by Mamare Touno
Just remembering it was embarrassing.
“Um, Shiroe…”
“Hm?”
“Aren’t you going to go greet her? I mean, aren’t we the only guild on the Round Table Council that hasn’t gone to greet the princess?”
Shiroe shrugged his shoulders vaguely.
“I saw her a little bit ago.”
Those words hung in the air for a long time, but soon a cheer welled up from below their feet, drowning them out. Had some guild revealed an avant-garde outfit? Shiroe listened to the reports that came in by telechat, occasionally giving brief responses. After a rather long interval, Minori asked a new question.
“It’s on purpose…isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“…I’m sorry, Shiroe.”
Minori bowed her head, shamefacedly.
“It’s nothing to apologize for. It isn’t anything to make public, either.”
“But I…I meddled, and I was trying to take you to the dinner party… Even though there wasn’t any need to, now that I think about it. You’re one of the eleven guilds; there’s no way they wouldn’t have sent you an invitation. In other words…you were planning to make Princess Raynesia dislike you, right from the start, weren’t you.”
It wasn’t even a question at this point. She was confirming it.
She’s a terribly sharp kid.
That said, it hadn’t been such a difficult plan to see through in the first place. There were many others on the Round Table Council who’d caught on. In addition, the maneuver couldn’t work without companions who saw through it to a certain extent.
“Krusty’s on better terms with the princess. In order to get discussions moving, it’s convenient to have someone who’s liked and someone who isn’t. That true in terms of the future as well.”
“……”
“The princess’s position is shaky. Right now, she has everyone’s sympathy because of her beauty, her straightforward temperament, and her hardworking sincerity, but that won’t last forever. The princess currently likes Akiba, but we don’t know how long that will last, either. Of course, the relationship between the People of the Earth and the Adventurers has shown great improvement. Still, we don’t know how long things will stay that way. There may be all sorts of situations where coercive maneuvers are necessary. Without a doubt, a time will come that makes this incident look like nothing at all. For the sake of that time as well, we need to assign roles.”
Of course, the strategy depended on Krusty supporting the princess’s feelings. When he’d realized this, Krusty had looked cross, but there hadn’t been any help for it: That was his role. He was, at the very least, the Adventurer who represented the Round Table Council, and it would be a problem if he didn’t shoulder burdens of that size.
In any case, from what Shiroe had seen, being forced to go along with Shiroe’s plan had been the part Krusty hadn’t liked. Even if he’d been left to his own devices, Shiroe figured that Krusty would have helped the princess regardless.
Besides—
Following his flowing thoughts, Shiroe strained his eyes to see the threshold of his vision of what would be. In the midst of a mass of indistinct predictions, he could see a pale future.
That princess with the troublesome personality needed Krusty.
Krusty also needed the princess—or so he wanted to believe.
“You don’t mind that…Shiroe?”
“Why?”
Part of his mind caught Minori’s words, and Shiroe’s thoughts were cut short. Shiroe’s companion wore an expression that seemed troubled, and distressed, and sad.
“Because…”
Minori faltered. He waited for the rest of her explanation, but the words didn’t come.
“The disadvantage to Log Horizon, you mean? …Regarding that, at a certain stage, I’m thinking of asking Captain Nyanta to act as the leader and go to greet Princess Raynesia separately. At an appropriate dinner party or something, you know. Of course, you’ll be going as well, Minori, so you should probably dress up. That sky-blue outfit the other day was cute.”
At Shiroe’s words, Minori’s anguish seemed to deepen.
Shiroe scratched his head, wondering if he’d given the wrong answer. Apparently she hadn’t liked what he’d said, or he’d directed it the wrong way.
“Isn’t that painful for you, Shiroe?”
“……”
Oh, Shiroe thought. I guess it might look that way, too. That was something he hadn’t factored in. It was such an ordinary sentiment that he hadn’t even thought of it.
“No, not at all. It’s normal.”
“……”
Minori seemed to have a very hard time accepting this idea.
Even though it was no more than necessary deployment and putting the right person in the right place, according to a plan.
Minori’s lips were pressed together, and she was really serious. Her large eyes looked as if they might tear up, her cheeks were flushed and tense, and her eyebrows had shot up as if she were angry. Everything showed that she had no intention of giving an inch.
“The way you assisted the PGLC this time was a big help, Minori. What you did was worth more than having another ten business staff members on-site. You were fantastic.”
At Shiroe’s words, Minori blinked.
“Similarly, Minori—if there’s something in front of you that needs to be done, and you’re able to do it, and someone wants you to, I think it’s a good thing. You can be proud of that. If, by doing it, you’re able to connect with something else, I think that’s also fine.”
Minori looked troubled.
That was only natural. Even Shiroe wasn’t saying this sort of thing because he understood. On the contrary, he’d avoided being involved with a guild because it seemed like too much trouble, and he wasn’t even qualified to talk like this. Even when viewed moderately, these were the sort of lines that should be said by people like Michitaka and Krusty, people who’d been leading their own guilds for a long time.
