by Mamare Touno
Most of the equippable items were nontransferable. William, the raid leader, would have to hold on to them for the moment, then divvy them out among the members.
When it came to dividing up items, there were several methods. You could look at total raid participation up to the present and have members compete with achievement points, or you could decide on a priority order among the members able to equip those items, or you could have the members who wanted them play rock-paper-scissors for them and leave it up to fate. These methods were an issue that all raiding guilds dealt with through repeated trial and error.
Fantasy-class items were powerful, and raids were often conducted specifically to acquire them. Masterpieces with special signatures and abilities that couldn’t be obtained any other way commanded respect from the whole server. Sometimes, as with the name “Knights of the Black Sword,” they even became a guild’s glory.
There were many guilds that had collapsed due to the way they divided rewards. Consequently, all guilds took the greatest possible care regarding management and reward division.
Since the era of the game, Silver Sword had used the point system. This was a method in which members used achievement points from the number of raids in which they had participated to place successful bids on items. However, when they’d defeated a boss that was completely unknown and had never been defeated before, the items weren’t distributed by points. Instead, that privilege was customarily left to William, the guild master. Distribution according to the points system felt fair, and members found it hard to complain about it. On the other hand, items went to whoever wanted them, provided they spent points, which meant that items could end up with owners who weren’t optimal from the perspective of improving fighting power.
Specific distribution by William was an arrangement that gave newly acquired, powerful equipment to apt members, so that they could conduct future captures efficiently.
His body had finally recovered, and William whipped it into action, stood, and approached the mountain of treasure. When he opened multiple layers of acquisition windows and the information was displayed, he saw rows of items that the raid bosses had dropped. Each and every one of them was the sort whose might was apparent in its name.
Well, of course. This was the first time anyone on the Yamato server had tackled a raid that was over level 90 straight on and gotten through it. After having scaled a peak he’d aspired to, William felt surprisingly calm.
Lynkeus’s Eye.
Absolute Fire and Ice Blade.
Ouroboros Scale.
All were appealing. Everyone who’d participated in the raid would be able to confirm this information from where they were. Each of them sat up, checking windows that floated in empty space or looking in William’s direction. In the midst of their hopeful gazes, the silver-haired young man thought for a while. Then he turned and spoke to his comrades.
“Moon Katsura-Flower Charm. This thing.”
It was a charm fashioned from intricately carved metal.
Four stylized flower petals bloomed, rather proudly, in a circular frame.
“I want to give this to Machiavelli-with-Glasses.”
Just then, a certain feeling faded rapidly from the area. It was a type of strained hostility, and it was also an edgy tension they’d been feeling ever since they entered the zone.
Federico’s nose twitched as if he were sniffing the air. Then he muttered, “It’s gotten kinda warm.”
The members of the raid team understood, more clearly than if someone had explained it to them, that their capture of this zone was over. Technically, they hadn’t subjugated Ruseato of the Seventh Garden yet, but it wasn’t necessary anymore. The zone’s hostility toward William and the others had vanished, and it had turned into a safe area.
“I guess he did something.”
As he spoke, Dinclon raked up his dirty bangs with his fingers.
Just as he’d said, Shiroe seemed to have succeeded in the negotiations he’d predicted. William had thought he’d pull it off, but at the idea that he’d really done it, he felt himself break into a smile again.
“Listen up: This is a good item. Its resistance and ability value boost are both top-class. That’s why I’m giving it to Machiavelli. He’s not Silver Sword, but he fought alongside us, and he’s a comrade.”
The answer that echoed in the great cavern was agreement.
As he listened to that proud chorus, William began to hand out the next trophy.
8
Four days after they’d said good-bye to William’s group:
Shiroe and the others alighted on an elevated road that was covered in greenery. As the griffins flew away (they’d exceeded the time limit), Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Tetora waved to them, then slowly began to walk over asphalt from the Age of Myth.
“Honestly! You’re so cold, Naotsugu.”
“I. Am. Not! My armor’s heavy, so the griffin doesn’t like carrying two riders.”
“So you say. Pull the other one. I bet you really have that spot reserved for somebody, don’t you?”
“Ow. Ow! What’s with that comeback?!”
“Heh-heh-heh! I am an idol, you know!”
As he listened to the two of them cheerfully horsing around, Shiroe looked up at the sky.
It was a bright, peaceful winter sky. Due to the season, it would probably only last another hour or two, but the sunlight poured down on their path.
After that, he’d met up with William and the others, left the Depths of Palm and traveled with them to Susukino. In a complete turnaround from the beginning of their journey, they’d traveled together in an amiable mood.
Demiquas seemed to have undergone some great emotional change. His curt attitude was the same as ever, but he’d stopped flaring up at the Silver Sword members. As before, he didn’t talk to Shiroe’s group, but Shiroe wasn’t bothered by it.
Every night of their return journey, they talked with the Silver Sword members about all sorts of things. Most of the conversations were very practical: They exchanged information about various things that had happened after the Catastrophe.
They hadn’t talked about their life stories or discussed their worries.
