I don't think so! Shiroe is talented, you will be able to deal with this easily!" and leave the assignment to Shiroe.

Shiroe opened the Telepathy contact menu.

There were two names on his friend list.

Tohya, Minori.

The twins who should have joined Hamelin.

He could find out just by asking. The twins who got separated with Shirou might have been caught up in the middle of the storm, all because Shiroe left them alone. Because Shiroe prioritized meeting Naotsugu after the Catastrophe.

Shiroe wanted to help them, wanted to do something for them. But this was different than saving Serara of the Crescent Moon Alliance.

The first difference was that Maryele was in a guild. Shiroe went on behalf of Maryele. In other words, he was just doing a job with Maryele being the client.

Of course Shiroe wanted to rescue Serara, but Shiroe had an escapist mentality, thinking this was just a job request that he had to fulfill.

The second difference was that even though Shiroe wanted to save the twins, he wanted to settle the current situation more. When he escaped from Susukino he had a thought. There must be players in the same boat as Serara in Susukino. Even if there were not many, abandoning them and only rescuing Serara would still weigh down on his conscience.

But Shiroe could still use 'the current mission is rescuing Serara' as an excuse, ignore the fact, and return to Akiba

Shiroe felt that if he ran from the facts this time, he wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

So he would need to save the twins, stop the big guilds from their bullying style, improve the city's atmosphere and build a new order. A tall order for a big guild, and even harder to achieve for Shiroe who was not even in any guild. Could Shiroe do it? To be honest, it was impossible.

(Not even in a guild…)

These words brings Shiroe a dull but manageable pain.

Thinking carefully, Shiroe thought of a guild as an organization you belonged to and could control you easily. Guilds have always existed, but had nothing to do with Shiroe. He was just judging the guilds' merits and its suitability for himself from an outside point of view.

This was not an irresponsible attitude.

That was how Shiroe thought about it.

This was no different than those living in Akiba, but discussing the atmosphere of Akiba from the outside point of view.

Shiroe had not joined a guild or worked for a guild, but was forcing his own preference and convenience on the guilds… that was indeed an arrogant way of thinking.

"Guild…"

"Does Shiroe-chi still hate guilds nya?"

With the sound of pieces of asphalt debris falling, Nyanta appeared from the shadow of the buildings. Nyanta squinted his kind and slim eyes as he approached Shiroe who was talking to himself.

"!"

Shiroe was surprised, but he still shrugged and made space for Nyanta.

"No, that's not true… probably."

Shiroe thought the reason he hated guilds was because of an unlucky encounter. But hanging out with the Crescent Moon Alliance in the post-Catastrophe world began to melt his stubborn view away.

He could understand he acted arrogantly now.

On the other hand, Shiroe recalled being attacked by PKers in the zone around Akiba, and the group similar to bandits in Susukino. Guilds could easily be corrupted. Big guilds that fought for territory constantly would erode their ethics over time, which was easy to imagine.

"… Eh, this is indeed an area of concern nya."

Nyanta replied

"But, things that cannot be corrupt cannot be trusted nya. Birth, death, sickness, and aging are the natural laws of the world nya, things that are made will decay, will become ill, will age, and finally accept death nya. But if you deny all these, you will also be denying birth nya. Shiroe-chi must understand this nya. For instance 'there' might be very comfortable to be, but it is only when everyone wants to be comfortable, then it will become a comfortable place nya. The treasure you reap without sowing is not real treasure nya."

Yes, that was true, you were right.

Everybody had been putting in this kind of effort so naturally that they were not even aware of it. But Shiroe understood how precious that was. He also understood his cat friend had also put in a lot of effort.

The effort put in by Maryele was the same.

Maryele's smile was one of the supporting pillars of the Crescent Moon Alliance. Guilds that distributed money and rare items definitely didn't have bonds as strong as the Crescent Moon Alliance.

By this theory, the Akiba of the past was also comfortable due to the efforts of others.

"Chief, what should I do…"

Shiroe's word made Nyanta look towards the moon.

His black ears fluttering in the wind stopped.

"Just do the greatest thing nya."

"Greatest…"

Shiroe looked at Nyanta, who had the usual kind expression that looked even more mature in the moon light.

"Shiroe-chi is being too polite nya."

Naotsugu seemed to have said the same thing too.

Shiroe searched for the meaning behind these words.

If it were not a joke made at the spur of the moment, Shiroe would seriously think about the essence of it.

The meaning behind it.

What I had been doing to Naotsugu.

What I had been doing to Akatsuki.

In other words, the two of them already understood.

"I made them wait 'til now?"

"That's right nya."

"They have been waiting for me 'til now?"

"That's right nya."

"They didn't go anyway, they have always been by my side."

"That's right nya."

(They are waiting for my invitation to form a guild.)

Shiroe lowered his head, the darkness in his heart rumbled. His emotion was compressed under the lid, and would overflow at anytime.

