Log Horizon

◆ Chapter3.01

Rumors ran through the city of Akiba.

- They say nobles protect the city of Akiba.

- It's also a story of being a very high nobility.

- The nobleman also has a seat at the Round Table Conference.

- They've also decided to marry Princess Rainesia.

- The new nobility will rule the city of Akiba with blessings from its Princess Rainesia.

- A massive festival will be held shortly and the celebrations will be sifted.

The whispering voice eventually turned into an enthusiastic tone, licking all over the corner of the city, in a liquor store, in shops, and in inns and many collective homes.

"This is a bit...... That was unexpected."

Siloe ties her mouth to the letter to and frowns at the dining table on the terrace.

I usually do various tasks in my own room no longer named office, but that just gets me stuck, so I sometimes think about it in these common spaces.

Today, even more so is the number of visitors.

The members are gathered from Caryu, mainly from Shiloe, Rezaric from the Black Sword Knights, Nazna from the Westwind Brigade, and Henrietta and the center of practice from the Three Days and Moons Alliance. It was chosen on the grounds that it was too conspicuous for the Alliance Master to visit the home of other Alliances, but it was said that essentially part of the "Round Table Meeting" was assembled because everyone was moving with the insistence of their respective Alliances.

Next to the siloe, Akatsuki, sitting in a similar wooden chair, has a hot drink with the expression "I'm not going to talk". And rarely, there were two more participants on this occasion.

Lundell House and fifty bells.

Fifty bells calmed down with a more nervous look than usual, but Lundelhaus, who would take part in the meeting with the cover of her, continued his remarks unabashedly, I guess, with his original personality.

"And they don't think it's a very good trend. Alliance Master"

Lundelhaus sits on the left with the corner of the dining table sandwiched from the siloe. This table is of a rectangle for fifteen and is quite large.

"Yeah, go on"

Siloe urged on behalf of the other participants.

It was he who called Lundelhaus on this occasion in the first place. I did not go into any further detail about the fact that Lundelhaus was a former (earthlinger). Maybe you're aware, maybe you're not. But you can tell right away that you are a young man on the Horizon of Records. To make it easier for that Lundelhouse to talk, and to share as much information as possible with the deputy secretaries of the Roundtable Conference, it would be helpful for Siloe to provide support here.

"... a large number of (earthlings) living in Akiba are innocently pleased.... I do know how they feel. Because there have never been nobles in Akiba before. The" earthlings "just lived and lived on their own, if you ask me, in a state that I could take. Of course, I understand that this city is one of the free cities that is autonomous by the Round Table Conference. It's not under the umbrella of the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal, but it's also an alliance that stands with comparable contracts. But many Earthlings don't know that."

Henrietta and Nazna nodded loudly.

I suppose they are now stirring up the impressions they have felt in the city and the new perspectives they bring from Lundell House. Every guild deputy's eyes have a color of understanding.

"Somewhere in their minds, they consider themselves displaced. I don't know how far Gilmouth knows, but these Akiba's arrivals are more or less home-grown."

Displaced persons. Refugees - those words are heavy.

Of course there should be no participants here who do not know the meaning of these words, which are the words we hear in the news and which are the key words of political tension between the Middle East and Europe. However, it is also certain that it is not a term frequently used in everyday life in Japan. I can't even tell Shiloe that I'm realizing what that means.

But I guess Lundelhaus knew that too.

"Mm-hmm. You'll see where I can explain it from. Many" earthlings "are raw in the countryside and plow fields, but fields, orchards, etc. do not increase that much. The monster threat has to cut through the thick woods and valleys. There are no villages with excess reserves. Sometimes when the weather gets a little worse, I starve. I mean, what a fixed number of people can live in a village. So even if the eldest son of the family is fine, the second and third sons have no choice but to help the house and live.... naturally narrow shoulders and can't get married. Same goes for women. I wish I could marry the eldest son of a house with a field well, but only part of it works that way. Valuable functions - for example, if you have a" blacksmith "or" craftsman "or something, you can also want a place in the village, but otherwise you have no place. Look at the complexion around you and don't eat it with spills or if you don't like it, you just have to leave."

He is seriously, but somewhere somewhere looking for words, trying to convey them with an explanation that is not short. Behind it were fifty bells that looked worried about Lundelhouse, but tied their mouths with a ruthless look.

"Is that why you're displaced?"

"… I have read that this was the case in Japan in the early years of Showa"

"Ah. Ooh."

