log horizon v04v2 - the end of the game part ii

8/12/2019 Log Horizon v04v2 - The End of the Game Part II

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Chapter 1: The Return of the Goblin King

Part 1

While Maryele was protecting the beginners and Shouryuu was charging intothe Sahuagin horde with a roar, a battle also broke out in the central hilly regionof Sand Leaf peninsula.

The enemy was goblins.

They came out of nowhere, sweeping through the forest in small patrol groups.

Naotsugu and the others had fought off tens of waves in the plaa in front of!agranda "orest. There were #$ people here, % from Minori&s party, ' from thehigher(level party, Naotsugu, and the cleric from )lack Sword *nights& !earick.

When they encountered the first batch, they thought it was +ust a group ofwandering goblins.

)ut after several battles, Naotsugu and the others changed their minds, thinkingthey were positioned in the way of a small(scale tribal migration. When theybattled for the 'th time, they could not ignore this anymore.


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01ery suspicious.0

02h30

Naotsugu who was folding the tent canvas said, and !earick besides himasked him with a grunt.

0rritating, hate irritating situations, it has a feeling of impending misfortune.0

0)ut it is +ust goblins, right30

!earick gave a &no big deal& look, he could handle #-(- goblins by himself.

04on&t you think the encounter rate for goblins in the hills is very high today30

05mm....0

Naotsugu peeked at the beginners, they were saddling the horses and clearingthe campfire.

0There are many beginners around too, think this could turn out pretty bad.0

05mm...0


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!undelhous turned his gae to the forest attempting to see through the trees.5is face did not reflect fear and had a sense of determination.

The $ camp leaders could not find the right words to say momentarily. Serarasaid in a clear voice

0 am in charge of the beginners in 9rescent Moon 2lliance, so, because of that, registered all of them on my friend list, right3 suu also registered them,right30

0;, yeah.


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0)lue goblins3 Tch, is it Sahuagin3 What the hell is going on here30

Naotsugu cursed and swore, he had never heard of anyone encountering the

rare monster Sahuagin in the Sand Leaf peninsula before. They were commonlyfound in warmer areas further to the south.

0s this... a coincidence30

!earick was asking about the connection between the goblins and theSahuagins. Nobody knew the answer, so there was only silence. )ut the armies seemed to be moving in concert, calling it a coincidence seemed to bedismissing their connection too easily.

5eading to the school campus may not be the best option now, they might besurrounded by both the goblins and the Sahuagins in the worst case scenario.

>f it is too dangerous, we can all use &9all of 5ome& to teleport back to 2kiba.?

Naotsugu convinced himself.

They could go back to 2kiba easily if they used &9all of 5ome&, but they wouldneed a few days to come to Sand Leaf peninsula. 5ence, this was the last resort


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+ust force their way through.

02lright, we will be returning to the school campus ne6t, Me, Nyanta and

!earick will be the leading party. /ven with +ust the $ of us, we won&t lose toyou rookies, so don&t worry understand3


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Part 2

Moving the time forward a little.

Shiroe who received the report from Naotsugu knew about the unsteady airsurrounding the Sand Leaf peninsula. )ut he already knew about it earlierduring the meeting with the lords of the @eople of the Land.

2dventurers could communicate with a companion far away via telepathy, the@eople of the Land also had a form of long range communication.

They held conferences with each other through the use of crystal balls andmagic.

When /lder Tales was still a game, the @eople of the Land were N@9s, a part of

the background of the game. They did not have battle abilities and convenientskills provided by the game system like the 2dventurers.

)ut /lder Tales had a fantasy setting, in order to have deeper story elements,the @eople of the Land were set to be able to use all kinds of magic.

/6amples would be the secret skill to create magical artifacts or teleport magic


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The first to know of the goblin army was Tsukuba&s Mar7uis *yriva. The goblinswere moving in the hills, so they weren&t detected until elements of the goblin&sadvance forces reached Sand Leaf.

This information was transmitted last night.

Tsukuba&s resident magician recognied the seriousness of the situation andcontacted Mar7uis *yriva immediately. Mar7uis *yriva only hesitated a momentbefore calling for an emergency meeting and escalated the news to 4ukeSergead. 4uke Sergead thought the matter was more important than his prideand re7uested for aid from all the attending nobles.

The @eople of the Land held a meeting out of the blue, so they were in a state ofconfusion. The goblin army was terrifying in its numbers and this incident wassevere enough to impact their governance.

The @eople of the Land held the meeting through the night thinking ofcountermeasures.

There were several reasons why *rusty and the other 2dventurers were notinvited to this meeting.

"irst, *rusty and the group from the !ound Table 9ouncil were not official


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uneasy, there was no big issue if they live at the foot of the mountain.

The reason the goblins were held at bay in the mountain was because the

2dventurers periodically raided them and cut down their numbers.

The nobles residing around the


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0They are no longer here3 Meaning they were destroyed30

0We do not know if they were destroyed, there are no bodies or any traces of

battles, they are +ust gone, &spirited away& would be the best way to say it.0

They acknowledged this fact once again.

The &*nights of umo& was one of the &8lobal #$


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The impression was similar to taking a walk on a sunny day and not comingback.

0)ut, if that is so...0

0Woo woo...0

Several nobles scratched their heads.

The goblin army numbered over #-,---. f they formed up on the plains andclashed all(out with the League of "reedom Towns& forces, it was a number theydidn&t stand a chance against.

)ut the goblins were moving south along the mountain ridges and there was noway of knowing where they would strike, it might be 5itachi, "ourbridge, or even

they might even turn around and hit downtown of Brumiya.

Those cities were different from others in the &League of "reedom Towns /astal&,they had city walls protecting the nobles& residences and the entire city area,they were fortress cities. 4epending on the number of soldiers and citiens, theycould protect themselves against a larger force if they adopted a defensivestrategy. )ut if they were facing goblins that were over #-,--- in number, they


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0They might be targeting Maihama.0

4uke Sergead said as he put his strong rugged palm on his cheek.

"rom the &2ncient @alace of /ternal ce& in the direction of Sand Leaf, Maihamawas on the other side of the city ruins of /astal. 9alculating from the place thegoblins were sighted, they might attack the city in ($ days in the worst casescenario.

n conclusion, the goblin army was heading straight for the throats of the

&League of "reedom Towns /astal&. "rom the perspective of the League, theyshould say that they allowed the enemy to penetrate so deep into their territory.

The monsters were too close, there was no way to remove this thorn withoutspilling blood and the venom was about to corrode the heart of the League.

2 deafening silence descended on the room.

t was an unbearable silence.

The night meeting continued with heavy words, from a rational point of view, theenemy was +ust days away from invading any number of cities, this was not thetime for meetings.


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the fortress, they could raid the surrounding villages and communities,destroying the farms and hide in the hills when reinforcements came to save thecity. Their motives were food and treasures, not to occupy the city. Thinking

about it this way, they were not an army, but armed refugees.

The mountain ranges in the northeast region of the ;amato archipelago faced aserious problem. 2 big coalition like an army was unable to cooperate andsupport each other in this type of terrain.

4uke Sergead pressed his aching temple with his fingers and thought.

>The decision of this meeting is probably going to be using all forces to surroundand destroy the enemy... We can only accept the fact we will lose a lot of men inthis war of attrition... )ut the problem in this case is which noble will lead thevanguard.?

Leading the vanguard sounded like an honorable role, but they were actuallygoing to be cannon fodder.

..."irst of all, a certain fortress city would be surrounded and besieged. Thisfortress would need to strengthen its defense to resist the goblins. The goblinswould tire from laying siege, and the League&s army would surround and destroythem.


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4uke Sergead thought the $ young ambassadors could be trusted.

Michitaka had the air of a great merchant, he was highly tolerant and was willingto bear any losses to stay true to his business ethics.

Shiroe had the feel of a scholar, but his nature was like a sharp sword. f thesword was out of the sheath, no matter how challenging the problem was, hewould cut it down.

2nd *rusty, senate leader of the !ound Table 9ouncil was not a knight. 5e wastalented in too many ways, a knight was not enough to describe him. Thepotential of this young man *rusty could not be gauged, even with the eyes ofthe '- years(old 4uke, it was like an opa7ue curtain.