The sound of the crickets, the silent river flow, the white moon. Shiroe stood still and clenched his fist to hold his emotions in.

They had great expectations.

They were optimistic.

They were waiting

Shiroe had been analyzing and worrying about all sorts of things, but he did not even comprehend it until now. Maybe it was because his blood circulation was poor, but his self-doubt and inferiority complex might be deeply rooted, but this joy, compassion, and trust washed away the chains.

"Is there still time?"

"Of course nya."

"Chief Nyanta, please join me too… If Chief is willing to accompany me, I will be very happy. Without Chief around, I would be troubled."

Shiroe looked at Nyanta seriously as he spoke. Nyanta smiled sheepishly and said "I want a comfortable porch."

"We will work hard together to prepare a stylish porch."

Shiroe nodded.

If you wanted to do the "greatest thing". If you had the permission to hold great expectations. Even if it came with a burden too heavy to bear alone. Shiroe thought of a plan.

If his companions were willing to share the burden.

4

It was humid in the dark room.

The floor was made from ancient concrete material that could absorb heat without limits. Because of that, it was as cool as grave soil even in the summer.

Minori wrapped her dirty dark red cloak tightly around her; she lost track of the number of times she tossed and turned.

The night seemed to last forever.

Her exhausted body craved for rest. But she was not sure whether it was the hard cold bedding or her worries for the unknown tomorrow that was making her lose sleep. Minori slept lightly, and woke at the slightest sound.

As she regained awareness in the darkness, the first thing she felt was a pain similar to being crushed. Her mind was still hazy from the dream, the remnant feelings of panic and regret fading slowly into the darkness.

The majority of the day was spent working in a cramped room as a 'tailor', her hands hurt like they were deadwood. Today, the pain did not go away even as she caressed her fingertips repeatedly.

Her brother slept hugging his knees.

There were about 20 of them sleeping in this room.

Guild Hamelin.

A mid-sized guild claiming to have the policy of "Mutual assistance for beginners".

The guild the twins joined.

After the Catastrophe, the city had an air of stagnation and confusion. The sudden event shocked the populace into inactivity. There were no conflicts of significance in the first few days. In Minori's opinion, the reason laid with the people who were unable to handle the truth, hoping that it was some sort of elaborate joke.

The twins were just like that.

They didn't know what happened the first few hours.

For the next few days, even though they knew what happened, they didn't understand why.

Even now there was no answer as to why the Catastrophe happened. But as she lost herself in the question "How did it turn into this", she lost the precious 'first few days' that could not be recovered.

The memories of the few days after were lost in the fog of her memory.

Minori remembered that she was starving, not knowing the food mechanics of the world. She shared the food bought from the market with her brother, was attacked when they left the city, and was stripped of her belongings before she understood the situation.

Shiroe instructed her to keep all items that she couldn't use at the moment in the storage bank. Minori only recalled the lesson after everything was gone.

Most of the players contacted their friends and gathered information.

But they were beginners with no one to trust. They had someone in mind, but didn't have the nerve to contact him.

They might have had the courage to do so right after the Catastrophe, but after losing everything they were a heavy burden in the world.

Minori considered her sibling relationship with Tohya to be the best.

She heard that brothers and sisters grew apart when they enter middle school. Her classmate said the independence and obsession with cleanliness would make siblings of the opposite sex repulse each other, seeing them as an annoyance.

Contrary to this, the twins maintained their wonderful relationship.

Minori had never thought of arguing with Tohya, and always wanted to help him.

There was a reason for this.

Tohya was unable to walk because of a childhood accident. His legs themselves were fine, but his nerves seemed to be damaged.

Minori had never held back from quarreling with Tohya out of pity. This was an unfortunate accident, Minori still wished to suffer the pain in his place, but she could not change the facts.

In Minori's eyes, Tohya was a cheerful and hardworking person. Even after the accident, he did not throw frustration and anger around him. It was hard to live with a handicapped family, so Tohya had always cheered himself on to reduce the emotional burden on his parents.

Minori remembered that Tohya was always chatting about random topics in his fortnightly trip to and from the hospital. Tohya was like a typical middle school boy, discussing manga or the internet. The doctor said that the checkups were painful, but Tohya never showed any signs of suffering.

Minori sometimes thought that Tohya's actions were his way of expressing concern.

Minori perceived Tohya as a "dependable brother". In her eyes he was childish and always getting carried away, so it was not wrong to think of him as an idiot who did not think of the consequences.

But Tohya had a trustworthy nature. Even though he couldn't walk, and would face many challenge in the future, Tohya would probably travel his own path.

Even though she was older by just a few hours, Minori still wanted to do her part as the elder sister as Tohya's guardian. She wanted to be prepared if Tohya ever needed help.

This bond that was similar to respect among siblings, especially young siblings, was the key to the relationship between the twins.