However, Shiroe had acquired companions too, and there were a few things he’d learned for the first time by creating his own guild. Even if you got stronger all by yourself, you were just a ghost. Strength gained that way was empty, not focused on anything. It was no more than spectral power, power whose touch the outside world could not feel, and could not be made to feel.
Strength you acquired on your own was still strength, of course, but Shiroe thought that in order to use that strength, you needed companions, and in order for those companions to live, you needed the world. Right now, its shape was still vague and unclear, but to Shiroe, Log Horizon was an important place that overflowed with that sort of thing.
“I’ll work just as hard as you’re working, Minori.”
Minori nodded with a face that seemed troubled or maybe angry, and surely heartrendingly sad. All Shiroe could do was feel sorry. In the end, the only answer he’d been able to give to this middle schooler’s effort and questions had been evasive and incomplete.
Not only that, but he felt as if he’d been both scolded and encouraged.
There was no help for that, either.
The day’s award for distinguished service went to this little girl. He was genuinely happy that this MVP was one of his companions. The fact that he’d taught her a little bit tickled him. Being looked up to as a senior member or teacher wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
Smiling wryly, Shiroe nodded again.
“I’ll work hard so I don’t cause trouble for you, Minori.”
4
Akatsuki, who’d run up the gray stairway muffling her rapid breathing, stopped abruptly. It would have been all right to go straight up to him as usual, but she couldn’t do it: She didn’t want Shiroe to notice she was out of breath.
Besides, the clothes she was wearing were feminine, something Henrietta had forced her into. The costume had fluttery bits here and there, and although it looked cute, it was too light. Akatsuki was used to combat wear. It m
ade her feel defenseless, as if she were walking around half naked.
It also wasn’t the least bit stealthy, so it wasn’t a convenient outfit for sneaking up on Shiroe.
Slipping into the shadow of an ancient tree that hung out over the elevated walkway, Akatsuki caught her breath. She didn’t want Shiroe to think she’d gotten agitated and come running up.
Over the past few days, Akatsuki had felt as if the distance between herself and Shiroe had gotten just a little smaller. Yesterday night at the guild hall, she’d touched his hair. It had been cooler than she’d expected, yet completely different from her own hair. A man’s hair. It had been smooth and thick, and it had tickled Akatsuki’s slim fingers as it fell. The sensation of his hair was still on her fingertips.
Just touching it had made her happy, and the experience had made her smile. When she’d assumed a glum expression on purpose and told Shiroe it was fun, Shiroe had looked bewildered and echoed her words back as a question.
That had been fun, too.
However, as a result of the decision to catch her breath, Akatsuki ended up eavesdropping.
Shiroe stood looking down over the firelit plaza from the elevated walkway, and there was a girl next to him.
It was Minori, one of Akatsuki’s companions from Log Horizon.
Minori and Shiroe’s conversation came to her, faintly, on the night wind that blew across Akiba.
“It’s on purpose…isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“…I’m sorry, Shiroe.”
At first she didn’t understand what they were talking about.
“It’s nothing to apologize for. It isn’t anything to make public, either.”
“But I…I meddled, and I was trying to take you to the dinner party… Even though there wasn’t any need to, now that I think about it. You’re one of the eleven guilds; there’s no way they wouldn’t have sent you an invitation. In other words…you were planning to make Princess Raynesia dislike you, right from the start, weren’t you.”
At those words, Akatsuki very nearly made a noise.
He’d meant to make himself unpopular? Shiroe?
That was a perspective Akatsuki hadn’t even considered.
At the unexpected exchange, Akatsuki forgot to call out to Shiroe. All she could do was listen. The autumn wind kept snatching the pair’s conversation away, and it came to her in bits and pieces.
Akatsuki thought about Minori’s words—You were planning to make Princess Raynesia dislike you—and as she understood what they implied, a little chill ran down her spine. Akatsuki had heard Shiroe’s words as well, so she understood that someone had interfered with Akiba that day.
She was also aware that Shiroe had headed it off, even if she didn’t know the details of his methods.
However, Akatsuki hadn’t thought about it the way Minori had.
Unlike Minori, she’d never thought about how Shiroe looked to others.
Unlike Minori, she hadn’t thought about what might happen to Log Horizon’s position.
Unlike Minori, she hadn’t distanced herself from Shiroe to go fight for his sake.
—Unlike Minori, she hadn’t tried to rescue Shiroe from his pain.
Inside Akatsuki’s flat chest, her heart began to pound.
Shiroe had seemed so close up until last night. Was he getting further and further away from her now? The idea was pure terror.
A loneliness like that of a small child abandoned in the darkness set up a wordless moan inside her chest.
Shiroe was going far away.
Or, no, had he always been far away?
Had the thought that he was beside her been no more than an illusion?