)ut the personal feelings of Sergead had to be strictly separated from thedecision(making of 4uke Sergead 9orwen, ruler of Maihama, the mostprestigious clan 9orwen in the east and the chairman of the &League of "reedomTowns /astal&. The nature of the $ ambassadors also could not be used togauge the political decisions of 2kiba.

>2nd the 5oly /mpire Westelande is watching this closely...?


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)ut there were some incidents and 7uests that could not be handled by a party.To handle such large(scale battles, /lder Tales& design had a big scale battlesystem called a &!aid&.

&!aid& was separated into levels, the more common one being the &"ull !aid&formed by E &@arties&, a E(player mid(sied group. /lder Tales& heroic(levelbattles were normally done in this way.

The 7uest which the 4ebauchery Tea @arty completed to obtain their griffonflutes,&The "ields of 4ead Spirits,& re7uired a E(man group and was a &"ull !aid&

7uest.

There was another higher level group, which was the &Legion !aid& formed by E&"ull !aid& groups. There were very few 7uests in /lder Tales that were &Legion!aid& level, and were used to handle very large(scale, limited time events toavert national(level crises.

t was hard to work together in an army of F' people, most players wouldn&t beable to grasp the full e6tent of the battle, the commander must have courage,insight, and tactical ability.

8oblin levels were low.


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attendants that came along. These words should be from Sou+irou of West Wind)rigade, and Shiroe replied &this is not a confirmed fact, +ust my own deduction&as a opening line, and said:

0 think the reason for the invasion is &The !eturn of the 8oblin *ing&.0

Shiroe not only made the meeting room he was in 7uiet, the !ound Table9ouncil members in 2kiba and Maryele in Sand Leaf were also dumbstruck.

When /lder Tales was +ust a game, &The !eturn of the 8oblin *ing& was aperiodic game event.

n the depths of the


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0...;es, &The !eturn of the 8oblin *ing& that everyone is familiar with. t has asetting that has never happened before and might be forgotten by the players.0

!aiding the goblin king was a &"ull !aid& level battle, but if you weakened thegoblins beforehand, it was not too difficult, a raid suitable for mid(sie guilds totake on. Shiroe had never heard of a goblin king living past the # week eventperiod.

)ut if Shiroe remembered correctly, this was what was happening right now.

0 remember...f the goblin king survives the # week event period, he will unitethe surrounding tribes and his army will increase by #- times, remember thereis such an e6planation, right30

Shiroe nodded to acknowledge Michitaka&s 7uery.

That was correct.

The goblin king who completed the coronation would become the hero of thegoblins, his influence would increase significantly.

2fter the 9atastrophe, Shiroe and the adventurers had been busy building their


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They did not want to keep 7uiet but with nothing constructive to say, the roombecame silent.

They maintained a sense of calm and did not fall into panic. 2ccording toreports, the summer training camp attendees were seeking refuge in theabandoned school campus, Maryele from 9rescent Moon 2lliance was +oiningthe meeting through telepathy from there.

Telepathy could only connect #(to(#, so 5enrietta was relaying Maryele&smessages in the meeting room.

2lso, if the campers were surrounded by powerful monsters, they would use&9all of 5ome& to teleport back to 2kiba to avoid harm.

The goblin army was marching from the Sand Leaf peninsula, they should beheading towards either the west or south, raing any communities in their way.)ut 2kiba was still a distance away, and 2kiba would be ready for them if theydid come.

/ven if the goblin army was the biggest ever, they were still a manageablegroup. ;ou needed a &"ull !aid& group to raid the goblin king... E 2dventurers.

2kiba had %-- times that number of 2dventurers.


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mention it...0.

The &*nights of umo&.

This was an order of knights in the Gapanese server made up of &2ncients&.

2n &2ncient& was a hero character of the @eople of the Land, their might wasmore than a match for the 2dventurers, the ace in the hole for the kind humanrace. When 2dventurers first appeared in this world, they took on 7uests andmissions to tip the scale against the demihumans with their overwhelming

numbers. )ut if the fate of the world hanged in the balance, the &*nights ofumo& intervened.

n the # open servers of the world there were #$ such orders of knights, the&*nights of umo& were known as the Gapanese server&s... wrong, it should be;amato archipelago&s guardian angels.

When /lder Tales was still a game, Shiroe heard of the e6ploits of this order ofknights. Not only Shiroe, the more e6perienced players would know even moreabout the legends of this mythical knight order. They fought fre7uently alongsidethem in 7uests or followed their traces in their crusades.

They were the protectors of all of the kind human race in the world, so they


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worry about the &Spirit Theory& issue, making him hesitate about starting a grand(scale war.


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Part 4

0@rincess, princess... @rincess !aynesia30

The maid&s call made !aynesia turn around.

0What is it...30

!aynesia tilted her head slightly up, the knights of the court would bemesmeried by +ust this look and swear their eternal fealty to her, that was how

adorable and beautiful she was. )ut the one before her was the maid that hadbeen taking care of her for the longest time.

0Thinking about something3 t is still too early to think about lunch, right30

The maid said in a overly familiar tone.

)ut her accusation was 7uite generous, &thinking& was a rare action that!aynesia took. The time she spent looking &depressed& was longer than the timeshe spent thinking. )ut her most common action was +ust &daing around&.

0/h3 /lissa, do look like am thinking30


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This was the truth behind the face the scholars and bureaucrats praised as&sorrowful look of the melancholic beauty&. The things she was fretting aboutwere usually stuff like &did eat too much last night3& or & hope they don&t throw

away my old pa+amas&.

The e6pression popular with the knights and muscular men was the &daingaround& e6pression. 5er head tilted slightly upwards, a tipsy look as if she wasdaydreaming, with a faint hint of a smile. f she was daing too much, her eyeswould shine, making her even more alluring.

Since she was +ust daing around, if you asked her you would realie she wasnot thinking about anything, the most she would say would be something on thelevel of &2h, the weather is nice& or & want to take a nap in my room&. Shesounded like an idiot when she said that, and from what /lissa saw, the!aynesia she was serving under was a real idiot, there was no mistake.

2t least that was so for their daily lives.

>This is hard, beauties are hard to handle.?

/lissa could only sigh.


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02h30

0*rusty(sama.0

0...Why did you ask30

0t is nothing, the two of you kept having lunch together recently, he usuallycomes to visit the princess around this time.0

0s...that so...0

!aynesia replied in a mildly panicky tone. The slightly embarrassed !aynesiawas not the princess the knights adored.

This princess was a beauty, but she was closer to being naive and clumsyinstead of a fancy lady... she was +ust a useless girl, but /lissa admired heruseless mistress.

0;eah, that is correct. The animal known as man doesn&t pay attention to detailssince the start of civiliation. We are having a hard time with +ust the clothes webrought along, but he never cares about our problems with our wardrobes, it isreally making me speechless... remember lunch yesterday was a pearl(colorgown, light purple shawl and purple crystal necklace. The day before was light


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0 am fine with yesterday&s clothes.0

0No way, wearing the same clothes for meals days in a row, you think you are

a country girl30

/lissa re+ected !aynesia&s suggestion.

0 can wear the long sleeve silk blouse and plaid skirt...0

0That is indoor casual wear= 2nd this is the specific costume you always lae

around in=0

"acing the aggressive /lissa, !aynesia made a puppy face and kept 7uiet./ven this e6pression looked like she was hiding her sorrows, bearing her painfultroubles, beauties were terrifying.

>)ut her nature is a useless bum, things like plaid skirts are not meant to be

seen by men, she is not a bar hostess=?

0)ut don&t think that person is concerned about these things...0

0Wrong= The animal known as man may say he doesn&t mind, but he willtabulate the scores in his heart, it must be like this. They will say & like your mostnatural look& but when they see a woman who +ust woke up they will turn their


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/lissa was unable to get what he was saying.

#- times of a hundred was a thousand, #- times that was ten thousand.

The city of Maihama had the largest population within the &League of "reedomTowns /astal&, numbering about -,--- which included the farmers andmerchants. The military might of Maihama included a thousand guards thatmaintained peace and order in the city, the E-- knights stationed in Maihama,and if you added in other patrolling knights, it would barely reach ---.

When /lissa realied it, she felt her blood draining away in an instant.

#-,--- enemy troops=

The enemy were demihumans, so the civilian militia wouldn&t be able to match

up to them. /lissa heard about defense battle using a fortress, but #-,---against --- sounded like a lost cause to a woman with no military knowledge.