They started playing Elder Tales because of this.

Tohya was exhausted after going through countless checkups and did not leave the house. He developed an interest for Online RPGs because of this. Having gotten bored of all other indoor games, they pleaded with their parents for permission to play online, with the promise that it wouldn't affect their school grades.

This was a world where Tohya could run freely without being concerned about other people. Tohya enjoyed the game while Minori was excited with the new experience.

And so the twins fell in love with Elder Tales after playing it once.

Because of her experience, Minori understood this was something that 'cannot be helped'.

Sometimes, it was cruel to be a child.

It meant that you could not realize your dreams through effort.

Minori was also a child; she was just as troublesome as the handicapped Tohya. A child was sometimes as heavy a burden as a handicapped person.

For example, Minori could not drive Tohya to the hospital, which was normal since she was still in middle school. This was also expected, and would be a burden on their parents.

With no abilities, unable to take care of themselves, no one was willing to help, and their dreams were never coming true… These were factors that would annoy those you like, or make one a bother.

In this world, being low level was similar to being guilty, as it means that you were a burden.

After the Catastrophe, Minori spotted Shiroe from afar once.

The instant Minori saw the tall bespectacled figure, she knew that was Shiroe.

But she did not call out to him.

Standing beside Shiroe who had blood and dust on him was a warrior in armor who looked like a veteran, and a young girl as beautiful as a night elf.

Shiroe had his own battles to fight.

Minori lost her courage to approach Shiroe when she thought of that. In this chaotic world, everyone had their hands full trying to survive and would not have the strength to help. How could she tell if an acquaintance who she only met a few times would be willing to help her?

Minori closed her eyes and opened the menu.

Her friend list was very short, with only the names of her brother, a few beginners she knew from Hamelin, and Shiroe. Minori used the cursor in her mind to gently touch Shiroe's glowing name.

To Minori who had lost everything, this was a treasure no one can take from her.

(I should have asked Shiroe-san to teach me even more things…)

Minori thought as she wrapped her cloak around her cold body. The night seemed longer than usual, the dull pain in her chest was keeping her awake.

Suddenly, she heard a soft ringing sound in her ear.

She inhaled sharply, making a noise louder than she expected, surprising her.

The name she was caressing in her mind was now shaking.

Minori checked to see if she had activated the telepathy function by accident, which had no sign of use. This was a call from Shiroe, and at this time right before dawn before dawn.

The ringing started again.

Minori knew from experience that only she would hear the sound. But if she made any noise, it might alert the Hamelin members or disturb her roommates' sleep.

Even so, Minori could not ignore the ringing sound.

She operated the menu and said "Yes" in a barely audible voice.

"Eh… Good evening, can you hear me? This is Shiroe."

"!"

This was not only a familiar and nostalgic voice. It was also a bridge to the happy times of the past which filled Minori's heart.

In the dark and humid bedding, covered by a dirty cloak, Minori sobbed softly.

"… you are Minori right?"

Unable to suppress her emotions, her tears flowed out from the depths of her nasal ducts. Shiroe spoke again. Minori was unable to answer, as making a sound might arouse the suspicion of others. And she was unwilling to let Shiroe hear as she lost control of her emotions.

Minori nodded in her heart repeatedly, but she could only utter in a barely audible voice "Yes".

"…"

"…"

The sound of breathing passed between them. Minori used all her might to control her nose from making any sound. She was so nervous that she could see stars in her eyes. Why now? Why look for me? These questions circled her head.

"Minori, listen to me. Cough once for yes, twice for no. If I said something wrong or you want to express something cough three times… Is that OK?"

Shiroe's question made Minori understand with a shock.

(He knows, Shiroe-san knows everything.)

Shiroe knew Minori's situation, he knew what kind of place Hamelin was.

Minori felt that her mind that had been numbed by the repetitive force of labor was slowly recovering.

(Shiroe-san is the one person I don't want to trouble…)

Ever since she joined Hamelin, Minori understood that even for players 10 levels higher then Tohya, as long as you were a beginner in Elder Tales, you would lack knowledge regarding this alternate world.

Knowledge was the strongest weapon in this world. The lack of knowledge kept beginners from progressing out of this phase. The knowledge she learned from Shiroe became the strength helping them to carry on. Even in a tough environment like Hamelin, they received better treatment compared to other beginners, all thanks to the knowledge Shiroe shared.

Minori had always regarded Shiroe as her benefactor.

She also wished that he became more than her benefactor.

"If you understand, cough once."

Minori gathered the sparse warmth in her body and just managed to moisten her throat.

She made a tiny coughing sound.

Her throat was dryer than she imagined, Minori felt embarrassed by the sound she made.

I owe Shiroe a lot, I must repay him, Minori thought as she swallowed her saliva and listen attentively.

"Minori and Tohya are in Hamelin?"

A cough.