It's about Meiji, isn't it?

Henrietta replied to Nazna divulging her pungent thoughts. It's a conversation like that, but no one's loose the look on the participants' faces. It wasn't accepted with reality, but the empathy is probably very harsh.

"I hope you're not offended. This isn't just about Akiba. Even without this city, there are plenty of villages like that anywhere in Yamato, and there are no fewer people without such a place. Rather Akiba is a very good place to be. Salaries are good, and more importantly, I can learn. When you get to this city, there are even a lot of sub jobs that can change. Even though Miss Fifty Bells was surprised, this is really a miracle."

The best singer in The Horizon of Records nodded loudly to Lundelhouse, who looked back and gave his gaze to the Bard.

"Rudy's is special, but there's something about subjobs changing on quests, isn't there? Mr. Siloe. So we're all working very hard. I volunteer to be an apprentice in a workshop, or just a lunch vendor, and that's what a job like a part-time job is. It's so serious that no one can beat it... Because that might involve subjobs."

"Is that what you mean? … called transferring quests."

"Yes," Lundelhaus nodded and affirmed as Rezaric crushed thoughtfully.

"It's a miracle for the 'earthlings'. I can't believe a woman who was a farmer got a sub-job as a seller or accountant. This is a really great (wonderful) city. But I knew I was anxious. The displaced, because they were displaced. - Whether you have a house in this city or make something you can call a family because of it, you may not be recognized. I just stayed on my own, so maybe one day they'll kick me out."

"That's not true!

The unbearable fifty bells returned a pale description of Lundell House. It's probably, "We [adventurers] don't do such inhuman things!" That would have been the word that popped up in protest. It took shape to block Lundelhaus, but everyone in the Siloes was not embarrassed because, as far as their thoughts were concerned, they agreed.

"But I can't turn off my anxiety. And it is the arrival of the Duke of Akiba that may relieve such anxiety."

That was also passed on to Lundelhouse, Shiloe thinks.

He threw a soft knob at the fifty bells to gently close the report.

"Phew."

Some sighs leaked.

It belongs to the deputy guild masters who have so far refrained from speaking to share their knowledge. Including Siloe, it's hard for them, the "Adventurers", to be the "Earthlings" inside. In normal life, I can no longer say neighbor if it's a delicious, sleepy, helpful, helpful, happy, sad degree, but it's different when it comes to fertility or dating a nobleman. I seem to be feeling the same reaction, or confusion, to the explanation from Lundelhaus that has just been brought about, as when Siloe first heard it.

"I know what's going on. It feels pretty much the same way I asked Sarah over here, Siloe."

"That's right, really"

The report went one paragraph and Nazna backed it up.

"But isn't this your checkmate?"

The words were light, but the expression on Caryu's face was harsh.

"As you all know here, it's a good idea, but more than 80% of the material delivered to IOM comes from the" Earthlings, "right? Make it wood. Make it steel. It's very expensive and they send it by piston transport. This production guild can't be directed at the" earthlings "that way, can it? I think Mr. Ains is holding his neck in the roundtable."

While scratching the head of his nose, Caryu's words are bitter.

Even Shiloe knew that.

"But that kind of deal is with the countryside and the mountain" Landlords, "right? Most of the people who live in the city of Akiba are housekeepers, sellers, artisanal apprentices, like our Sarah, but are they that deadly?

"The Duke of Akiba is only a name. That sphere of power is not limited to Akiba alone. - This story has already gone around to the surrounding villages and heels. We've got iron ore from afar. We have a situation, but fresh food depends on the neighborhood."

"Ah."

"That's right"

Rumors are fast around.

And the "earthlings" are rejoicing.

It is not for the most part in line to refuse this flow.

Siloe wanted to hold her head.

"I mean that the card Mr. Ains got has a pretty egregious power. So you can take the food self-sufficiency hostage."

"But. Don't you know how far that card actually works? If you explain it properly, there will be people who will sell you food."

Nazna disputing Karyu, but Karyu will have a minute on this matter.

"Mr. Ains doesn't have to blackmail producers. The city of Akiba buys all kinds of materials as usual. But the contact point is what Honesty wants to do, that's all. From them, that alone will give you the protection of the nobility"

"That's right. And you just have to resell the margin on the production guild by about twenty percent. That's all you get for hundreds of thousands of scale fees each month. And I can keep it for when I have to have a negotiating card called 'I won't wholesale it to you'. It's out of my hands."