0Those ugly bastards might not be after our precious Maihama, Tsukaba and afew other nobles& territories are also in the danger one. )ut we cannot afford tolet down our guard, plan to return to Maihama immediately.0


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0No, there is no need, you can +ust stay here.0

0Why3 With our land in danger, we need to all go back...0

0No, "ather(in(law will also stay here.0

"ather(in(law referred to the current head of the family, 4uke Sergead.!aynesia&s mother Sarariya was the daughter of Sergead, her father marriedinto the clan.

0We have not determined the true intention of the invading army, from the scale,they are not only after Maihama. t won&t be too serious if they only attackMaihama... the worse case will be the &League of "reedom Towns /astal& beingwiped off the face of the map. To counter this, the League will need to unite toface our adversaries together. 2s the chairman of the League, "ather(in(lawcannot leave this palace. ;ou need to become his pillar of support... 4o youunderstand30

"eynail came +ust to say these words.

5e did not wait for his daughter to reply and hastily left the room, /lissa boweddeeply to bid him farewell.


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time. /lissa heard from her parents when "eynail was marrying into the clan, thepeople were not really disappointed, but +ust had the feeling of missede6pectations.

)ut you could not feel the gentleness of his bureaucratic background when youlooked at his back as he rushed back to his land without hesitation. f he wasreally so frail and weak, Sergead would not have approved of him, and /lissaagreed with the 4uke&s +udgement.

04ear father...0

0@rincess30

!aynesia&s whimper made /lissa focus on her.

!aynesia was thinking.

No, this was different from the normal(thinking !aynesia she had seen so far.

5er eyes seemed to be looking at something without form and shape, nursing aflame that was burning slowly. 5er graceful stance had an air of nobility, youcould not +okingly describe it as being depressed.

0@rincess 30


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the !ound Table 9ouncil, they must be coming up with some follow(upmeasures.

0Mary(san3 4on&t think too hard about it, +ust leave it to Shiro and 5enrietta(san,alright3 4on&t worry, be it through tricks or treachery, they will think of a goodway to deal with this.0

0Thanks, Naotsugu(yan.0

Maryele smiled brilliantly like usual.

She thought that smiling in this situation was not too good, but feeling thesincerity of others made her happy. This youth Naotsugu... That didn&t soundright, he was only a year or two younger, he should be an adult ... 5e wasusually so brash and bold, so it was hard to imagine that he was actuallydelicate and kind at heart. When Maryele noticed this, she was always delighted

when he showed his concern.

02lright= Let me give you a hug= 2 hug as thanks=0

Maryele hid her embarrassment and hugged the panicky Naotsugu tightly,Naotsugu with his red face and helpless demeanor was so cute and interesting.


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would give me a lecture...?

5er chest that was pressing against Naotsugu felt warm, the heat seemed to be

coming from her sense of shame, her face had the same warmth. Maryelerushed into the depths of the tents and took out armor to change into, no oneshould be able to see her behind the screens. )ut she did not take off herswimwear, and +ust wore a tunic and armor over it.

0Sorry to disturb= @layers above level $- are all accounted for= /veryone is

present=0

Maryele was changing so she could not see this, but she heard Nyanta acceptthe report from the camper. /veryone was accounted for, no attendees werelost, Maryele felt a heavy weight was off her shoulders.

The retreating battle from the beach was really fierce.

The enemy level was low, but their numbers were very troublesome. Thestrategy for long(term battles and short(term battles were different, which wasbasically the allocation of M@ usage.

9leric Maryele was a healer, and if the healer ran out of M@ it meant the supplyof healing spells would stop n order to keep the party members alive healers


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outside the tent. She heard Naotsugu call 0Mary(san=0 and walk out into thepurple night sky. There were many specks of lights wavering in the forest of thedistant mountain range.

0...Those are torches nya.0

Nya mentioned softly.

This was a scene out of a fantasy, and it was an uneasy and looming sight.

With the red burning sun as the background, Sand Leaf&s forest in the mountainwas falling into darkness. 9ountless specks of light shone and moved throughthe forest, like ants carrying lights and marching forward.

0"rom the looks of it, #--(#%-30

Naotsugu said softly.

The number of torches was not e7uivalent to the number of goblins, but therewere at least that number of goblins moving through the forest, Maryele realiedthat they were no longer hiding their movements.

The countless specks of light were a wordless warning from the goblins that &We


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since everyone was accounted for, they could hold a camp(closing ceremony in2kiba #% minutes later. Since they could use &9all of 5ome&, they did not havethe feeling of desperation.

n this world, 2dventurers were very strong.

>2nyways, we need to wait for the !ound Table 9ouncil to make a decision. )utsince everyone is safe, should report that to them...?

2s Maryele was considering this, Nyanta had a troubled e6pression as heapproached with Serara and Minori. Naotsugu and !earick were by Maryele&sside. t seemed like Nyanta had something to say to the camp leaders.

0What is it3 4id something happen30

Maryele asked.

0The situation is a bit troubling nya, no, there is no need to be troubled at all,but, eh....0

Nyanta didn&t know where to start.


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0Something wrong3 9hief, +ust say what is on your mind.0

Naotsugu probably noticed Maryele&s perple6ed face, and directly asked his

guild(mate from Log 5orion about it.

0...That group seems to be on their way to assault 9hoshi nya. t is not the wholearmy, probably a mid(sie splinter group that is responsible for pillaging nya. Themain army seems to be situated more to the north nya...n other words, theyplan to use 9hoshi as their granary nya.0

09hoshi doesn&t have walls.0

Minori inter+ected.

The hands of the middle(school girl were shaking, but she steadied herselfforcefully and continued:

0f we don&t do something, 9hoshi won&t last the night.0


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Part 6

0So many...30

Michitaka kept repeating this like a parrot.

There were % people in this meeting room.

4.4.4&s leader &)erserker& *rusty.

West Wind )rigade&s harem style guild master Sou+irou.


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)rigade was the first to heed Shiroe&s call and rushed to the &2ncient @alace of/ternal ce&.

The &2ncient @alace of /ternal ce& was situated to the southwest of the ruins of/astal city, it was unlikely the goblins would attack here, this was a safe onethat didn&t need any reinforcements. )ut the meeting among the nobles was stillunclear, from the few ways Shiroe predicted their meeting could go, Shiroe or*rusty might not be able to continue discussions with the @eople of the Land, sothere was a need to send reinforcements from 2kiba.

)ut if a big(scale reinforcement army was to arrive while they were still in themiddle of discussion, the @eople of the Land might view this as an act ofhostility. Taking this fact into account, West Wind )rigade was a relatively smallguild among them and volunteered to lead the way.

West Wind )rigade made camp a #- minutes ride away from the &2ncient@alace of /ternal ce&, and Sou+irou entered the palace with a few attendants.

2kiba and Shibuya were the cities closest to the &2ncient @alace of /ternal ce&in the &League of "reedom Towns /astal&. f they needed to rush, they couldarrive in hours riding a horse, so Sou+irou was in position that very evening.

2 di t t it h d b fi d th t th bli it t d


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between Tsukaba and Maihama, the army was right between them, in a positionto disrupt their forces from cooperating.

0)ecause their movements are erratic, we cannot grasp their actual numberseven after receiving several reports... f the latest air surveillance report isreliable, there are at least #%,--- goblins.0

0#%,---...0

5enrieta gasped. She was not the guild master of the guild that was a member

of the !ound Table 9ouncil, she was +ust standing in for Maryele who was awayfor the summer training camp in Sand Leaf. 5ence, she was avoiding speakingout in this discussion, but she couldn&t help herself.

0The number is not very threatening.0

Sou+irou said with a straight face.

0f the enemy has the same number as us, we the 2dventurers can take them onone after another. The enemy this time are goblins, even mid(level playersshould be able to battle #- rounds, right3 am confident my guild can take out#,%-- of them.0

5e had a point but his words were like those of a demon


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n this negotiation, it would be best to give the ambassador on the scene theauthority to make decisions, this was the faith the !ound Table 9ouncil had intheir $ ambassadors.

0Leave it to us, we won&t sell 2kiba out.0

Michitaka laughed softly and promised Sou+irou.

Shiroe looked at *rusty.

The big and handsome man with a calm e6pression was studying the map insilence.