"You have been giving your 'EXP Potion' to Hamelin."

Another cough.

"… Are you okay?"

"…"

In the room so dark you could not even see your hand, the silence was so heavy that you could almost touch it physically.

With this line of questions, Minori understood what Shiroe wanted to ask, and that he wanted to do something for her.

But it was painful because she knew. Minori didn't know how Shiroe was going to deal with this event. But the issue was not the method. The issue was that Shiroe was determined to rescue Minori and Tohya.

What sacrifice would Shiroe need to make to save us? In this alternate world where you need to fight to survive, the two of us would be a burden. What would Shiroe need to give up for our sake?

What was our worth?

If that was the question, there was only one answer.

(We are okay, there is absolutely no problem… we get to eat everyday, my tailor level is rising slowly. Tohya and I can still live here, that's what Tohya would say. That is why… it is okay.)

The voice in her heart seemed to be telling her this from the view of a bystander. As if she was closing the door of hope, Minori coughed once.

… Which meant we were fine.

"Is that true?"

Shiroe asked again with a gentle tone, reminding Minori of her days playing together with him.

Tohya attacked monsters suddenly, Minori would rush over to support, but her presumptuous action attracted more enemy reinforcements.

Shiroe used his sleep spells to incapacitate the reinforcements, Tohya fought with all his might, and Minori healed everyone as much as she could. But there were too many foes, their HP was always in the red danger zone, healing until MP runs out. There were several times when Minori thought "This is it, they are wiping us out", but the three of them still survived.

Minori heard that 90 was the highest level in Elder Tales.

EXP would be deducted as a punishment for death, but Shiroe accompanied the both of us who were about level 10 always at the verge of death. Minori felt guilty and embarrassed about this fact and apologized repeatedly, knocking Tohya's head and forcing him to apologize too.

We could not let Shiroe lose EXP because of us. Even so, Shiroe gave a smile like a child.

I am enjoying myself, this is an adventure after all. Some techniques can only be learned by going through danger… I feel that Minori is slightly too polite, are you having fun? I had a great time.

Minori felt her soul was saved by this gentle voice. It was the same kindness as before, which could not be seen.

That was why Minori coughed only once.

… Which meant I was fine.

This way, I would be able to talk to him with a smile the next time I see him. It would take some time, her appearance was messy like a wandering child. She did not shower, and didn't dare to call herself a girl.

There was a dull pain in her heart, but it was definitely better than bothering Shiroe, Minori convinced herself with a reason which she thought was absurd.

"… I understand, you are fine, let's go out and play some day. I want to play with the two of you, because it is fun. That's why… wait for me a while more."

"…!"

Didn't this mean he did not understand at all?

No, maybe he said this because he understood everything.

Minori's conflicting thoughts clashed in her heart; the tears overflowed from the depths of her eyes; why would Shiroe say something so reckless? Why did he say something so gentle?

Shiroe not accepting her concern caused frustration, guilt, confusion. Troubling Shiroe caused the feelings of guilt and sadness, as well as positive emotions of joy, kindness, bliss and hope.

… And trust in Shiroe.

Two different emotions intertwined, tumbling like the inside of a washing machine. She needed to say something, but does not know what to say.

This was her last chance to stop Shiroe.

Minori coughed. How many times should she cough? Once if she wanted his help? Or twice to reject his offer? Minori let her tears flow freely, then coughed once, then twice more.

"What happened? What do you want to say?"

(… I coughed three times. No, I didn't want to say anything Shiroe-san… Shiroe-san is not our parent, Shiroe-san is a nice person, but we do not have the right to rely on you. That's why you do not need to shoulder burdens such as ourselves.)

But she did not say these words.

In Hamelin's guild hall, in this quiet and moldy room, Minori suppressed the sound of her breathing to the point of almost suffocating.

"As I said, if you want to say anything just cough three times. I understand. I will think of a way to hear what you want to say. For me, I have already decided to do all I can. As I said when we were with Tohya, 'Vanguards who do not trust their support will die as a punishment, supports who don't trust the vanguard will join straight after. ' So I believe Minori's 'I am okay', Minori must also believe that I will be coming to save the both of you. ”

The conversation ended without a soft disconnecting sound.

Minori curled up like a ball, like she was hugging herself.

Shiroe, who did not accept her willful actions made Minori's tears flow endlessly. As if a storm was brewing deep in her ears, she was unable to affirm herself.

But something warm and concrete that did not exist an hour ago grew in her heart.

5

Everyone was present when Henrietta opened the door.

Two days had passed since the lively party that took a whole day to clean up. The Crescent Moon Alliance's atmosphere had returned to its calm state.

"Did something happen? This is a sudden invitation."

"Please have a seat, Henrietta."

Guild master Maryele said.

The leftover food and bottles were scattered around the Crescent Moon Alliance meeting room yesterday, but now the room was totally clean, giving it a refreshing air.