Ever since the day Shiroe had rescued her, she’d stayed close to him. She’d called him her liege, become his shadow, swung her katana to protect him. Meanwhile, she’d felt she was also being protected by Shiroe, but even that had been pleasant.
However, Akatsuki might have been the only one who thought they were protecting each other.
At the very least, I don’t understand my liege that way…
It hurt to admit that.
She was inferior to her guild mate, that middle school girl.
The bitterness and pain of admitting she was losing were accompanied by the sensation of falling, as though the ground under her feet had frozen, turned brittle, and was crumbling away.
Akatsuki had unconsciously gripped a kunai, but now even that was wavering weakly. She’d come to a dim realization as well.
It was about her own limits, and what they meant.
It was true that Assassins boasted the greatest attack power of all the classes. Akatsuki herself had taken pride in continuing her combat training. Her attack power and individual combat abilities were probably top class, among all the Adventurers. However, although top class was top class, she was no more than a member of the top class.
Akatsuki had never participated in a large-scale battle before.
There was no help for that. Up until now, she’d been a solo player, not affiliated with any guild, and she’d led an aloof life. In order for solo players to participate in raids, they had to be picked up to fill vacancies when guilds recruited or wanted temporary participants. It was also possible to belong to a special group like the Debauchery Tea Party, but that had been an extremely rare case. It was quite a lot of work to gather Adventurers who weren’t connected with guilds and create a group. It would have been easier to just start a guild, and that would have made it easier to gain honor.
In the first place, raids were a highly difficult style of play that required repeated practice in teamwork and combat. Conducting them with anything other than fixed members could mean only lowering the success rate of the entire operation. There was a good reason that big guilds equaled big raids.
Shiroe, Nyanta, and Naotsugu had all been solo players or members of small guilds, but they were super-top-class Adventurers who’d accumulated training in the Debauchery Tea Party, the best environment on the server.
In comparison, although naturally Akatsuki was top class and had trained to the limit for a solo player, in terms of completeness of equipment, skill in working with others, and knowledge, she wasn’t super-top-class.
Am I…a fake…?
She hugged herself. Her body was trembling slightly.
The combat skills she’d always relied on, the skills she’d declared would let her protect Shiroe, weren’t super-top-class. She’d known as much, but reconfirming this fact shattered Akatsuki’s pride to smithereens.
Still, if that had been all, it would have been all right. Raids were a difficult play style that required cooperation from large groups. There were probably countless Adventurers who hadn’t experienced them.
However, a mere Kannagi, one whose level was still low, was using a method Akatsuki had never even thought of and attempting to stand beside Akatsuki’s liege. To Akatsuki, who had been proud of her combat skills and had made them the focus of her life in this other world, this was a shocking fact.
“What you did was worth more than having another ten business staff members on-site. You were fantastic.”
Shiroe’s voice echoed over and over.
Not only had the girl Minori read Shiroe’s thoughts, she’d fought on her own battlefield in order to lessen his burden. A little girl, a mere middle schooler, whose level wasn’t even half Akatsuki’s, had exercised the strength she had and soared past Akatsuki to the heights. And, on top of that, Minori had worried about Shiroe.
Shiroe, lonely. Akatsuki had never even imagined it.
That girl had attempted to soothe his loneliness.
That fact shattered Akatsuki. The awareness of it bit into her chest like broken glass, stealing the words she’d meant to say to Shiroe.
5
Little by little, the dinner party turned into a banquet in the plaza, but it was fantastically well received by all the residents of Akiba. By the end, Raynesia was limp. She had used up all her strength, b
ut when she slumped onto the bench and gave a little wave, people thought she was adorable. Beautiful girls come out on top, no matter what they do.
Meanwhile, Shiroe continued to watch the party with Minori. That said, because Shiroe was still the acting counselor as far as the security system was concerned, all he could do was fire off telechats from the overhead walkway and occasionally speak with his companion.
Then that night ended, and the third day arrived.
During the afternoon of the final day, because it was a festival and those didn’t come around often, Shiroe and the rest of Log Horizon decided to get together and go look around the flea market.
Unlike at the autumn clothing and accessories exhibition, there were all sorts of things for sale at the flea market, from weapons and defensive gear to furniture; guild house facilities and equipment; as well as books and scrolls, foodstuffs, and monster drop items.
There were also crowds of People of the Earth peddlers who’d come from far-flung towns specifically for the this part of the event.
Feeling nostalgic, Nyanta and Shiroe looked around to see if there was any merchandise from the village they’d stopped at on the way back from Susukino, but they didn’t find any. Instead, Nyanta purchased some splendid salt pork ribs.
With this much merchandise in one place, it was only natural that the members’ acquisitiveness was at full throttle. Touya bought a new Japanese-style helmet decorated with braided red thread, and Naotsugu stocked up on potions.
After Minori and Nyanta talked to him about it, Shiroe decided to dip into the guild’s budget, and they bought a shared water tank and several rugs. They needed a variety of goods for winter, and there was so much merchandise here that they were spoiled for choice.