Henrietta also knows exactly what's going on with her forever talent.

Making a purchase at a price competition would be difficult.

If there is a high buying-in price that Honesty is proposing to producers, it is also possible to turn the situation upside down by offering more than that amount. But it is not the price that [Honesti] is proposing, but the security of protection, and the ability to offer its alternatives does not lie with the Siloes.

"Ahhh."

Apparently, an understanding finally arrived at the explanation from the same sex, Nazna raised her voice like when she encountered a monster with invalid physical attacks in a massive battle (Reid).

"The situation is still shaky right now, but at the next Round Table meeting, we'll have to think about Eince's demands."

"Our manager (Michitaka) agrees. He said he was miswatered, but hey.

In the face of mourning, Siloe slowly shakes her head.

"I'm sorry that's all"

"Huh?"

Shiloe did her gaze to Rezaric, deputy secretary of the Black Sword Knights, who had been consulted beforehand. The stoic impression struggler begins to talk about further problems in the sight of the siloe.

"- The" Black Sword Knights "are now on a teaching mission in My Hama, but the nobles east of My Hama are as vigilant as a hare in this matter. I thought Akiba, who was allied with the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal, came under the umbrella of the Holy Empire Westlande. What?"

That's......

Someone's voice went up but broke off there.

That, I guess. You won't have a choice if they say so.

Even though the members of the Round Table Conference disappeared in the first place, they refuse to receive nobility from the Council of Lords in the Ancient Court of Eternal Ice. There is no fact that I officially declined because I apologized at the so-called root stage before actually performing the ritual of conferring the title, but it is nevertheless a well-known fact that there was such an exchange for the Lords of the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal.

If the Duke were to be awarded the title of "Holy Empire Westlande," it would be difficult to make excuses even if he was deemed obsessed.

Even if Siloe was an Eastal nobleman, I doubt it there.

Heavy sigh spilled.

"From the point of view of the nobility, there is only that concern - I think. It may be difficult for the Adventurer to understand, but nobility ranks above nobility… many are given by the King, so it has the same meaning as a declaration that he has come under his control…"

No one responded to Lundelhouse's words either.

What I'm sharing is a feeling that you're gonna have a hell of a lot of trouble.

I am not going to contest the Siloes' Round Table Meeting. And fortunately, the Roundtable Conference has considerably greater power than the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal. So, unless there was such a sudden accident, I didn't think the end of the war would ever be opened.

At the same time, however, it demonstrates the potential for any and all events and troubles, other than direct armed clashes.

"My general (Isaac) said he was going to explain to Lord Sergiad, so I don't think that means rubbing it right now. But there seems to be a lot of emotional obstinacy... I don't think this is a very good flow."

Rezaric's twisted expression was, in a sense, like a mirror inside the siloe and the participants.

"Hey, this. Pack it up, huh?

Some would have liked to agree with the words of Nazna, who crushed like a blur.

Nevertheless, the members here were not in a position to be allowed to throw either.

◆ Chapter3.02

"Ahhhhhh"

"Uze"

Isaac kicked Karasin's tibia, which suddenly squeaked with oddity.

I'm always a frank and sometimes obnoxious person on something, but I'm not always happy today. These days, the two of them dressed in a round-table uniform that they usually wear to each other, had a few beers at a tavern in My Hama run by the Eighth Shopping District.

There was a blunt sound, but Karasin didn't take it on with more and more expression. At ninety levels, the Adventurer doesn't hurt to the extent that he kicked it lightly.

"Oh, my God, you look like shit."

"He looks just like me."

Leaving Karasin with a more and more facial expression, Isaac cheeks the fry with a big mouth. It looks like a white fish today. Diluted clothes often have low viscosity uster sauce. Throw two or three matching potatoes together into your mouth and then pour them in with beer all at once. I'm sure I couldn't wait to get cold. This is not yet the case in the "Landlord" store.

"You were laughing with a face that seemed more pointless and economical."

"Sociality's sold out."

"Rarely."

Isaac asked so without intending to worry otherwise.

The young man in front of you, or Karasin, is the leader of an guild called the Eighth Shopping District, which means he is equal to himself. I don't need to go out poorly or be gentle because I'm not one of them.

I understand these days that Isaac is a much tougher man than Karasin was hit in the first place and he looks. He may have a snagged look, but it's a pseudo anyway, and he might be up to something. Isaac didn't feel any need to swing by it.