4 people sat around the edge of the big table.

For the Crescent Moon Alliance, guild master Maryele, the one in charge of accounts, Henrietta, and the battle and farming leader, Shouryuu. The three of them were the ones leading the guild.

On the other side was Shiroe.

(Oh… Shiroe-sama.)

"Shiroe-san has something to say to us."

The younger Shouryuu said after checking with Shiroe.

"But we have not heard anything yet."

Maryele said, but Shiroe had a tense expression. Shiroe had sharp eyes, and had the habit of staring. But he seemed be more quiet and bold today. His imposing aura was overpowering, and his round glasses did nothing to soften his eyes.

(Erm…)

The way Shiroe was right now was etched clearly into Henrietta's memory.

The normal Shiroe was a dependable young man, but he was different from before.

"Thank you everyone for taking care of me. Today I invited you here… First of all, I want to thank Mary-nee and everyone in the Crescent Moon Alliance."

Maryele waved her hands in front of her in reply to Shiroe.

"Don't mention it! It is nothing really!"

Shouryuu also waved his hand softly to show Shiroe that he need not be concerned about this. The food was delicious, and they didn't spend much money. The important thing was that the guild also had a good time, since the party was also for them to enjoy. The guild was also discussing about thanking Shiroe's group properly in the future.

"No no no, it is okay, because I have thoroughly enjoyed Akatsuki-chan too."

Henrietta recalled Akatsuki's cute reaction with a dreamy smile. As for the subject who was weeping during the incident, let us ignore that for now.

(Ara ara, this is…. Hmmm.)

Henrietta observed Shiroe with her frame-less glasses that were designed for women.

This request surprised her.

From Henrietta's observations, Shiroe was a powerful player with a strong sense of morals and would not hesitate helping a friend in need. Even though she did not wish to acknowledge this, Serara's rescue mission was an example of this.

Shiroe's group completed the quest perfectly in place of the Crescent Moon Alliance using methods that were tens of magnitudes better than Henrietta. If Shiroe felt that he could help and was confident of success, he would provide aid without reservation.

But what about the reverse?

From what Henrietta saw, Shiroe handled things logically and reasonably and had a habit of introspecting… He was an awkward young man in some ways and, compared to helping people, he was not good at asking for aid.

But the Shiroe she knew was saying "Everyone, please lend me your strength."

(What kind of request will it be?)

Even though Shiroe was bad at requesting aid, Henrietta had no intention of using this chance to wipe the slate clean in regard to her guild's debt to Shiroe. Of course, Maryele wouldn't do that either. Honestly, when Shiroe asked "everyone please lend me your strength", Henrietta was surprised.

"Shiroe-san, please tell us what you need!"

"That's right Shiroe-sama, the Crescent Moon Alliance is indebted to you anyway."

Henrietta followed Shouryuu's lead to express their willingness to help. In this situation, this was how the guild should treat its benefactor.

But Henrietta was also concerned with Maryele. Since Henrietta entered the room, Maryele maintained a tense expression on her face.

Maryele didn't only show her kindness on the surface, there was no falsehood about the compassion in her heart as well. This was what Henrietta believed. The two of them had been BFFs for the longest time, she knew very well that there was no way that she disliked Shiroe.

So why was Maryele wearing such a heavy expression?

(Does Mary know what Shiroe-sama wants?)

Shiroe did not smile when he heard the words from Henrietta and Shouryuu. He adjusted his glasses with his index finger and said:

"Two kids I know are currently… is confined the right term? Anyway, they joined a certain guild, and I want to rescue them."

Shouryuu acknowledged Shiroe's words by nodding.

"So that's what it is, all we need to do is help them leave that guild, correct? Do you need us to draw the members away, giving them the chance to perform the process of leaving a guild? This is a simple task… Ah, is it another issue? To help them after escaping? Do you need the Crescent Moon Alliance to take care of them?"

Shouryuu said cheerfully.

But Maryele's expression tensed even more.

(… It is not something like this. With Shiroe-sama's talent, if it is just rescuing the two of them, he can manage without our help. What is Shiroe-sama's true intention behind this meeting?)

"This evil guild gathers beginners and confiscates their 'EXP Pot', which is probably sold for money, I don't think that this can be tolerated… that is what I feel now. Between either liking or disliking, I dislike this way of doing things."

Shiroe said with a gentle tone. Hearing this, Shouryuu stopped moving.

He was starting to comprehend what Shiroe wanted.

"The guild you mentioned, is it Hamelin? That is a… rather nasty guild, not a good place. But they have the support of the big guilds…"

Henrietta brought up an obvious query. The subject was Hamelin, but the Black Sword Knights and the Silver Swords were their customers. Those two guilds were in the top 5 battle guilds of Akiba.

"Yes, I want this guild to disappear."

Shiroe said directly.

A deep silence fell in the meeting room.

