by Mamare Touno
“Wha? Ah…huh. Of course I do, but… With that one, the legs are… Are you sure?”
However, Raynesia’s relief was fleeting. She didn’t really understand what was being said, but Shiroe and the merchant Calasin had begun to talk about something she couldn’t just let slide.
“Yes. It’s not a problem. Something like that is just what we need, in several ways. One set, if you would. I’ve got the cape somewhere, so we won’t need that. Would you also pick out a likely-looking weapon? A one-handed long sword with a good design; if the equip level is four or under, it should be fine. …Akatsuki, go get us a room. A small one will do. We’ll pay by the hour. —No, attack power doesn’t matter at all. It just has to look good.”
What followed was a whirl of shame and confusion.
Having been shown to a simple room, Raynesia was stripped of her clothes and changed into the battle costume she’d been handed. The girl called Akatsuki dressed her.
There were many nobles who regularly left the task of changing their clothes to their maids. Raynesia was one of them, of course, and she wasn’t reluctant to show her skin in public.
The source of the embarrassment and confusion lay in the battle costume, the first she’d ever worn.
First, it was as light as down.
A robe woven from thin, dazzling silver chains, and a cuirass.
The gauntlets and what seemed to be metal leg protectors were graceful things, embossed with arabesque patterns, and they reminded her of elven craftsmanship.
The problem was…
The chain robe, and the waist armor. They only hid the bases of her thighs by the barest margin, leaving most of her legs exposed. Some dresses were designed to leave the upper arms naked this way, but she’d never in her life (probably) worn any garment shameless enough to show her legs.
“Skirt…next.” The scrap of cloth that was put on her after that minimalist sentence was made of green silk. In terms of area, it was more like a sort of loincloth or scarf than a skirt.
I-I knew it. My legs will be entirely exposed… And this cuirass— The chest is sculpted to be a bit too realistic, and…it’s making them look bigger than they are…
Akatsuki hung a sword belt around the discombobulated Raynesia’s waist, then cinched up various belts here and there. As they tightened, all the armor pressed closely against her skin, and she felt the weight of it even less.
Raynesia marveled at its lightness and comfort, thinking that it must be a terribly famous magic item… However, it accentuated the lines of her figure as well, meaning the wretched spectacle was too horrid even to look at.
She didn’t think her figure was all that bad, but weren’t these clothes far too, too—scanty? Raynesia groaned.
“Erm… Miss Akatsuki? I really do think this shows my figure too—”
“You’re tall, so live with it.”
Finding herself the target of a cold glare, Raynesia fell silent.
Akatsuki took a comb out of an inner pocket and began to run it through Raynesia’s hair until it lay smooth. Her movements were flowing, and Raynesia thought she was more careful than any of her maids, but her tension only grew.
For a while now, she’d felt an excessive pressure from the tiny girl, possibly because she didn’t say much.
Catching Raynesia’s hand as she sniffled and complained, Akatsuki opened the door and pulled her outside. Shiroe and Calasin were waiting for them. They seemed to have been having a meeting right where they stood in the corridor. When Calasin looked at Raynesia—who was trying to hide behind Akatsuki, even though their heights were different—he broke into a smile.
The expression of genuine admiration on his face was the same as the ones worn by the knights and civil servants. On the other hand, Shiroe’s was appraising, and Raynesia added him to her mental list of people to watch out for.
“That’s not bad at all. …Is it, Calasin.”
“Yes, I think she’s terribly beautiful.”
“…Th-thank you very much.”
Raynesia very nearly lifted the skirt a bit to curtsy, but she checked herself hastily. The scrap of cloth she was wearing right now (she really didn’t want to call it a skirt) wasn’t long enough to lift.
“All right, let’s get down to business. It’s fine. Yes, don’t worry. I rate you quite highly, Princess.”
For some reason, Shiroe’s words and smile gave Raynesia a chill, but for now, all she did was nod in agreement.
2
And then…
“Thank you for gathering before dawn like this; that’s good to see. I’m Shiroe of Log Horizon. It is early, after all, and the military situation is urgent, so I’ll explain the present circumstances right away.”
It was dawn.
Akiba’s plaza was filled with a crowd of Adventurers. There was no telling how many there were, but the square was packed. She thought there must be far more than a thousand of them.
Akiba’s central plaza.
They’d cleared away the rubble over the past few months, which meant there was about 20 percent more space than there had been right after the Catastrophe. When Elder Tales was a game, the rubble had been background objects and they hadn’t been able to shift it, but now they could both move and break it.
In combination with the neatly repainted, enterprising shops that were already opening, even at this hour, this made the town of Akiba look even livelier.
Raynesia didn’t know about any of these things, of course, and to her, Akiba seemed to be an almost frighteningly energetic town. Dawn hadn’t yet broken, and blue had only just begun to steal into the eastern sky. She’d never experienced a full-fledged war, and, to her, the fact that such a large crowd had assembled so early on a summer morning seemed to be an extraordinary situation.
Not only that, but not all the people who’d gathered looked like knights.