"Well, sometimes you self-loathe. Even though I bought into selling words, after I fought and sold them to Mr. Ains, it was like this."

"Ah."

Isaac shrugged his shoulders remembering as he ate more fries.

"That's Ains' fault. That's lame."

"It is, hey. But hey. Uh. I wonder why that guy is such a pain in the ass. You know how much you can rub a duke or something. No, you know what I mean, right? You know exactly what I mean, don't you?

"I don't."

Isaac said yes, but you know exactly what I mean. Isaac has been living here lately with My Hama Knights, exchanging words with both Knights humans and other realm nobles. Then I know that the "Holy Empire Westlande" is a completely virtual enemy to the "Alliance of Free Cities Eastal".

Since Ains received the Duke's title from the "Holy Empire Westlande," in that sense, the nobles and knights of the Easter Alliance, including My Hama, hold great frustration and suspicion against the "Roundtable Conference."

(Well, I guess so. A vendor in and out suddenly started a deal with a commercial enemy. I talk about betraying you. Nobility sounds like they're with the Civil Engineers and risking their lives on the Ments. I wonder why I can't root one out, that teacher)

Chewing a teasing fried white fish with sturdy teeth, Isaac sips a beer before continuing to reveal himself.

"Hey, Karasin. The Black Sword Knights are going to be my hammer. That's what I told Sergiad's grandfather Wednesday."

"Ha! Why are you so ahead of me?

I scream as I cleverly contemporaneously look up to heaven with my hands as Karasin, with his hips floating, surprises me and flashes back.

"You idiot. I mean sincerity, I have speed to show you. You can't talk about it after you get into your ear from somewhere else and get your feelings mixed up. Ains became the" Holy Empire Westlande ". So does the Round Table Conference. You won't even be able to talk about what you can do after you get like that. Don't wait for anything else to settle down, Zuba and I said, 'We're coming to you. It doesn't matter what else it is,' cause I promise."

Isaac, turning back on his back, affirms to Karasin, who makes his mouth pucker. Seeing the wolf over this, even though I recently reviewed it, Karasin seems to be oblivious to something called muscle (softness) or benevolence. For small and medium-sized engineering firms in the countryside, like Isaac used to do, it's sometimes a more important element than construction capability.

"That's not why."

"That's all you'll have to do when this happens. I think it's a hassle for Isels."

"Oh, too. Erica. Beeloo for me, too!

Karasin, breathing out a sigh close to evil and waving heavily at the waitress, still seemed to change her mood somewhat from earlier.

"Mostly, you were up to something, too, weren't you? Isn't that what Ains told you?

"It's outrageous! Isn't that something you can predict? Aren't you even thinking of Mr. Ains in the first place? I've been blown in."

Karasin, who sat back in his chair at once, bizarrely teased him and said, "Ah, I don't like it anymore. I think I'll have a drink today. I think I'll ask for an expensive menu," Isaac scratches his head as he says, "You're in your shop."

"I would have been there from this time on. Go ahead and throw up."

"I don't like it anymore. Like throwing up during a meal."

"Fine, confess. The bluebirds we sent you, they have something, don't they?

To be honest, Isaac doesn't know the details and hassle.

I only understand that Eins was repeating himself with Gucci because, in short, he said, "Take care of even the poorly earned ones". If it's that story with a lot of little hard reason there, then why don't you just say, "Is the Roundtable meeting going to be on Eastal or Westlande? I think this story is easier to understand.

And if that's the case, Isaac could answer immediately, "Oh, I'm going to talk about Isles."

But at the same time, I can see that there are people who think patiently about that kind of little difficulty, and those people - that is, karacin and belly black glasses - are moving with another thought. And the thought is never bad. Isaac is proud to say that Isaac is not aware of it yet, and that it is probably to avoid future accidents, to such an extent that he understands it.

"Oh. I was getting mixed up in knight training. The auxiliary?

"That's right. Even the Eighth Mall has been pushing me to do some combat training to deal with the local area. How many in all? All those jerks, split them up and give them to me."

"There are ninety-four of them. You're not, are you? Everyone was feeling better when I got back."

"I'm doing fine."

Isaac was so twitchy that he peered into Karasin's eyes.

If I didn't mourn exaggeration, scream that I was absolutely deadly, or be fooled in any way by such a fiction, that was the gaze. Isaac thinks this thin man, who is going to be fluffy and flying everywhere in the wind, is never the balls he sees.