Maryele sighed softly.

(Mary was expecting something like this…)

Henrietta understood why she was so tense.

"You.. you say disappear, that is… you want to destroy the guild? Is that true? Is there a way to make a guild disappear? If we defeat them by PK, that may bruise their ego a bit, but to destroy the guild itself is a bit…"

Shouryuu stammered.

Henrietta had the same doubts.

There were two ways to dissolve a guild. The guild master could request to close the guild, or all the members could leave the guild. This was the system setting.

You could kill players by PK, but this world inherited the rules of Elder Tales. With the automatic respawn system, death was not a way to stop someone. Even if it affected the morale and cash flow of the members, you could not dissolve the guild this way.

When Shouryuu mentioned "Is there a way to make a guild disappear?", that was a valid point, it was impossible by following common sense.

For big guilds, it might be possible to lure in members of smaller guilds, using their plentiful resources, pushing them to the brink of collapse. Henrietta heard that this happened in Akiba before.

But even through bribes and investing resources, there was no guarantee that the guild would be destroyed. Assuming that this tactic was used on the Crescent Moon Alliance, even if all the members were poached away, as long as Maryele continued to resist by herself, the guild would remain in the system.

Destroying a guild was a difficult task to accomplish. It was not something that can be done easily. If it was that easy, Akiba would not be like this now.

And the words "Destroy their guild and make them disappear" were only something you hear as a insult ina insult in quarrels. It was more like a threat, and no one had actually followed up on it before.

Shouryuu interpreted Shiroe's words as an abstract goal, something similar to the declaration "I will defeat you!"

"No, it is exactly as I said, I want this guild to disappear from Akiba."

Shiroe cleared all doubts from Shouryuu's mind.

Shiroe's emotionless and stable voice could give chills to anyone hearing it. Henrietta snuck a peek at Shiroe's expression. If she could detect anger, frustration, or determination, Henrietta would not be so convinced.

But Shiroe's face had a hint of a smile. Even though it was a smile, it had nothing to do with joy or happiness. The corner of his lips raised slightly, it was the smile of a hunter.

Shiroe had already decided.

(Ara ara… Shiroe-sama is…)

He could not be dissuaded.

That's what Henrietta thought at this point in time.

She felt that stopping him was pointless; Shiroe was determined to see this through.

Henrietta's father was a broker. She remembered her father would have this expression when challenging big corporations, or when the market went into a selling frenzy. He would not be home for days, or just sleep for a while, take a shower, and rush out at dawn. As he closed the door, he would have a smile like a fierce tiger.

At the same time Henrietta understands why Maryele felt conflicted.

Hamelin had the support of the big guilds, their customers Black Sword Knights and Silver Sword were currently using 'EXP Pot' to go beyond level 90.

This was something only a resource-rich 'A class' guild could carry out by brute force. But this method might evolve to the next level.

Taking 'EXP Pot' from beginners to sell, Henrietta despised this method, in terms of ethics. If you suggested implementing this method, it would definitely be rejected by everyone.

But you also could not say that this was an "unforgivable crime".

No matter how much psychological pressure or how much coercion was involved, those beginners joined the guild by their own free will. And since they were in the guild, the action of taking and selling was not against the rules of the game, and by extension not against the law of the world.

(Law… its existence is more questionable than a summer morning's mirage, furthermore…)

Furthermore, there was the problem of execution.

Assume this method… ignoring whether it was legal, it was evil. If you ask if anyone or any group could punish and stop these evil ways, the answer would be no.

Big guilds had big influence, there was no player crazy enough to go against them without any incentives. Their members could use the guild's name to receive preferential treatment when using the city's facilities. And they were nasty about it, treating members of small guilds rudely, much to everyone's disgust.

In this situation, accepting Shiroe's view would mean opposing the big guilds. Maryele led the Crescent Moon Alliance, a small but independent group. Henrietta understood the meaning behind her serious expression.

Without needing to discuss about justice, there was no one who had the authority, influence, or power to enforce it. Hence, justice was just a theoretical concept, it didn't matter whether you had it or not. This made the people lose interest in it, that was the undeniable truth of Akiba.

(Mary…)

Henrietta bit her lip.

Shiroe was their benefactor, she also admired him on a personal level.

But this is only under the premise 'among the many guys who are not cute'. Henrietta thought this young man was a worthy friend. But even so, she was unable to accept some 'requests'.

She should have been the one to warn Shiroe in advance and stop him from losing control.

But in the face of Shiroe's fearless determination, she was unable to say it.

The normally introspective and low profile Shiroe was displaying his intention to do battle. Henrietta was not confident in judging if she was qualified to interject.

Maryele shifted her gaze to Henrietta wanting to say something. After hesitating several times, she said:

"Shiro-bou… I can understand how you feel, but… I… No, for us…"

This should be a rejection line. The guild master did not leave the task to her deputies Henrietta or Shouryuu, opting to reject Shiroe's request herself.