There were elves and dwarves, and even artisans and merchants. Unlike at military or noble meetings, food and drink was being sold to the people in the plaza, and the sight made her think that this sort of assembly might be an everyday occurrence in this town.
Although Raynesia wasn’t aware of it, the Round Table Council members who’d been answering Shiroe’s telechats in shifts around the clock had made all the preparations at his request. This was also true of the able Adventurers who’d gathered in the square, of the stage that had been set up, and of the “secret weapon” moored on the river that ran behind the town of Akiba. However, these were things Raynesia didn’t yet know.
What Raynesia saw from the tent that formed the backstage area was a platform brightly illuminated by Lumieres—light spirits conjured by a Summoner. It looked as though they’d used a precious magician—and a Summoner at that—as a mere stagehand, and the idea was nearly enough to bring Raynesia’s common sense crashing down, but what completely stunned her was the continuation of the talk.
“—Due to the factors I’ve just mentioned, a tribe of goblins a little less than twenty thousand strong at the maximum has appeared in the forested hills of the northeastern region, centered on the base of the Zantleaf Peninsula. The pressure of this force is exerting influence in all directions. Reports from multiple Adventurers staying in Zantleaf have also been confirmed. Eastal, the League of Free Cities, an organization that governs eastern Yamato, is currently being exposed to this threat. That said, according to predictions from the Round Table Council, the threat will remain a mere threat. Even if we do nothing, the League of Free Cities will not be annihilated. However, it is conceivable that they will lose about thirty percent of their total fighting strength. …While it’s true that these figures are close to annihilation, it isn’t as though the People of the Earth will be completely wiped out down to the last man.”
The information Shiroe was delivering was more detailed than what the League of Free Cities’ Lords’ Council had obtained. His words were merciless, and if her ears weren’t deceiving her, she sensed sharp thorns in them.
Howev
er, what truly astonished Raynesia wasn’t Shiroe’s attitude. It was the fact that there was a clear light of understanding in the eyes of every Adventurer who heard what he said.
From what she could see from where she peeked out of the tent, not a single one of them looked bored or as if they couldn’t understand. A few of them even had bundles of paper—probably maps—open and were jotting down the main points of the address.
To Raynesia, a Person of the Earth, it was an astounding sight. Weren’t the people gathered here Akiba’s equivalent of ordinary townsfolk? How could they comprehend so much?
The Adventurers in the plaza, the ones Raynesia had assumed were soldiers, had understanding that was on par not only with military officers, but with royal civil servants. All these people had knowledge of topography and military affairs. Not only that, they seemed to be well informed even about the political situation of Eastal, the League of Free Cities, and the fact was enough of a shock to crumble the very ground under Raynesia’s feet.
What were nobles? What were commoners? What were farmers?
Inside Raynesia, the worldview she’d placed her trust in up until now shivered and broke apart.
“On the other hand, as far as we’re concerned, I don’t think it will be very difficult to defend Akiba from this army. This town is quite self-sufficient in everything except food, particularly with regard to technology, and we have a certain amount of defensive strength. Nothing says we have to save the League of Free Cities. In terms of profit and loss, there’s no need to save them. Let me repeat that: There is absolutely no need to save them. Now having said that, there’s something I’d like you to hear.”
Everyone in the plaza seemed to be holding their breath.
In the midst of the intense silence unique to large gatherings, Shiroe looked toward the tent and beckoned to someone with his fingers.
Huh?
As Raynesia stared blankly, a hand suddenly caught her arm.
When she turned… Krusty stood there, wearing armor the color of a dull dawn. Was it for ceremonial or practical use? But with his usual calm smile, the one that didn’t betray what he was thinking, Krusty said, “Well, shall we?”
“What? Pardon?”
“Come.”
Just like that, she was dragged from the tent. Abruptly, a light strong enough to make her vision go white filled the area.
It was the first rays of dawn. The morning’s first light had begun to stream down into the plaza from the eastern sky.
Raynesia was suddenly thrust out into the wind of an early summer morning, which held no heat as yet.
She was in the center of the stage. On the front line, with no place to run.
Raynesia flushed from head to toe. She felt giddy. She had no idea what to say or do. There were several thousand Adventurers in front of her. Beings who were not like the People of the Earth. They might look the same and speak the same words, but the slight contact she’d had with them over the past short while had convinced her that they were fundamentally different creatures.
Her lips trembled, and her knees were on the verge of quaking.
Just then, a sharp sound rang out from behind her, to her right.
When she turned, there was Krusty, looking as imposing as a heroic deity charged with protection. His hands were folded over each other on the pommel of a giant, two-handed ax that was braced on the floor. The sharp sound had been the ax hitting the stage.
The dull, loud thud she heard next came from behind her on the left. Shiroe had retreated to that point, holding a ceremonial priest’s staff he hadn’t had earlier. It was about as long as he was tall, and he was resting it on the stage as if it were a spear.
With Krusty and Shiroe to either side of her, Raynesia took a step forward on the great stage. The heat she’d felt was rising, and her vision warped dizzily, but her mind was oddly clear. The sound of her own breathing was loud in her ears, but strangely, she could hear the voice of an Adventurer whispering in a corner of the plaza quite clearly.