"Ha... I appreciate that."

"That's not it, what you were sagging about, throw up. You knew Ains was suspicious, didn't you?

The look on Karasin's face, which twirls and changes color, says there is no plan or intention. That's why Isaac inquired further.

For the level accepted from the Eighth Mall, the origin of the amateur stinkers and the plot that Karasin has desperately stretched out over the past few months.

"- It's too sudden. Mr. Ains. I thought that if we did this, we could still settle it, crack it, spend at least another year rubbing it all together and come to a conclusion. Because the wet feather (Gilmouth) over there can suddenly help us out or something, it looks like Eins was pushed out in a ball-pushing accident."

Isaac kicked Karasin's tibia, whispering bumps and twinkles, under the table. Now I'll cut it in half. When Karasin exaggerated, "Awww," he finally seemed willing to explain.

Elbow on the table and start talking with your cheek wand.

"- I volunteered to be a Knights coach for the Black Sword Knights, but those guys, they're ex-Honesty, right?"

"What?"

Because of the flying story, Isaac stopped blinking and urged her to continue. The look is compelling, and if you are a weak-minded woman, say, "I was blackmailed!" It seemed like something that was going to spill tears, but Karasin didn't even seem to care.

"No, so. I'm from Mr. Ains' place. I was sending a piston to Isaac, pulling out a guy who seemed to have fallen out."

"Why would you do that!?

(Whoa, whoa. What is it? Karasin was the first one to fight and sell!?

Some guys looked terrible and didn't even kill bugs.

"No. That's what you look like, isn't it? If I said" ex-Honesty, "it would be a pain in the ass, wouldn't it? So I asked him to join the Eighth Shopping District once, but even the members of the Eighth Shopping District don't suddenly say it's business to work with such an outsider. They went to the Knights of the Black Sword (that way) with the sign" Eighth Mall "(our). Background laundering, huh? Ah. Don't worry. Honesty, if you don't want to get out, you don't have to."

"Ha...... What the hell is that? What's the point?

Isaac, who has been confused, asked for an explanation.

I may not know if they explain it, but I feel bad.

"I do. Meaning and effect. If you can help me train that way and go home, the Black Sword Knights will go home. That's all I can trust. I mean, if it's a matter of not having credibility right now, I guess I'll just have to repeat what I volunteer for like that, but what, but it seems to make a little sense and get it. As a matter of fact, if you helped train with the Knights of the Black Sword, you could be escorting a Merchant."

"Oh."

I see.

Then I know.

It would be unpaid, but it would be a push to the parent, but it means that it won't start unless you do something. An urban bonbong jobless who had pushed in the reconstruction of Fuxima had also joined one of Isaac's engineering firms. Isaac asked me out.

Don't even get me any money, because I cleaned up the rubble every day, so I scouted him in anticipation of that gut. It doesn't mean that if you move quickly, the results will follow, but there are also results that you can't achieve without moving.

"Besides, you've been getting better. Well, you may be giving me ex-Honesty, but you're still an Adventurer. If you look at the training of the Landlord knights, you know that whatever it is, it's in their favor to be blessed, right? And if you help me, I'll tell the town daughter and the kid," Wow! 'or' Cool! You might be able to say, "

That bonbon jobless dug out of a pile of rubble like shit was a tiny pride of muscle aches and maybe even going out into society to do it, and someone I know named Isaac.

I guess what the ex-Honesty guys found in Mayhama's Knight Coach is something similar to that. That can certainly happen if you ask me. The Black Sword Knights were dashed, but Isaac didn't feel like a strange yell.

"That's what matters. For people who are blocked in and give up that everything is not going to work. If you try harder, if you try harder, there's a place where you can tell me you've done your best."

"You... Sounds kind of like Gilmouth."

"You don't want gorillas to tell you!?

I praised him for it, but Karasin is angry at me for blushing.

Well, that can happen.

I mean, this guy, in short, was baking his care.

He's a man who likes to bake his care. Think of it that way, Isaac can think of things too. Because that's the type of president who picked up Isaac. It is obvious that the most instrumental amount is ten times greater than Karasin's.

"I'm struggling with this. It's not about the princess."

"Hmm?"

Karasin, who is more of a trinket than the president, seems to have been caught up in the idea of being worthy of it and recessed again.