Henrietta understood that her words might anger Shiroe and fracture their friendship, but she was still determined to say it.

But Shiroe interrupted Maryele.

"Mary-nee, sorry but let me finish, I am only halfway done. The Hamelin incident is just a side quest. It is not enough to just solve this incident, that is not enough to reach my goal. This is just a small mission to do on my way to the main objective. Allow me to explain, I don't like the atmosphere in Akiba. It is ugly, substandard and shameful."

With the others dumbstruck, Shiroe continued as if he had accepted all this.

"That is why I want to clean up Akiba. Hamelin is just a thing on the side, Minori and Tohya are my friends, so I want to help them. But even that is just a side event. We have many things that we need to do, we cannot waste time on things like this."

Shouryuu, Henrietta, and even Maryele were frozen like statues, Shiroe continued:

"When did staying in a small guild become a bad thing, that the members have to be on their toes when going about their business? Susukino has fallen into neglect, but there are only 2000 people there, so the big guild controlling everything is acceptable. But Akiba is our capital city, where half the people in Japan reside, the biggest server city in Japan. But it is now substandard, with the air of danger and gunpowder, everyone is walking with their heads down… It shouldn't be like this, right? Doesn't that mean that we had lived our lives until now to become substandard? Hogging farming spots, the rise of big guilds, political infighting, I won't say that these are bad things, but I do not wish to see everyone head down the path of extinction. Are we going to let these things go on at the expense of the beginners? All of us trapped in this alternate world should be working together to survive, but we are ignoring this fact and doing all these things instead? Even though we have 30,000 people, we are just 30,000 in number, everyone is too naive… We are taking this world too lightly, too lacking in ambition."

Speechless.

This speech was not reasonable.

Shouryuu, Henrietta, and even Maryele were frozen in place; this must have been a topic they had never given much thought about.

Shiroe wanted to rescue his friends, that was understandable. But he wanted to destroy a guild, that was already beyond common sense. Now he wanted to change the trend and situation in the city, that was beyond illogical; you could say that he was insane.

More so than the speech's content, it was his tone that shocked them. His voice was stable and not heated, as if reinforced by steel, sharp enough to cut.

Henrietta let out the air in her chest.

She was wrong about this young man Shiroe. She thought that he was able and gentle, introspective and shy. Instead, he was very pure and simple, not only focused on achieving his goals, but direct in his methods, efficient and merciless.

In terms of battle, this young man stayed true to this simple policy. He might have been indecisive before, and his blade might have turned dull. But once he set his heart on it he would go all in.

"Mary… san?"

Shouryuu asked. Maryele was biting her lips. Destroying a guild was a heavy and risky quest for Crescent Moon Alliance. By extension, she could not agree to Shiroe's request.

But Shiroe said he wanted to "change the whole city"; this meant that if they won this gamble, the reward will be three levels higher.

That was why Maryele was hesitant. The reward here was the increase in influence of the small guilds, but this was not only a question about incentive.

There was also a mental issue.

"I…"

"Everyone please give me your support."

For the first time, Shiroe lowered his head.

"Shiroe-sama? What about your companions?

Henrietta interjected, buying time to let Maryele think. Normally Akatsuki and Naotsugu would be with Shiroe.

"They are carrying out investigations and preparations, sorry for informing you so late. I registered a guild recently. The guild name is Log Horizon, members include Naotsugu, Akatsuki, Nyanta, and me as the guild master. This mission is the first battle of our guild."

"You… started a guild."

"That's right. I rejected your invitation to join earlier, I am sorry."

"No…"

Maryele shook her head like a child.

"No, you don't need to apologize for this. So it was like that, Shiro-bou… congrats, you formed a guild, Shiro-bou formed a guild and is building his own place to call his own…"

Maryele smiled with small beads of tears in her eyes.

Shiroe who had avoided guilds, had his own place now. Henrietta was unable to guess the meaning behind this, but she understood the reason behind Maryele's tears. Maryele, her warm and gentle friend was happy for Shiroe from the bottom of her heart.

"Guild master, can we listen to the details? I am interested in this since we operate in the city a lot. I can also feel the negative air Shiroe-san described, I also worry about the city heading in this direction forever. My heart feels like rainy weather in regard to this issue."

Shouryuu expressed his thoughts.

In the guild, he was in the battle team, so he understood the situation. He also understood he could cause more worry and trouble for Maryele if he shot his mouth off. But it was plain to see that Maryele was caught in a dilemma between wanting to help and needing to protect her guild.

Henrietta supported Shouryuu:

"That's right, we need to know how we can assist before deciding. Shiroe-sama, you came with a plan in mind correct?"

Maryele wanted to take the hit, but her subordinates were leading the conversation now. This makes her look a bit timid, so she pushed Shiroe. "Shiro-bou, please explain."