0...the &*nights of umo& are not deploying30

Shiroe understood the 7uestion *rusty asked, and the meaning behind it.

0 think they are involved in some other incident we don&t know about like the&Suaku 8ate&s 8host "estival&.0

&Suaku 8ate&s 8host "estival& was a periodic 7uest like &The !eturn of the8oblin *ing&, the 7uest activating once every $ months. The story setting wasbased on the doors of hell opening and the ghosts and spirits roaming the earth


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Shiroe was planning all sorts of things and trying to predict how things will panout. )ut he decided this based on a premonition he had.

0 have something else to report.0

05mmm3 Shiroe(dono, what is it30

0Shiroe(sama...30

Shiroe waited for all of them to focus on him and said:

0t is about death in this world. We will respawn in the cathedral after dying, sowe +ust assume that by paying the penalty of lost /H@ we can revive. This is thesetting in /lder Tales, we were too naive to think this is what is happening.0

Shiroe&s speech made *rusty who was thinking silently lift his head and listenintently.

02ccording to my sources...This has not been confirmed, but there are risks indying even in this world, you will not only lose some of your items and a bit of/H@... 4eath is when our &Souls&, and our &/ssence& are reborn in bodies. 2t thattime we will lose some memories.0

The grand and lu6urious meeting room was filled with a tense air so strong that


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04.4.4 is a battle guild, before the revolution in 2kiba, we did some live battletraining to adapt to this alternate world and have e6perienced death severaltimes. didn&t notice it normally, but there is definitely something missing,although cannot be sure... )ut think the memories we have of the old worldwill selectively be lost.

0/h, this...0

0So this will happen, hey=0

0Specifically speaking which part3 to what e6tent30

5enrietta and Michitaka stood up in screams, but Shiroe stopped them andasked *rusty while looking him in the eye.

0 e6perienced death twice after the 9atastrophe, it is hard to say which part ofthe memories were lost. f the clue about the memory is also gone, it is hard for

me to know. )ut am sure that the memories have lost so far are +ust a smallpart. The grade(school studied in, the nickname and face of my good friend inmiddle( school, my desktop picture, the lyrics of the songs like... Thesememories are still here, so +udging from my perspective, did not lose anymemories. )ut cannot recall the name of my cat, what she looks like...there isa problem with this effect, it is hard to say if this is due to the problem of the soul

+ t l i l f t b t h ) th h d


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lose some memories when you died, you would not lose everything. /ven thesub+ect in 7uestion wouldn&t really notice the gradual loss of memory, thisprediction was correct.

)ut even so, this fact still hit him hard. ;ou were not losing other things, but yourmemory of your old world. This would be a news full of impact to the players, notin a rational way but it would instill fear on the instinctual level.

*rusty smiled at the dumbstruck group.

04on&t be so pessimistic, you won&t lose your memory if you don&t die, also...0

"rom the corner of Shiroe&s eye, he could see Sou+irou consoling 5enriettawhose face was pale. This harem builder would definitely raise his love pointswith the girls in this type of situation.

Michitaka stayed still in a dae after saying: 0So this will happen...0

"or Shiroe, the second half of *rusty&s speech that the group did not really listento was the main point.

*rusty said with determination in a gentle and soft voice.


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Chapter 2: A Laz An! Co"ar!l Prin#e$$

Part 1

The group made preparations hastily.

This was the abandoned school campus in Sand Leaf peninsula, the only !oundTable 9ouncil member present... 9rescent Moon 2lliance&s Maryele made apassive decision.

They were to move in the direction of 9hoshi.

These 2dventurers had no motivational factor driving them to protect a townbelonging to the @eople of the Land. )ut if they left them alone in this moment ofcrisis, it would become an uncomfortable memory.

They needed to at least warn 9hoshi about this... based on this +udgement, the

group would be heading there for now.

)ut there was a party that was moving independently from this decision.

t was Tohya&s %(man party.

They finished preparations early and were the first among the summer training

l h i li il if h k d b S h i bli T h


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lose their lives easily if they were attacked by Sahuagin or goblins. Tohyathought these people had to seek refuge in 9hoshi for the night, and they werechecking the houses out of their own initiative.

05ello...= s anyone there...30

Tohya shouted towards the house then turned towards suu. She shook herhead in silence. Seems like nobody was there, so there should be no problem.

2fter Tohya&s party confirmed this, they continued towards 9hoshi.

0/veryone seems to have evacuated.0

0;eah.0

Minori answered suu.

Tohya scanned the area around them carefully while listening to their

conversation.

There were no signs of goblins in this farm that was near the coastline. )ut itwas close to the sea, no one knew when the Sahuagin would +ump out from thedarkness.

The party split their attention in all directions and moved on slowly

Mi i l k d d h th id t T h h it ti l


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Minori looked around her, then said to Tohya unhesitatingly.

0Let&s get ready to go, think we should head to 9hoshi... need to speak toNyanta(san again, please help me convince everyone Tohya.0

Minori turned and left Tohya with these words.

Tohya seemed to be driven by the way his sister said these words, and startedto gather his comrades. They wanted to be the first among the summer trainingcamp to head for 9hoshi. f you considered the facts you could see that this was

a highly risky move, the advance party would have a high chance ofencountering monsters.

5e thought some of his comrades would ob+ect to this, but une6pectedly, he wasable to convince them in a very short time.


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growing beautifully in the land.

/ven in the darkness, Sand Leaf with the summer breee from the sea was areally marvelous place.

The members of the summer training camp formed a long line as they walkedfrom the school campus towards 9hoshi. Some of them banded together bylevels, others by guilds, some +ust walked together with their friends.

/ven if they were moving at night, these beginners were still 2dventurers. Theycast their own magical light sources and moved tirelessly. Some were ridinghorses, but it was dangerous as you couldn&t see where you were stepping, somost of them preferred to walk.

Minori&s party was much further ahead from the front of this line.

2fter walking for $- minutes, Minori suddenly said:

0... think we must protect this town.0

Tohya understood her feelings.

Tohya also wanted to protects and felt they should protect them

Maybe his other companions had the same thoughts suu !undelhous and


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Maybe his other companions had the same thoughts, suu, !undelhous, andSerara were all deep in thought as they moved.

There was a dark feeling of unease in his heart, he could not dismiss this senseof helplessness and confinement. /ven if he hated his lack of ability andstruggled to leave, his limbs felt like they were immobilied in a nightmare. Thisfeeling of helplessness lingered in the air around Tohya&s group.

0 think that way because... we don&t have any pressing reason to help but...0

Minori was at a loss for words.

8aing up at the forest on the other end of the mountain, you could seetorchlights like needles that were flickering with malice in the dark.

02lthough it is scary, don&t think we should stop.0

suu was a little uneasy, but you could feel her determination in her words.

Two(thirds of the summer training camp attendees were beginners, and theyhad various levels among them. Some were between level -($-, some wereeven lower, you needed to be at least level - to battle the goblins.

moonlight


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moonlight.

With the moonlight and the sound of waves in the background, Tohya had astroke of inspiration.

04o we need a reason30

02h30

Serara asked in surprise.

04o we need a reason to help30

2fter Tohya finished, a strange and wonderful silence fell between them.

0/ven if there is no reason, we can still give them a hand, we are 2dventurers,right3 )ecause this is an adventure, if the 2dventurers want to help, we can do

so even if there is no reason, right30

2s Tohya said these words, the murky emotions inside him started to takeshape. That&s right. Tohya 7uestioned himself on why he was so troubled overthis.

Why was he trying to find a reason3

we run away now then why did we become 2dventurers in the first place


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we run away now, then why did we become 2dventurers in the first place,wouldn&t that be putting the cart before the horse3 The goblins are nothing=0

!undelhous let go of suu&s slightly worried hand.

0 am also a small part of the 2dventurers, don&t want to abandon 9hoshi andescape to 2kiba shamelessly=0

0@lease...@lease wait a moment, what are we going to do3 5ow are we going toprotect the town3 They have no walls, and they have twice our numbers=0

Tohya and !undelhous were congenial with each other, but Serara raised anob+ection in a shrill voice.

0We will leave this to Minori.0

02h30

Tohya&s change of sub+ect made Minori&s eyes open wide in astonishment.Tohya felt sorry for being unreasonable, but if he didn&t push Minori on, hispassion would be all a waste.