"No, it's nothing. Oh, oh, I wonder why this is the right time. Even though I was about to bump it first, I haven't even finished persuading myself yet, so I'm late."

"Well, what. I'll admit I'm struggling. You can have a drink."

"This is our direct store, hey. I'll drink if you don't tell me. Oh, you really rattled the trick and the preparation. Not like this."

"I knew it was trouble?

In Isaac's inquiry, Karasin was somewhat different than he had ever been, and he had been mumbling for a while. Dropping shoulders, as if after noticing an idea face that counts something, was the style of guild masters that put together one organization, even if it seemed snaggy that way.

Isaac remembered those words he had heard before when only those who tried to do something mourned his helplessness. Even this light-hearted man has a lot of pride.

"- Hey. Me and Lord Shiloe, we did half the prep and managed to avoid the worst... That's what I was going to do, but I almost got a big hole in the middle. If only Mr. Crusty could at least be here."

"I don't know what else to do."

I know what you're going to say, but it's nothing. I don't know what Karasin is thinking and planning. I don't even know what Siloe was ready for. But if there's a hole in it, there's got to be a lid, and if I tell you, it'll just mean you have to plug it, Isaac thought.

Either way, things just have to get better.

"Right."

Leaving Karasin lying down as if she'd given up, Isaac would throw another bite, a white fish, into her mouth.

◆ Chapter3.03

The "Round Table Meeting" of that day began in a tense atmosphere from the beginning.

Ten attendees and their auxiliaries gathered in the hall overlooking the six stone statues.

Siloe from the Horizon of Records (Log Horizon).

Isaac, General Commander of the Black Sword Knights.

Souzillow, Alliance Master of the Westwind Brigade.

Michitaka, general manager of IOM.

Roderick, representative of the Roderick Chamber of Commerce.

Karasin leads the Eighth Mall.

Marielle from the March Alliance.

Woodstock in Grandale.

Hiya supports the RADIO Market.

And Eins, the guild master of Honesty, carves a deep crease between his eyebrows.

There are two vacant seats.

One is the seat where the "Silver Sword" was scheduled, which is also the name of the Round Table Conference and Round Decriment, which has never been filled since its formation. And the other is the seat that was supposed to be occupied by the "Mad Warrior” Crusty, who went missing all over Mount Ou. Behind it stands the look of two women, Sanzo Takayama and Reese, who are essentially subguild masters, guardians guarding their absences.

Behind the siloe comes the Lundelhouse and fifty bells, not the usual Akatsuki or Chantai. For the first time, it took the form of a tour in the hope of Lundelhaus. Some guilds may provide speaking aids and materials for delegates, but fortunately this is not the case in the Horizon of Records (Shiloe's guild). The freedom of participating members is relatively high.

meetings going on in an atmosphere of urgency, but the monthly report itself went well.

All operations involving "The Return of King Goblin" have ended, and all the "Adventurers" belonging to Akiba have reached level fifty. This level of fifty means something special. MMORPG (Elder Tail) has been adding various dungeons and quests in many expansion packs to keep users entertained long after it was first released, as well as raising the maximum level of growth possible. Ultimately, the maximum level was 90, but in the first basic package the maximum level was fifty.

The maximum level fifty in the "Elder Tail" basic package was, in that sense, also the "first goal" and the "proof that we have reached heroes in the Cerdesian world". Fifty levels are medium from the players of Elder Tail, but both fifty levels of Adventurer and ninety levels of Adventurer are equally superhuman from the perspective of the Earthlings. The meaning is not insignificant.

In addition, there were a number of progress reports, including the training of the Knights of My Hama "Glass Grieves" by the Knights of the Black Sword and the establishment of a technical laboratory in the magic city of Tukuba by the RADIO Market.

It's all an important project, but it's already moving. Sometimes it's going on without a debate. There have been reports, some questions have been asked, additional comments have been made, etc.

Everything on the agenda that was planned was digested.

Usually, when a meeting is at this stage, the air starts to loosen up and chatter and so on, but only today, conference participants do not break the grim look, with a mutually agreeable look, waiting to speak. Everyone doesn't think it's going to end this way.

It was Soujiro who cut the mouth flame in the tow by gaze.

"Mr. Ains, did you become Duke? Can I get paid?

The Alliance Master of The Westwind Brigade asks innocently, leaving it to the attention of almost even murderous. The sound of a metal armored man hanging around sounded a lot louder, refrained behind Eince. Eince lowers the lady who showed a gesture to stop it with her gently raised hand, spinning her words.