Silver Sword knew most things about Akiba’s current situation. For Adventurers in this world, who were able to telechat, as long as you had acquaintances, it wasn’t hard to get information about distant places. However, Silver Sword didn’t know much of the latest news about production or inventions. Thinking it wasn’t the sort of thing to hide, Shiroe made an effort to share their results in those areas. In return, Silver Sword gave him information on things as well, such as new materials they’d seen on their raids in the Ezzo Empire.
What both parties spent the most time talking about was the vast amount of material items they’d obtained on this raid. Shiroe had taken some, but most had remained with Silver Sword. If they wanted, Shopping District 8 and Grandale would probably come up to Ezzo to do business with them. Silver Sword needed to use these trophies as capital to replenish the material they’d used up.
Every night, as they sat around a campfire and ate their provisions—which were nearly gone—they talked about various aspects of their trophies, about equipment that might be possible to manufacture new, and about future courses—in other words, they talked about the exact same things they’d talked about when Elder Tales had been a game, and that was all.
However, Shiroe and the other participants felt a deep satisfaction.
They’d won their way through a very painful raid battle.
They didn’t need unnecessary conversation. This was fine.
Naotsugu polished a new equipment piece he’d acquired, humming as he worked; Tetora sat on a rock, smiling brightly, legs swinging; and even Demiquas participated, his mouth set in a dissatisfied line, lazily using his elbow as a pillow. Shiroe looked at this, then returned to his discussion with Silver Sword. After all, it was the only souvenir he could leave on this short journey.
Theirs was a fulfilled, triumphant return.
He’d spoken briefly with William, too.
William had said they’d stay in Susukino. Giants appeared in Ezzo as field raids. This was the same as it had been in the Elder Tales days, but he said that sometimes new monsters joined them in the attacks. Speaking awkwardly, “Mithril Eyes” told Shiroe that they’d repel these and recover their fighting power, preparing for further raids. William added, at the end, that he was also worried about Susukino.
Shiroe nodded, agreeing with those words. There was nothing about the decision that he could object to. William was a fine guild master, and Shiroe thought the resolution was a good one.
“Add me to your friend list,” William said.
Friend lists were one-way streets for both parties. Even if you’d added someone, they might not have added you. If you’d registered someone, you could contact them, so ordinarily, no one asked the other party to register them in return. If you only wanted to contact them, you could just add them to your own list, and that was all it took.
As a result, Shiroe understood that William’s words meant, If anything happens, contact me.
He was quite possibly feeling self-conscious: William’s expression was even sourer than usual.
“You’re already on it,” Shiroe answered.
“That’s fine, then,” William responded, and raised a hand.
That had been the end. They’d simply parted ways with Silver Sword, the group William led.
In Elder Tales, there weren’t many top group players who conducted raid captures. No matter how large the guild, the size of its leading-edge raid capture group was limited. There had been fewer than five hundred of them on the Yamato server. The number wasn’t large enough to feel sorry about parting with them. They were always running beside you, and you could fight together again anytime. Shiroe had learned this from William.
This might be another world now, but that probably hadn’t changed. When he’d lived on Earth, Shiroe thought, that sort of relationship had been there, too; he simply hadn’t known about it. Although he couldn’t sense them, he had lots of unknown companions who were fighting the same way he was fighting. To Shiroe, this was no small discovery.
Even now, he had many companions who weren’t affiliated with his guild.
Their biggest objective in returning to Susukino had been Li Gan. He’d made himself right at home in an inn, and his attic room had been bursting at the seams with materials. He was surrounded by books that had been brought in from who-knew-where and unintelligible notes he’d probably written himself, and he seemed very excited.
Apparently, he wouldn’t be able to leave Susukino for a while longer. He seemed to have made progress in his research on the intercity transport gates. Shiroe and the others said good-bye to him, then left Susukino. Li Gan said he’d need to investigate the other gates soon, and they had plans to meet up in Akiba.
Then they’d traveled through the sky by griffin, and had finally reached Lesswall. If the griffins had been able to hold out for another thirty minutes or an hour, they’d have made it to Akiba easily, but they’d fallen just short. That said, it wasn’t far enough that they’d have to set up camp and put it off until tomorrow.
If they walked for a while to stretch their legs, then summoned their horses, they’d reach Akiba after dusk. Naotsugu and Tetora knew this, and they seemed carefree.
“Whoa, hey, hold it, don’t climb that!”
“If I wait, then may I climb? Respond, please.”
“What-are-you-a-kid city?”
“Children don’t smell half this sweet. Heh-heh-heh.”
“Where did you learn a line like tha—uh, huh? Ri-right.”
Naotsugu abruptly broke off his comedy routine, pushing Tetora away with a “Sorry, my bad!” then took off running, too impatient even to summon his horse. Tetora, who’d landed bottom first, pouted a bit. Looking dissatisfied, the idol came up beside Shiroe, then twirled around.
“It isn’t going well. Maybe I’m not charming enough.”
“Don’t tease him too much.”
“If it wasn’t ‘too much,’ it would be boring.”