Lighting a fire under Minori was Tohya&s duty.

>2s e6pected of my Minori ?


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>2s e6pected of my Minori.?

5is sister had a strong sense of responsibility, Tohya feared that she would becrushed by the pressure, but he also thought the pressure would become

Minori&s strength. "rom what Tohya saw, Minori had learned to turn this sense ofresponsibility into a driving force to push her forward after +oining Log 5orion.

The source should be from her idoliation of Shiroe, Tohya also looked up toNaotsugu the warrior from a man&s perspective, so he could understand this.

0What is the way30

Serara asked Minori gingerly.

0Miss Minori, am all ears.0

!undelhous and the troubled suu beside him also gathered by her side.

0With our numbers, we cannot successfully defend 9hoshi from the goblins.


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am a old man nya.

0Nyanta(san=0

Minori saw Nyanta and Naotsugu, Shouryuu and !earick were also not farbehind. Serara was already hugging Nyanta&s slender arms, her feet were offthe ground.

0Teacher Naotsugu=0

Tohya straightened his back on refle6. Naotsugu was not a strict teacher whostood on ceremony, the problem lay with Tohya&s consciousness. 5e wouldstraighten his back naturally in the presence of this veteran guardian, but thetwo of them usually chatted without any inhibition about girls and panties.

0Nyanta(san...0

Minori&s e6pression was a bit worried, she didn&t want to back down, she lookedat Nyanta as if she wanted to stare him down and said: 0@lease give yourpermission0, then bowed.

0That&s right 9hief Nyanta, teacher Naotsugu, this is the time where you shouldwatch us walk away in silence that&s the manly way to do it=0

0Bnderstood nya, @uck also said that &night is short, the summer night is shorter.&


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Bnderstood nya, @uck also said that night is short, the summer night is shorter.So we should hurry, right Minori(cchi30

Nyanta allowed Serara to hang from his arms and gave them a sharp look.

Tohya and Minori looked at each other and bumped their fists together.

Part 2


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Part 2

0# party approaching from the eastern hill, another party E-m behind them, other parties coming from the northwest.0

The moonlight casted dark shadows of trees in the forest.

Minori used the binoculars she borrowed from Naotsugu to survey the area fromthe top of the tree and reported to her teammates below.

0!oger.0

0Bnderstood, will start chanting.0

Minori&s party was at the tip of the forest in the hills near the Sand Leaf !iver. twas almost midnight, they were a distance away from the road and on a hill the

sie of a sport stadium, standing by in the forest.

Minori climbed up a big and steady tree to survey the surroundings and relayedthe findings to her comrades, her duty right now was to reconnoiter the area.

Tohya who already had damage intercept magic cast on him used this barrierwhich had the effect of a mirror to charge into the darkness

was much further away, the tactics were different from that of the narrow


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y,dungeons. The monsters and 2dventurers would see each other from far awayand ranged attacks would start before they engaged in a melee fight.

)ut there was a downside to this long(range battle as they might attract theattention of the neighboring enemies as well. Tohya attacked with a bow anddrew parties of about #- monsters in. They were unable to confirm the numberin the dark, but Minori estimated from the swaying torches and the sound of thegrass.

0@lease start the countdown.0

Serara&s tense voice stated.

Minori looked closely into the darkness with her binoculars, phosphorescenceappeared in the darkness illuminated by the moonlight. &Moon "ae 4rop& was ane6pensive mid(level eye potion made by pharmacists, by using these eye drops,

you would be able to see clearly in the dark like a cat, the effect lasted for Ehours. This was also a consumable provided by Naotsugu.

0%...E...$......0

Minori concentrated and started counting down.

attack magic lacked power, but they were able to use a variety of magic.


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g p y y g

The spell Serara casted, &Willow Spirits&, could affect the surrounding plants,stimulating the growth of branches and vines to entangle and bind the enemy.

05ere they come=0

Tohya threw his strong bow behind the tree, drew his sword and faced the front.The binding magic Serara prepared in advance had been activated based onMinori&s gauge of distance to only trap the enemies at the back, leaving Tohyaand !undelhous to take care of the enemies in front.

0 can see them clearly, leave the opening ceremony to you Tohya, make usproud.0

!undelhous had been ad+usting his thinking in the recent battle training.

5e understood that he would have a chance to shine even if he left the start ofthe battle to Tohya. 5e was more patient about using his magics and would notthink about stealing the show. 5e was now casting a spell to buff Tohya&sattacks, &cicle )lade&.

2fter !undelhous finished casting, a chilling cold entwined Tohya&s blade, the icysurface flashing in the dark

Nyanta said there were at most --, but that was wrong. There were s7uirming


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movements all around the dark shadowy forest, they could not imagine howmany enemies were still in the dark.

0!udy conserve your powerful spells, we will win this by superior numbers. cansupport for $- seconds... &Maestro /cho&=0

2s suu supported with her magic, Tohya and !undelhous attacked the goblins.

Swords and magic danced in the air.

!undelhous understood suu&s instructions and repeatedly used small(levelspells in lieu of powerful single(shot magics. These spells had low damage, butthe cast time and cool down time were short, so it was suitable for consecutiveuse.

!undelhaus abandoned his powerful spell with a % second cast time, opting to

use consecutive magic attacks with #.% second cast times. The ice and fire hecon+ured were beautifully echoed by suu&s singing.

2 dark red music note followed every fire attack that hit, a sea(blue note wouldcomplement any ice attack that connected.

suu the bard had low attack power

)ut Minori&s 4amage ntercept spell negated the damage, the remaining wounds


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were healed through magic. The healers took turns to heal and !undelhousfinished chanting his powerful magic after % seconds of chanting. The groupsuccessfully took down the #- goblins.

Part 3


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0t may be difficult, but it is possible to win.0

Serara who was healing Tohya responded, 04on&t be careless.0

suu drank from her bottle and passed it to !undelhous who was retying hisshoelaces. !undelhous took the bottle and advised Serara, 0Miss Serara, it istaboo to be careless, but we will lose the chance to take victory if we lackcourage.0

2s the E of them caught their breath, Minori was fighting with a folded map. Thiswas given to her by Shiroe at the beginning of training camp as he said&2lthough don&t think it is necessary&. t was a map centered around Sand Leafpeninsula, with details of the abandoned capital /astal, Tsukuba and other citiesdrawn finely on it.

/ven with their enhanced night vision, it was hard to make out the contents ofthe map. She hid among the grasses where the light would not leak out andcon+ured &)ugs Light&.

0;es...;es, we are fine, we are resting for now, heading towards north(northwestcorrect3


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0Towards the southwest direction... 2h, they are amaing, moving so stealthily.0


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suu sounded impressed as she reported in.

The party Nyanta and the others made on the spot was built around Naotsuguand !earick, with the swashbucklers Nyanta and Shouryuu as the maindamage dealers.

Swashbucklers used their high attack speed to build up damage on the enemy,the of them didn&t have flashy or loud e6plosive spells like sorcerers. Theywere able to deal consecutive area attacks on the enemy, displaying theirterrifying skills in guerrilla warfare in the forest.

>5mm... 5ead north(northwest $ km to the top of the mountain ridge...4estination will be the abandoned shrine we visited... We should avoid the foresttrail...?

This route would lead down the valley, but they could make it to the other side ofthe ridge.

0What should we do, Minori30

Minori kept the map with everyone&s eyes on her and nodded


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prediction was correct.


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suu had been hesitant before the battle and had been concerned about!undelhous& safety. Since that was the case, they could not afford to lose.

)ecause !undelhous was also Minori&s comrade.

n order to protect his secret, in order to help her comrade, they had to make itthrough.

0Why are you saying this3 Tohya, Miss suu, isn&t it obvious that we need tohelp these people since we are 2dventurers3 am doing this because want to,because want to be an amaing 2dventurer.0

!undelhaus said spiritedly.

Tohya agreed in a loud voice.

Minori&s duty was to protect this silly but adorable group.

4amage interception spells were not healing magic.

2nd from Minori&s point of view it was not really magic

"or this reason she faced the darkness without fear.


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05alt=0

suu&s voice pulled Minori back to reality.

suu s7uinted at the mountain ridge, there was only a pitch dark forest ahead,but bards seemed to be more sensitive in detecting movements in the dark.

She signaled with her hand and moved ahead to scout.