"Sounds like you all already know that."

Nothing blocks Eins from looking around the conference hall.

"This time I was awarded the Duke by the Saigon family, which stands at the apex of Yamato's" The Earthlings ". It is our duty to protect and rule the city of Akiba and the surrounding Ten Mile Landlords."

- Again.

- What are you going to do?

- What are you thinking?

"... you know we had a history of rejecting the proposal of nobility from the former Eastal Lords' Conference, right? What are you trying to do with the title? You're not saying you don't realize what it's causing, are you, Honesty?"

Michitaka, the guild master of IOM, raised her voice against the background of the noise in the teeming conference hall.

That intention, which I dared to call upon in the name of the guild (Honesty), would be a disincentive to stick to the public responsibility that the decision would entail. The impulse to blow from Michitaka's privileged body captures Aince from the front. It was also like a giant hammer he was waving, also a "blacksmith".

"Things are shifting," IOM said. At that time, shortly after the catastrophe, we needed to be cautious about being taken in by existing forces. But there's already been more than a year. We know what's going on in the world and what's going on around us. "

But Ains didn't pull a step back.

Neurological details don't change the appearance of being somewhere depressed, but take Michitaka's word for tongue battle to see if the understanding that this is the battlefield makes it so.

"That won't change now. Where do we need to get caught up in the existing forces?

"I'll pay you back just like that. What's going on with our consumption in this city?

Ains released a response to cut it off.

Overlap even sharper words without missing a gap in Michitaka that flickered for a moment into the word consumption status.

"There's no way you're unconscious. I rely on (the earth people) for most of my resource production. This is especially true of food. It relies on imports from nearby villages for almost all of its consumption. - What do you call this, not dependency? IOM, Eighth Mall. Aren't you, the production guilds, fully aware of the current situation? The question of whether or not to be taken in by existing forces, for example, will only mean that there is a misunderstanding. We have already been captured by the" Earthlings "in terms of production and consumption. What I've done is to recognize the current state of affairs and at least grip the initiative here, even though it's taken in. Needless to say, if you are also a duke, you have the right to rule over the surrounding (earthlings). Can improve food self-sufficiency"

Michitaka and Karasin stare at the words with a bitter expression.

But there was no word to give it back.

Ains has cut his first card here. His claim is the very concern that arose when Siloe and the deputies of each guild discussed it. And Ains rolled over the concern well to show it.

As soon as he became a duke, Akiba was already stuck in the surrounding "earthlings" society in terms of food self-sufficiency. I only defended myself by increasing my voice on the [Adventurer's] side in that relationship. - With such logic.

On the other hand, however, the statement is capable of making threats through food self-sufficiency if I am concerned about it. I had told the members of the Round Table Conference no more, although not in an obvious way, of course, that their abilities had now shifted from the surrounding 'earthlings' to themselves.

The two people most familiar with Akiba's production and logistics, Michitaka and Karasin, couldn't say anything and shut their mouths because they received the message clearly.

The air of the meeting increased its risk for a while.

"Oh, that. Ains. I became a duke because it makes sense to buy food. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I thought Ains had a positive impact, so I think we do. But the... Did you get the Duke from the Holy Empire Westlande?

The faint voice belonged to Marielle.

It would have broken in without withstanding the harsh atmosphere of the conflicting participants. But even so, she didn't seem to have any intention of choosing silence even as she trembled.

Siloe gets a little warm on her chest at such Marielle's sense of responsibility.

"The Alliance of Free Cities Eastal is not close to the Holy Empire Westlande. You don't want to get along with the Holy Empire Westlande, do you? But the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal is next door. You can't just not think about it. Yay. The..."

"In other words, we get into a dispute between East and West. No, it means they're going to stand on the arrow. Whatever the pros and cons, what do you think of them? Ains."

Marielle's inquiry was another matter of concern to the participants.

No matter how much the Duke was worth, it would only be a burden if that cost could not be paid. Saujiro, who took away the second half of Marielle's remarks, also turned his harsh gaze to Ains that he would not tolerate if he answered halfway, and gave him a worrying look that made him think something unusual, "- I don't want to go ahead and slash him because there was a cause. Even us," he snapped.

Until the blurring of the deputies in tune with the inquiry subsided, Ains looked to stand still with his hands together on a huge conference desk.

"I understand that concern. Neither am I affirming the dispute. Rather the exact opposite. It's also the Duke's position not to do it."