Receiving the go-ahead, Shiroe looked as if he were organizing his thoughts, but he blurted out the conclusion suddenly.

"I need money, 5,000,000 gold coins."

"This amount is too absurd!"

Henrietta shouted. She oversaw the banking account of Crescent Moon Alliance and had a good grasp on their finances.

The Crescent Moon Alliance had 60,000 in the bank. If it sold all their items they could get 100,000. If it sold the personal belongings of all the members, maybe they could reach 500,000.

But this was the best-case scenario, you might not reach this amount. Henrietta, at level 90 had about 20,000, you were considered rich if you had 50,000. Putting this into consideration, 5 million was an extraordinary amount.

"How do we get our hands on so much money? I know this is obvious, but we are just a small guild!"

"You… You… You want to borrow money?"

Henrietta and Shouryuu let out a cry of despair.

If it was fighting battles or manual labor they were willing to try their best. But this sudden change in tempo made them feel that Shiroe was asking for the impossible.

"What does Henrietta-san think?"

"Me?"

"Henrietta-san, you studied business in the real world, and are in the accounting business correct? I think it can be done, because the people are still belittling this world. It is very simple, we just need to take the initiative. Money is the start, to solve the problems, there are harder challenges ahead."

"… initiative."

Henrietta's consciousness reached out to the city.

A ripple spread with Shiroe's word at its center.

… Taking this world too lightly, belittling this world.

Why did Shiroe said that? Why did he say belittle? This was the world of Elder Tales, you could say this was an alternate world, you can also say it is a familiar world.

"There is no need to think too deeply about the means of getting the money or who it will come from, since they will not play by the rules… The rules here are 'there are no rules', we have not set any restrictive laws."

This point from a certain point of view was just a mess.

But Henrietta understood. She and Shiroe might be the only 2 people in this room who understood. There was no way for Henrietta to tell if she really understood. But she still needed to contribute her expertise in this field and judge in Maryele's place.

What Shiroe meant…

(He wants us to come up with a plan to raise the funds….)

Shiroe was like advocating defeating all the adversaries. In order words, he intended to rob them, this made Henrietta dizzy.

Robbery did not solely refer to violent means. In fact, illegal or cruel methods were unneeded. Even if the world were under a perfect legal system, 'robbery' was still very common. The world was such a place, Henrietta already knew that from her father.

She thought that methods that caused retaliation were idiotic, breaking the law was unethical, a card that should not be used unless there was no other way. The best way was to earn money while making everybody happy.

"… Can be done."

Henrietta nodded in agreement.

"We can raise the money."

"Ah?"

"Hmm?"

Henrietta replied while still deep in thought. She was organizing and touching up the details of a plan.

"It doesn't end with raising the money, right? What is going to follow?"

If Henrietta's hunch was correct, the young man before her eyes had a terrible idea.

Similar to burning the house down to get rid of rats, or buying a store just for a few T-shirts, she felt that Shiroe was capable of such things.

No matter how ridiculous, if this were the only way to achieve his goal, Shiroe would take the plunge.

"Raising 5 million is the ticket, the biggest challenge is after that, and that is… Everybody's kindness, dreams, and hopes. If the majority of Akiba's citizens do not care how the atmosphere of Akiba is, that will mean we have failed. But that is something we cannot help. If that is really the case, I will not be attached to this city. But I believe that is not so, the number of people who like Akiba will definitely be more than those who hate it. It might be a bit late to say this, but I don't intend to use Serara's incident as a bargaining chip. I came to the Crescent Moon Alliance because I need your support, there are some things I would like Mary-nee, Henrietta-san, and Shouryuu to help me with. I will say this again, everyone please lend me your strength."

Shiroe bowed deeply.

Shouryuu nodded his head slightly, Maryele turned to observe Henrietta.

Shiroe was serious, he really thought it could be done. And he wanted to execute his plan. That's why, when Shouryuu wanted to learn more, Maryele hesitated.

Shiroe was someone who could give his all for others, but more than giving his all, asking for help was difficult for him.

Henrietta thought that was a noble resolve.

Even if it were a ridiculous battle against the whole Akiba city, if Shiroe was serious, he could find a chance for victory.

That was what Henrietta's financial instinct told her.

"Mary, we will follow your decision."

"I… we the Crescent Moon Alliance…"

Maryele clenched her fist tightly and replied with the expression of a guild master.

"The Crescent Moon Alliance is willing to take part in Shiroe's battle… We also wish for Akiba to become a more colorful city. If we carry on like this, we might lose something that is precious to us all. But… but we are also having a hard time running the guild, so if you intend to take our money and run, please don't… But there is no other way, if we ignore this anymore, our hearts will sink all the way… This is a psychological problem, so we also want to take a shot at this. Tell us the strategy Shiro-bou; if we don't do our part while we still can, we will regret it forever. ”

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