“—It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am a Person of the Earth. My name is Raynesia Elarte Cowen. I belong to the House of Cowen, which governs the city of Maihama and is involved with Eastal, the League of Free Cities. I’ve come here today to ask a favor of you.”
Even she was startled at the clarity of the voice she managed to produce. In the morning air, her words reached all the way to the edges of the plaza.
“As Master Shiroe has just explained, the land of Yamato is heading toward crisis. Let me speak plainly, concealing nothing: The whereabouts of the Knights of Izumo, whom you know as Yamato’s guardian deities, are a mystery, and the League of Free Cities is being compelled to handle this matter with nothing to rely on but its own power. The numbers of this goblin army are greater than any invasion we’ve seen before, and their movements are as fast as lightning. Regrettably, we have already let them advance deep into the heart of the Free Cities. Of course, the People of the Earth have town walls and defensive barrier magic, and we do have soldiers. But, should war break out, it isn’t clear how reliable these things will prove to be. Even now, I believe my fellow People of the Earth are polishing their swords, patching up the town walls, and preparing for battle to protect the land of our ancestors. However, if that is all we have, we will be unable to avoid great bloodshed.”
Raynesia’s gaze went distant.
What she saw was not the throng in front of her, but the scene from a few hours before.
“Although I am ashamed to admit it, even now, at the eleventh hour, we of the League of Free Cities have been unable to come to an agreement. At the conference that was in progress until immediately before I came here, everyone was so concerned with the safety of their own territory that they could not cooperate. Moreover…”
She faltered.
However, it was too late for her to stop. “Moreover, they ended by devising a strategy to force our own sacred duty, that of protecting the land of our ancestors, onto the emergent town of Akiba’s Round Table Council. Immortal Adventurers… They were counting on your power, and they tried to use your military force to protect themselves and their territories. I do not have the right, but…I felt badly about it. What makes me feel even worse is that I have also come to make this selfish request of you.”
She didn’t realize it, but the set of Valkyrie Mail and the bright violet cloak that Shiroe had chosen emphasized Raynesia’s feminine form better than anything. In the dawn light, she was a goddess of war that anyone would idolize.
Raynesia didn’t know.
She didn’t know that as she faced the Adventurers and spoke to them, behind her, Shiroe had glanced slightly to the side and winked. Or that Krusty, who looked completely disgruntled, had given a wry smile in response.
“Neither I nor the League of Free Cities can offer much by way of payment. …I don’t even know if there’s anything we can give the people of a town as prosperous as yours, nor do I think it’s possible to compensate you fairly for your freedom. Even so, as a daughter of the House of Cowen, I love the city of Maihama, and I have a duty to protect it. And so—I will go there.”
It was far too pitiful, and far too selfish, and so…
Spontaneously, Raynesia knelt. She bowed her head very low.
If the Adventurers here had been knights, or civil servants, or, in other words, “nobles,” she could have gotten by without bowing her head. In aristocratic culture, ladies were treated as articles of value. The safety of a woman of high rank was protected first and foremost.
However, after meeting Krusty, she’d learned: The Adventurers were different.
Even in the town of Akiba, a title like hers would have won her respect as a daughter of the nobility. However, there was no doubt that it would not win her hangers-on who would be swayed by the slightest change in her expression, as it did in aristocratic culture. At the most, the respect would be the sort due to a neighbor.
This town was alien.
In it, she w
ould not receive the warm welcome she’d received as a princess up until now. However, on the other hand, she would also not be subjected to aristocratic society’s unique discrimination against ladies.
In aristocratic society, women had no rights as human beings.
They were pampered, of course, and they received gifts. They were given compliments, empty love poems, and enough sweet words to bathe in. If she merely looked anxious, the young knights would attempt to find any medicine for her, no matter how costly. However, none of this was because she was loved for herself, as an individual.
She was only being treated courteously because, as a lady, she was a prize in the diplomatic competition among the nobles.
In aristocratic society, ladies were treated as jewels. Even among those ladies, she had been beautiful with a certified pedigree: the ultimate trophy. No more than that.
Raynesia, who had closed herself up in her room and wallowed in melancholy thoughts, understood this better than anyone. She also knew she didn’t have the strength to deny it.
“I am lazy and a coward, an empty-headed ornament, but even so… I am going…to the battlefield. And so, if you please, if there are some of you who don’t mind, would you come with me? Would you help me, in the name of your goodwill and freedom? I would like to protect the ‘Adventurers’ freedom to the best of my abilities…”
But even if I say that… Even if I tell them I’ll protect their freedom…
While she was a daughter of the House of Cowen, she’d been born a woman, and she didn’t have that much authority. She could coax her father and grandfather into buying her dresses and jewels. She could probably choose one or two Adventurers and ensure that they received rewards. She could also hold a party.
However, in fact, that was the full extent of her political authority.
Even Raynesia felt as if she’d just made an empty promise.
That said, it was a wish more than a lie.