0t&s a demonic beast... Not sure what type, but there are goblins riding on giantcanine creatures.0

suu reported softly, the wind blowing through the hill would not bring theirvoices and scents to the mountain ridge so they had the advantage. )ut theenemy had the higher ground so the terrain was in their favor.

0There are $ demonic beasts and $ goblins.0

04ire wolves... they are strong enemies.0

Minori said 7uietly.


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Part 4


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Night fell in the &2ncient @alace of /ternal ce&.

2 meeting for interested parties was held in the brooding atmosphere. t was notmeant to be a compulsory meeting but almost all the nobles and advisers for the&League of "reedom Towns /astal& and all $ ambassadors from the !ound Table9ouncil were present, so it was as good as the grand meeting that was plannedfor the second half of the #-(day event.

2 meeting with many attendees was usually a noisy place with people fidgetingand coughing. )ut today no one was making any noise, as if they were afraid oftriggering something.

The topic was &the security situation in the ;amato archipelago&.

The proposer for this meeting was )aron 9raindit of Btsurugi Shrine city. The

)aron did not start this out of his own initiative, but because he was unable towithstand the pressure of the situation, which was obvious to everyone.

)aron 9raindit who was chairing the meeting as its proposer was acting soawkward that it was painful to watch, fidgeting with his beard and wiping off coldsweat under Shiroe&s stare.

>"rom the viewpoint of the nobles, they want us to go into this topic ourselvesand gather our intelligence and force more concessions


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and gather our intelligence and force more concessions. What is this reaction3 4o the @eople of the Land think we are monkeys thatcannot think3 guess this can&t be helped, we were looking down on the @eople


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cannot think3 guess this can t be helped, we were looking down on the @eopleof the Land and treating them like N@9s not too long ago, so that makes useven, but... Seems like the &*nights of umo& will not be deploying. "rom their

reaction, they seem to be engaged in another crusade3


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easo as a e ob es e e o appy e e s e ce o a ed c a s

n other words, &order of knights& was the only way nobles could understand a

military unit.

)ut even if that were the case, Shiroe didn&t think 2kiba needed toaccommodate their way of doing things.

0Then what is the use of 2dventurers=0

Mar7uis *yriva said rudely with bloodshot eyes, making Michitaka retort.

0What is the use of 2dventurers3 What is the meaning of this30

0What else could it mean= 2dventurers& ability is a gift from the gods, you havethe obligation to save this land=0

0 never heard anything like this before.0

0What baffling words, immortality= ;ou have such powers, and you want toforsake your duty to this world3 Shameless, why are you so arrogant when youhave such abilities30

/ven if they could avoid sending forces to attack the goblin army, they wouldinevitably be involved in war one day. The !ound Table 9ouncil had the


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y yconsensus that since war was inevitable, they were fine with fighting against thegoblin king too. They had already come out with a war plan to win this fight, and

the !ound Table 9ouncil was aware of this when they delegated the decision tothe $ ambassadors.

)ut it would be troubling if they let the nobles manipulate them so easily. Shiroee6pressed that providing military aid so readily would leave a scar on the !oundTable 9ouncil, 2kiba and the &League of "reedom Towns /astal&. They didn&tmind working with the @eople of the Land, but they must go through due

process.

The $ of them had specific roles in the meeting tonight.

Shiroe would be supportive of the !ound Table 9ouncil sending forces, luringthem to cough up information.

Michitaka would be against the provision of military aid, baiting them to giveconcessions.

*rusty would be responsible for making the final decision.


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@ut simply, Michitaka&s opposition against Mar7uis *yriva&s re7uest was goingby the script, but there was a fury beyond his acting in his roar.


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>...)ecause we are immortals and there is no risk so we must work3


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Part 5

! i tti thi


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!aynesia was regretting this.

She had been regretting non(stop since a moment ago.

Those who were familiar with how !aynesia actually was would be moved totears seeing how hardworking she was at regretting. !egretting was anunproductive action, so it could not be described as hardworking, but let&s ignorethat for now.

!aynesia did not have any energy to spare with the details today.

The hall was bigger than !aynesia imagined.

!aynesia had been eavesdropping on the other side of the door for a while.

2s she came from a clan of 4ukedom, she could not do such lowly things aseavesdropping >she also lacked the skill?, the one doing it was /lissa.

She seemed to be driven by the procession of the meeting as she barged in, herlegs were trembling and her heart was beating fast. !aynesia was a daughter ofa noble family, so she was used to smiling and dancing gracefully under theeyes of the crowd )ut this was her first time appearing in a political setting and

0This is...0

0Sh i till b tif l 0


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0She is still as beautiful...0

0t&s 4uke 9orwen&s granddaughter Lady !aynesia.0

0Gust like a fairy dancing on the surface of a lake under the moonlight.0

t was not only the nobles, there were also many advisers and knights in themeeting room as well. Many of them had been mesmeried by !aynesia whenshe debuted that night.

Some of them had looks of curiosity and even lust.

The smooth contours of her face and her delicate face, sorrowful eyes, clearbridge of her nose, and her hair like silver strands coiled high up in a bun. 2beautiful line that e6tended from her slender neck down to her collarbonecomplemented her gown wonderfully. She had a thin figure with alluring curves,there should be no ob+ections in calling her a #st class beauty in the &League of"reedom Towns /astal&.

f you married her, you would be part of the 9orwen family, one of the two mostprestigious clans in all of ;amato. So it was not only gaes of adoration andlove she also attracted attention of ambitious suitors

nothing to do with her, trembling and hiding deep in her heart, panicking andholding an imaginary pillow over her head.


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)ut as she straightened herself and raised her gae, she looked straight into the

eyes of her target.

They had been meeting almost everyday for the past week and acted contraryto the customs of the nobles, a scornful brawny man who appeared polite on theoutside.

2 monster that could read minds. Looked like a veteran knight on the surface,

but was actually an e6pert of sarcasm on the inside.

The senate leader of the !ound Table 9ouncil... *rusty .

With a huge body from !aynesia&s view, he was wrapped in a black attire withfew decorations. 5e was calm as usual even in this hapless meeting.

5iding his eyes behind his s7uare glasses with a hint of a smile on his lips, ane6pression of mischief.

!aynesia stared intensely at *rusty.

*rusty was also looking at !aynesia and he said in a low voice with his mouth

She had no spare energy to smile elegantly like a noble lady.

9lenching her teeth her lips closed tight she was staring at *rusty with this


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9lenching her teeth, her lips closed tight, she was staring at *rusty with thisuncouth e6pression. !aynesia could feel the displeasure of /lissa behind her,

but she had no time to mind the details as she continued to stare at *rusty.

2 commotion started in the meeting room.

What was this sudden intrusion all about3

The nobles thought this could be the arrangement of 4uke Sergead, but theycould not help asking 7uietly.

0!aynesia...0

0*rusty(sama.0

!aynesia interrupted her grandfather without even looking at his word andspoke to *rusty.

She prayed in her heart for her voice not to tremble.

/ven if she had a feeling that there was no turning back she still disregarded


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accepted this role, the !ound Table 9ouncil might not be so forgiving. Theworst(case scenario would be her e6ecution by guillotine for inciting a war.


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)ut her actions might have positive effects on the !ound Table 9ouncil since the

2dventurers would likely avoid e6ecuting a princess escorted by their senateleader.

)ut would 4uke Sergead allow his granddaughter to act so willfully3 The nobleslet out moans that seemed to be a mi6ture of disappointment, acceptance, or

+oy.

*rusty would most likely re+ect her, this was +ust a whim of a little girl after all.

)ut !aynesia continued to look at *rusty straight in the eye.

0 think this is a very very troublesome matter, correct30

0...;es it is.0

!aynesia nodded with a gentle e6pression of a lady.

)ut she was not as calm as she appeared to the people in the meeting. fpossible she wanted to lean on *rusty and cry that was how desperate she

0@lease accompany me when the time for apologiing comes.0

!aynesia replied to *rusty with an e6pression of resistance from the bottom of


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!aynesia replied to *rusty with an e6pression of resistance from the bottom ofher heart.

This was not an e6pression befitting the blooming winter rose of /astal, butalmost no one noticed the slight change in !aynesia&s e6pression in this vastmeeting room. The accusation that 4uke Sergead&s granddaughter hadbetrayed the League and leaked information to the !ound Table 9ouncil was stillreverberating in the room.