Chest puffed out, Tetora’s face was so proud it nearly shone. Shiroe shrugged his shoulders.
“When are you going to tell him you’re a boy?”
“That’s a secret until he figures it out for himself. It’s more fun that way.”
“In that sense, this just might be an important time for Naotsugu…”
With regard to Miss Mari, Shiroe continued silently. The people in question seemed to think they were keeping it under wraps, but the fact that Naotsugu and Marielle’s relationship was developing was something Shiroe and Nyanta were tacitly supporting… That said, their support was purely mental: They had no intention of meddling.
“Understood, sir! Just you leave it to me!” Tetora was beaming, and Shiroe sighed, unsure whether Tetora understood or not. He knew the kid was really the type who could read atmospheres, but being able to read them was one thing, and whether or not he acted accordingly was up to him.
It wasn’t that momentum hadn’t been a factor, but Shiroe was the one who’d let him join the guild. He did think he might have inadvertently made life rougher for Naotsugu.
That said, aside from the way he tended to overdo it, Tetora definitely wasn’t the sort of talent who could be turned away because of his personality or ability. He’d really wanted to join, and he’d also come recommended by a friend.
“I wasn’t in Susukino because Kazuhiko ordered me to be there, you know.”
“I’ll trust you on that.”
“Besides, I think…you’re probably more able to help people than I am, Shiroe.”
“Log Horizon isn’t a charity.”
“But the world isn’t hard-boiled enough to let you stay uninvolved, is it? It really is a problem.”
You’ve got that right. Shiroe was forced to agree with Tetora’s oddly world-wise opinion.
He’d bought the guild center in order to protect Akiba from a disturbance he couldn’t yet see.
But knowing that wasn’t enough to resolve the issue, he’d bought up more zones.
However, once he’d done it, he hadn’t been able to pay all the maintenance fees, and in that case, he’d thought it would be better to dissolve the contracts and convert them into zones that couldn’t be privately owned.
For that to happen, he had to free the rights of ownership to the whole Yamato server from the system, in perpetuity.
His first idea hadn’t been that strange.
It had been clear to everyone that the zone ownership system was a potential source of future trouble. Shiroe had thought that since he’d been the first one to use it that way, it was his responsibility to set matters right.
However, it had taken a long time to carry out that plan; he’d had to use a variety of connections, and had ended up going all the way to the Ezzo Empire and the depths of the earth. This world really was difficult to deal with.
Still, it’s not as if that’s anything new.
Now that he thought about it, things weren’t much different from the way they’d been in the days of the Debauchery Tea Party.
Once he started to move, all sorts of unexpected things happened. In the midst of it, he was made conscious of his lack of power. It had been a while, but looking back, he saw that it had happened every time. He remembered KR’s irresponsible words: That’s just the stars you were born under. Don’t give up!
“Aaaaah!!”
Once they made a big detour around a crumbling, dangerous section of road shoulder and skirted a mountain of rubble, their view opened up. Tetora pointed down the road, got excited and broke into a run. Ahead of them was a group wearing coats in all sorts of colors, waving at Shiroe. Tetora charged at them at a furious pace, then seemed to have started some sort of ruckus with Naotsugu, who was desperately making excuses.
Smiling wryly but feeling warm inside, Shiroe kept walkin
g slowly.
The Captain, Minori and Touya, Rundelhaus and Isuzu: They had come out just to welcome them back. There were Crescent Moon League members there, too; while Naotsugu, at his wits’ end, was being hugged from both sides by Marielle and Tetora. Henrietta bowed to Shiroe silently with a gentle smile. Serara was there, too, standing happily next to Nyanta. Shouryuu and Hien were there as well.
As he began to approach the waving group, Shiroe sensed a presence and turned around.
“Have you grown a little?”
“That’s mean, my liege!”
His passing comment seemed to have made Akatsuki mad, but she did look slightly more grown up. She was wearing a shawl over ninja clothes he hadn’t seen before, and she really did seem kinder and braver than she had when they’d parted on the shore.
Unable to understand why that was, Shiroe gazed steadily into the small, adorable face, but… “Don’t be rude, my liege,” Akatsuki said, and circled around behind him.
Shiroe, whose eyes had begun to follow Akatsuki down past his side, abruptly realized that this scene was just like it had been before, and he felt his mood grow gentle.
Akatsuki had fought on a battlefield of her own.
Just as he’d seen on that white shore, Akatsuki must have reclaimed something, too.
She’d gotten just a little stronger.
The world was moving.
While Shiroe had been working hard, his companions had been fighting just as hard in other places. Just as Shiroe had sensed in William, even if he couldn’t see them, he had countless companions running beside him. The realization was encouraging, and it made him feel as if he’d been rescued somehow. After a long journey, Shiroe had returned to Akiba and had been reunited with the companions who’d kept up the fight while they waited for him.
Once Shiroe noticed the feeling, he wanted to share it with them; he searched for words, but his quiet happiness kept him from finding the right ones. However, there was no need to hurry. He’d have all sorts of time to tell them.