"What?"

Eventually, the words Eins told were moderate, rather surprising the participants.

"First is the rebellion of the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal, but you don't have to worry about it. As I'm sure you've all heard, the Saigon family, the culmination of the" Holy Empire Westlande ", and its host, Touri Saigon, are ready for the engagement of Princess Rainesia. I don't have to hesitate a bit from us, who are modern people, but the dialogue begins in the wake of this marriage, and the discussion is settled in the form of the approval by Westlande of the permanent independent administration over the participating Lords of Eastal. Lord Mayhama's insistence has also approved it. I've already got that information."

"It's..."

I did hear about the princess's engagement.

No way? Really?!? Then...!

Ains made a strong affirmation. The statement echoed the floor with the greatest surprise of today's meeting.

"Well, I'm not lying. Sure, that story, there is."

Isaac's assurance made the noise even louder, so much so that the discussion had to be temporarily interrupted.

Of course, even Siloe was grasping the engagement info, and not thinking sweetly that two events happened individually at this time, etc. It was obvious that it would soon be relevant.

But more than I thought, Ains' Duke inauguration and Princess Rainesia's marriage were deeply involved, and more importantly, reality is progressing at a pace far beyond Siroe's assumptions. Both Shiloe and Karasin, who had secretly discussed it with Shiloe and was moving to prevent a conflict between Eastal and Westlande, were desperate to keep up with the evolution of things.

If Eins' words were to be true, it would mean that there was no longer a unity of opinion between the huge political organizations: the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal and the Holy Empire Westlande. That being the case, there is no room for our own intervention, which is nothing more than an autonomous organization of amateurs.

"Rather, I think Akiba's independence as a buffer zone, and the Duke's assignment there, is a gratifying hand for all the participating lords of the Alliance of Free Cities Eastal. So you can have peace without labor. Now did you understand? The advantages and disadvantages of receiving the Duke. - In the meantime, I'd like to say something to you."

Eins, who had sensed the atmosphere of the venue or altered the cutting-edge tone earlier, rather began to talk through some persuasive color.

"I have the greatest respect for the fact that the Round Table Conference was a useful actor in saving the city from panic shortly after the catastrophe. But that's not the only time that has come. The Roundtable Conference is an autonomous organization, but it is therefore fragile and limited. We can meet to discuss and reach an agreement, but we don't have the right to decide because it's not enforceable there. It's a pre-construction operation called a bona fide operator who participated freely, so every decision is dismissed just because one guild somewhere disagrees. Now I can't make any moves in what's shifting from moment to moment"

"It's..."

Indeed, it was true.

The Roundtable Conference is hidden behind its namesake performance, but the essence of it is a volunteer organization. It is a not-for-profit - and considerably larger - organization, operated by the hospitality of the participants. Participating guilds are therefore allowed the right of veto and discretion by free will. Even though it is an autonomous organisation, it is in a sense a 'weak' organisation, with no power of order or decision.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's bad. Close rooting and development of the terms are needed to create strong statutes and enforceable organisations. The Shiloes didn't have that right after the catastrophe. At that time, I needed something specific to lean on, even if I could stick it up.

However, it could not be said to Shiloe that the immediate aftermath of the "catastrophe" and, in a sense, the situational decisions had not become adversely affected in this current to this day.

"I propose. No, it's not a suggestion, I'll move on to action. Because, as I said earlier, 'proposals' ultimately mean nothing at this meeting. I have been able to swirl through my previous days and realize with delay that I did not gain your trust because I did not act on my own rather than on the content of the proposal. That's why I want to act aggressively this time. Honesty is leaving the Roundtable Conference."

The conference hall was dominated by a breathtaking silence.

Both the Alliance Master and his advisors opened their eyes as if struck by lightning. No one has told me that this moment is an important one in determining Akiba's future.

In that silence, Eins also slowly follows his words by fixing his pale face so that he may also be afraid (perhaps) of his own words.

"In time I call for the establishment of a completely new governing organisation (Akiba ruling (,,,,,,)). Though I gave it the Duke, I am not willing to be a dictator. I'd rather have your help. But it is the limit in this unenforceable autonomous organisation. - In Akiba, we want to wait for you to join us and start anew as a political subject in Akiba City."

Thus the curtain of the new stage was cut and dropped.

It was the dawn of a whole new chapter that no one of the inhabitants of Akiba had ever seen.