0What are you thinking about30

0So *rusty(sama is not all knowing... nothing, am not thinking of anything... +ust don&t want to be a disgrace to the 9orwen family.0

The young man beside *rusty who looked like a mage claps his hands loudly.The sharp sound shook the air, stunning all the lords and knights and silencingthe room.

t was probably a form of psychological magic.

!aynesia turned in the sudden silence as if she was protecting *rusty and said.

She said it out loud.

!aynesia had lost all her vitality and almost collapsed diily, but a pair of hands


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!aynesia had lost all her vitality and almost collapsed diily, but a pair of handssupported her shoulders.

09an leave the rest to you, Shiroe(kun30

02llow me to re+ect, it will be a shame if miss this.0

0...Then let&s leave it to Michitaka(dono.0

The lightheaded !aynesia felt the conversation seemed to be coming from faraway.

There was a sharp sound of a flute and there was an uproar in the meetingroom.

This was followed by a rush of footsteps and the voices of angry arguments.

!aynesia moved as if she was guided by her partner in a dance and she was inthe open balcony with the gentle night breee before she knew it. She turnedher head and saw the meeting room in chaos and a few knights rushing afterher The one leading the knights was her respected and stern grandfather

5e held her with his strong arms and +umped onto the back of the griffon withthe power of his legs.


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0;ou will be fine if you hold on tight.0

!aynesia might have fainted if his voice was not so casual. The griffon took offinto the starry night sky with the of them on it.

The griffon with the young mage and a girl with black hair flew beside them.

5er grandfather and the nobles& meeting were left behind.

!aynesia held on to *rusty&s chest tightly to avoid her gown from being blownaway.

2nd so the whim of !aynesia caused her to tumble down an endless slope.

Part 6

0What are you laughing about my lord30


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y g g y

2katsuki twisted in Shiroe&s arms and looked him in the eyes.

Shiroe had been snickering for a while now, making a &fu fu fu& sound deep in histhroat.

The griffon tore through the air of the starry night sky, flying northeast. Theycould reach 2kiba within minutes at this speed. 2 +ourney that took a few hours

by horse only took about - minutes by the flying griffon.

0Nothing, +ust find this very amusing.0

05mmm30

Shiroe was laughing happily.

0This is the first time have seen *rusty(san make that face, even though hetried to conceal it... )ut he totally caved in back there... This is really soothing.0

0My lord... you are still bearing a grudge about the dance30

To avoid that, the &League of "reedom Towns /astal& needed to pull the !oundTable 9ouncil and the 2dventurers to the battlefield no matter what concessionsthey had to give.


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)ut there was a ma+or misunderstanding on their part.

The !ound Table 9ouncil was a governing body that administrated the functionof the city, but they did not rule over 2kiba.

The 2dventurers were free individuals, the guilds and individuals were notrestricted in any way. This concept was an unspoken rule in 2kiba. "or players

like Shiroe who viewed /lder Tales as a game, this was something obvious andnot worth mentioning.

f 2kiba was riddled with rules and bound the freedom of the 2dventurers, itwould create undue stress among the 2dventurers.

The ambassadors from the !ound Table 9ouncil led by *rusty had the authority

to provide military assistance against the goblin army, but they also needed tofulfill a condition. There was only one condition, they needed to get the supportof the 2dventurers in 2kiba when they announced their decision to send aid.

f they failed to do this, Shiroe and the other ambassadors would lose theirstandings in 2kiba

Shiroe already had a plan in mind to hint at what concessions the !ound Table9ouncil would want if the meeting progressed peacefully and to handle thenecessary negotiation.


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)ut some of the nobles led by Mar7uis *yriva e6ploded emotionally forcing themeeting to a stalemate and Shiroe was unable to play his cards.

>She might not know this, but she not only rescued the nobles, she also savedthe !ound Table 9ouncil.?

5onestly, Shiroe agreed with sending out an e6pedition force.

This was something they could not avoid in order to live in this world. Since itwas inevitable, they should fight when the conditions were in their favor.

The nobles treated the 2dventurers as some invincible army and wanted themto +oin the fray, but there was a flaw in this view. 2dventurers also bore some risk

as well, and that was memory loss. *rusty proved that +ust one or two deathswould not wipe out all your memories, but it was still a terrifying pressure.

This information was still classified within the !ound Table 9ouncil, but theywould need to announce it to the people of 2kiba one of these days.

&...plead with each 2dventurer one at a time.&

She said it with determination.


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>World "raction...?

This foreboding term pressured Shiroe&s heart.

Where did he stand in all this3

n Shiroe&s eye, the demihumans were monsters, an enemy in the game. !i 8an

said they were the cursed result of the first World "raction, a twisted nightmare.

Shiroe was a normal graduate student living on /arth, /lder Tales was +ust agame. !i 8an said the 2dventurers were summoned to this world in the secondWorld "raction.

t was only natural that Shiroe was immortal since this was a game. !i 8an

thought that the Spirit Theory and the process of the reconstruction of the bodywith the soul was a system linked to the secrets of creation in this world.

Where was he physically right now3

Shiroe worried about this


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this temporary landing point in a short amount of time to welcome their leaderback.

Th hi h did & h i h i i l d d i 2kib i h h b i h


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The mounts which didn&t have any night(vision landed in 2kiba with the bright

guiding lights. The night was only half over.


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Chapter 3: %&pe!itionar 'or#e

Part 1


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!aynesia couldn&t move until she got down from the griffon. 2 dance partnerwould put a hand around her waist, but she had not been carried aroundcasually like luggage since she was a baby.

She didn&t think it would be so embarrassing to be treated this way by a man.!aynesia struggled to loosen up her tense face and smile, but she knew herface was cramping up.

t didn&t feel like reality when she made the decision during the meeting, it feltlike she only acted on the spur of the moment.

!aynesia had spent too much time with *rusty this past week. 9ompared tofacing this young man who was like a monster who could read her mind, sayingarrogant things in front of the nobles was nothing... that was how she mustered

her courage.

)ut she was unable to do anything about *rusty.

!aynesia knew *rusty was concerned about her and protected her from beingblown off the griffon or feeling too cold )ut the more concerned he was the

t was now late at night, but the lights in the streets were still burning bright, thelight which looked like a bonfire from the sky was actually a variety of lightsources The seven bonfires in the city s7uare were orange the streetlights


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sources. The seven bonfires in the city s7uare were orange, the streetlights

were yellow, the magic lights were phosphorescent white.

0That... Thank you very much.0

!aynesia thanked him with her gae down, but *rusty was already focusingelsewhere. 2 group approached them hastily, they had a brand on their clothessimilar to that on *rusty&s cape.

*rusty greeted the group and turned towards the young mage who was carryingthe black(haired girl down.

0Shiroe(kun, can you help her with her dressing and schedule30

0


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2dventurers one by one.

2kiba was totally different from Maihama.

Bnlike the beautiful and gorgeous Maihama with fruit trees and crystals by thestreets, this town seemed to utilie the ruins of the centuries past. She would belost if she lost sight of the young man leading the way, so !aynesia focused onstaying alert.

2 female pedestrian lugging a big bag with her gave way to Shiroe and spoke afew words with him before nodding and going off. !aynesia thought that sinceShiroe was chosen as a lieutenant of the ambassador party, he should be 7uitehigh(ranking in the !ound Table 9ouncil.

>)ut he is walking so fast...?

The young girl 2katsuki was following effortlessly behind. !aynesia heard beforethat the 2dventurers were very strong physically, but she never e6pected toe6perience this much difference.

The young man named Shiroe covered his ear with one hand and talked to the

The man named 9harasin was indeed a merchant as he greeted !aynesia witha business smile. )ut to !aynesia who came from nobility, his greeting was bothsimple and practical.


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>This 2dventurer seems very straightforward and dislikes hypocriticalcourtesies.?

!aynesia responded with a graceful smile... for her standards, this was a simplegreeting. Ath 4istrict Shopping 9enter was a uni7ue name, but from the way heintroduced himself, it was probably a prestigious family name in 2kiba.

0 am !aynesia from clan 9orwen, please take care of me.0

The merchant called 9harasin blushed and averted his eyes, !aynesia wasused to such a reaction.

02nd so, 9harasin(san.0

05ere.0

0.../h, how should we do this, which one should we choose. was thinkingsomething flashy and grabs your eyes, we need to move everyone with the firstimpression 4o you have the full set of &1alkyrie Mail&30

!aynesia was brought to a simple room. Stripped and adorned with battlee7uipment with the help of the young girl 2katsuki.

Most nobles changed their clothes with the help of their maids and !aynesia


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Most nobles changed their clothes with the help of their maids and !aynesia

was the same, she didn&t resist being naked in front of others.

The source of her shame and confusion was due to her first time wearing battlearmor.

"irstly, it was as light as feathers.

)reastplate and a shirt made from thin shiny silver chains.

8auntlets made of metal and leggings with vines carved elegantly on it as if theywere the works of elves.

)ut the problem was ... the chain armor around her waist.

The armor only covered the tops of her thighs and you could see her legs downto her knees. Showing your arms was a common design for dresses, but clothesthat showed off your thighs seemed so vulgar, !aynesia >probably? never woresomething like this before.

2katsuki said simply: 0The skirt will help you wear 0 )ut instead of a skirt it

0/rmm... 2katsuki(san3 f wear it like this, the curves of my body are a bit...0

0;ou are tall enough, so bear with it.0


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!aynesia was too intimidated by 2katsuki&s glare to say anything.

2katsuki took out a comb and straightened !aynesia&s hair beautifully. 5eractions were more smooth and delicate than any maid&s, but !aynesia was onlygetting more and more tense.

t might be due to her silent nature, but the young girl had been strangely

agitated from +ust now.

2katsuki grabbed the procrastinating !aynesia and dragged her outside whereShiroe and 9harasin were waiting. The of them seemed to have been standingoutside and discussing all this time. !aynesia attempted to hide behind the short

2katsuki, 9harasin smiled widely upon seeing her.

This e6pression of lauding from the heart was similar to the knights& andbureaucrats&. )ut Shiroe seemed to +ust have the e6pression of someone

+udging and gauging. !aynesia entered Shiroe&s name into her mental note ofsomeone to look out for.

09harasin san it is pretty good right30

Part 2

2nd so...


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0Thank you everyone for gathering here so early in the morning, am Shiroefrom Log 5orion. The time is now dawn, the war is coming upon us, let mee6plain our situation.0

t was dawn.

The city s7uare was full of 2dventurers, the numbers were uncertain, but from

the crowds +am(packed in the city s7uare, there should be more than athousand.

2kiba central city s7uare.

The debris in the city s7uare had been cleared in the past few months, it wasnow -I more spacious than before the 9atastrophe. When /lder Tales was

still a game, the debris was +ust part of the immovable background, but now theycould be moved or destroyed.

There were still shops open at this unearthly hour, the stores had beenrefurbished and looked very clean, making 2kiba look more vibrant and lively.

!aynesia who was staying inside the tent ne6t to the stage could only see theLumiere called by the summoner illuminating the podium.

They were using the valuable mage, the highly respected summoner, as a


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y g g , g y p ,stagehand. This went against the common sense of !aynesia, but the contentsof the speech made her even more lost.

0...)ecause of these reasons, centered around Sand Leaf peninsula, in thenorthern hills and forests of the *anto region, there is an army of about -,---goblins. This force is attacking the surrounding areas. There are several

2dventurers in Sand Leaf reporting about this attack. The governing

organiation in *anto, the &League of "reedom Towns /astal& is e6posed to thisthreat. 2ccording to the analysis of the !ound Table 9ouncil, this threat is +ust athreat, the &League of "reedom Towns /astal& will not be wiped out if we leavethem alone, but will e6haust at least $-I of their total fighting force... thisnumber is e7uivalent to the destruction of their military, but it is not to the e6tentof wiping out all the @eople of the Land.0

The report Shiroe was reading out was more detailed than that of the noblesand he was merciless in his speech. f !aynesia was not wrong, his words hadhidden poisonous barbs.

) t th th t d ! i th t t Shi & ttit d b t th

What were nobles3 What were peasants3 What were farmers3

The worldview in !aynesia&s heart had been shattered.


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0


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y

She could feel this from her short contact with them.

5er lips were trembling, her knees were losing strength.

2 sharp sound came from her right.

She turned and saw *rusty with his calm appearance like a heroic guardianangel. 5e stuck his two(handed a6e into the floor and placed both his handsonto its handle. The sound +ust now was the a6e hitting the floor.

This was followed immediately by a dull thud from the left. Shiroe who movedhere was holding a ceremonial pewter staff that was taller than him vertically likea spear. Shiroe didn&t have the staff a moment ago.

With *rusty and Shiroe on either side of her, !aynesia took a step forward onthe stage. 5er temperature was rising gradually, the scenery in her eyes waschanging its shape, but her thoughts were une6pectedly clear. 5er breathingwas so loud that it irritated her, and she could strangely hear the conversation ofthe 2dventurers chatting softly in a corner clearly

magic barriers, and soldiers, but how effective our defenses will be is still anunknown. /ven at this moment in time, my fellow @eople of the Land arepolishing their blades and fortifying the walls in preparation for war. )ut evenwith all these efforts, we cannot avoid making ma+or sacrifices to protect our


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homelands.0

!aynesia threw her gae far away.

What she saw was not the crowd before her, but the scene a few hours ago.

0t might sound shameful, but the &League of "reedom Towns /astal& has not

come to a consensus even at this critical stage. )efore arrived here, they werestill arguing selfishly for the safety of their own territories and were reluctant tosend aid to each other. Not only that.0

!aynesia hesitated at this point.

)ut she was unable to stop.

0Not only that, we are wishfully thinking about pushing the holy task of defendingour homeland to the !ound Table 9ouncil&s ambassadors. We were scheming torely on the immortal 2dventurers, rely on everyone here for help, hoping to useeveryone&s battle power to protect our lives and territories. am not worthy ofapologiing on their behalf )ut am deeply sorry and also feel remorse over


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!aynesia who spent her days brooding in her room was more aware of this thananyone else, and she understood that she was powerless to deny this fact.

0 dl d l i t b t t t t th b ttl fi ld


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0 am cowardly and lay, an ignorant vase... but... want to go to the battlefield,so, if you are able to, if it is fine with you, will you be willing to go with me3 2reyou willing to help me based on your kindness and freedom3 wish to do all can to protect the &"reedom of the 2dventures&...0

>/ven if say that.../ven if want to protect their freedom...?

She was a member of the 9orwen family, but she did not have such authoritybecause she was born a girl. She could plea with her father or grandfather tobuy clothes or +ewelry for her, she could grant testimonials to one or two

2dventurers and she could hold dinner parties.

)ut she had no further political powers.

!aynesia also thought she was giving an empty promise.

)ut instead of saying it was a lie, it was more like her aspiration.

*rusty was the first one to acknowledge she had the freedom to take to thebattlefield 2dventurers probably had never doubted the freedom of doing this

Werecats, wolf fangs, fo6tails, and other minorities did not seem to bediscriminated in this city.

>2h...?


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*rusty walked to !aynesia&s side while she was stunned, Shiroe was at herother side the ne6t second.

02nd so, this city... We will be sending out our first e6pedition army, the conditionfor enlisting is level E- and above. This is a 7uest given by the !ound Table9ouncil, there is only one reward, the gratitude and respect of this @eople of the

Land onstage. 9omrades who are willing to take up the 7uest please ride forMaihama= 9onsidering the crisis of this situation, we will also be sending a blitforce against the enemy. The formation of parties will be done while on themove, hope everyone will cooperate. am *rusty and will be the commander(in(chief for this e6pedition army.0


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0The role of tactician will be taken by me, Shiroe. Within #% minutes from now will be contacting the blit group through telepathy. The members who receivethe message please head downstream of 2kiba to 2kiba !iver and thee6perimental dock. &


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who do not receive the message in #% minutes, you belong to the maine6pedition force, please head to the registration counter situated at the city&seast gate to collect your 7uest forms. ;ou can proceed as instructed after beingregistered on the friend list of the registration staff. There will be instructions forthe formation of parties while you make your way there, the preparation time is#% minutes, please give me your utmost support.0

02h, ah...0

2n army of a thousand soldiers howled in front of the speechless !aynesia.

0Why are you acting so lost and panicky30

05

log horizon v04v2 - the end of the game part ii

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