The Knights of Camelot

by Mamare Touno

  “I’m afraid I have to admit this doesn’t feel plausible. Don’t you agree?” Krusty asked.

  His profile was as delicate and graceful as ever. It was a bit hard to believe that a man who looked so much like an intellectual was feared as a Berserker, but it was a fact. As proof, he continued to deliver relentless words in a calm voice.

  “I do think there is meaning in establishing that council. However, it would be…no more than a type of posturing. I can’t imagine it would have any real power to restrain.”

  At that remark, Shiroe quietly raised one hand.

  As if his gesture had captured their attention, all eyes went to him. A momentary silence fell in the conference room.

  “Today…about four hours ago now, I purchased the guild center.”

  A stunned atmosphere hung over the members.

  Every one of them needed time for the meaning of those words to sink in.

  “Naturally, I hold the right to change the zone settings, including entry and exit permissions. In other words, anyone I blacklist will be unable to use the guild center. That is to say, they will be unable to use the guildhalls, or the banking facilities, or the safe-deposit boxes.”

  As everyone stared at Shiroe with odd expressions, as though they’d gotten something stuck in their throats, Henrietta sighed deeply. In this vast conference room, she alone had seen through Shiroe’s scheme. At her sigh, Shiroe gave a wry, fleeting smile.

  “There, what did I tell you? He’s pitch-black.”

  Henrietta’s murmur was simultaneously appalled and filled with pity. Beside her, Marielle, who’d been watching the conference with bated breath, nodded.

  Shiroe’s words had rung out like a death sentence.

  3

  In the morning, when she woke up, she washed her face in water from the trough.

  The crude trough was really meant to be used in a stable as a manger. She washed her face in the cold water that filled the dingy trough, then dragged her dirty mantle around her shoulders.

  This was one of the rooms set aside as a group sleeping area for newbies at the Hamelin guildhall. It held shabby furnishings and the bare minimum of facilities required for day-to-day life.

  I have to get to the kitchen…

  Morning preparations were always hectic. Each of them began to work according to the roles they’d been forced into. Minori’s job was to serve breakfast, and she had to go to the kitchen to pick up the meal.

  Please let me get through the whole day without any trouble, Minori prayed.

  Today was a special day.

  Minori dressed hastily and headed for the kitchen.

  A player with Chef skills who’d woken early would be there, making black bread. Minori didn’t consider this a poor meal. In this world, even the most luxurious food tasted the same, which meant that, conversely, even this meal of black bread and water could be called a feast. …She’d been telling herself so for the past two months.

  Minori greeted the Chef girl in a small voice, then hastily dragged out a large tray. In addition to the Chef, who was also a newbie, the kitchen held an executive member on guard. Doing her best not to meet his eyes, Minori hurriedly began to fill a pitcher with well water.

  There was enough for thirty-five people in all. She set the water and the black bread on a big wooden tray.

  “Hold up.”

  At the man’s voice, Minori shrank back reflexively.

  She felt a nasty, greasy sweat break out on her palms.

  Why?! …I’m not doing anything. I’m behaving the way I always do, so why…?

  She had to act normally, no matter what, but apparently she’d already tripped up, first thing in the morning.

  “Y-yes, sir?”

  She squeezed out a response, thinking even as she spoke that her voice was so faint it might as well have been a mosquito’s whine.

  “Hah! That’s one gloomy face. …Well? Can’t you even greet folks properly?”

  The guard snorted as if she bored him, then criticized her.

  Holding herself in check, Minori greeted him.

  “Of course. Good morning, sir.”

  “Whatever. …You’re a Tailor, right? How high?”

  “I’m level thirty-two now.”

  “You can sew rank-thirty leather armor, then. Boost your skills with leather aprons and leather gloves today.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Bobbing her head to him again and again, she left the kitchen. Minori’s heart was pounding so fiercely she thought it might break.

  Since that night, Shiroe had contacted her several times.

  It was always after sunset, when the guild had gone to bed.

  She’d wrap herself up in her mantle on the cold concrete floor, holding her breath, and then a bell only she could hear would sound in her ear. That was the signal that Shiroe was requesting a telechat.

  Of course, she couldn’t have much of a conversation in the silent Hamelin bedroom late at night. Mostly she gave small coughs or sent little signals by knocking on the floor lightly. When there was no guard, she said two or three words. She had to keep her voice very small, so he wouldn’t notice how pitiful and tear-filled it was.

  Most of the things Shiroe contacted her about were trivial.

  Once a day or once every two days. The telechats were short, too—about ten minutes.

  They talked about things like where he’d gone today or whom he’d met.

  Apparently Shiroe had companions now: A Guardian named Naotsugu who cracked weird jokes constantly but was reliable. A lady Assassin named Akatsuki who was small and sharp-tongued. Then there was Nyanta, an elderly Swashbuckler that Shiroe called “Captain.” She also heard names from the Crescent Moon League: Marielle, Henrietta, and Shouryuu.

  Shiroe told her about the things he’d done and the things he was doing. In exaggerated terms, it was the world he saw.

  Shiroe and I are in the same world. …It’s the same world, but to me, it looks so tired and dingy… Shiroe says it’s wide and pretty…

  That was painful to Minori.

  She didn’t think it was unfair. She was sure that if the world looked this shabby to her, it was because her eyes and soul were clouded.

  Shiroe was surrounded by cheerful, fun, kind people, but she wasn’t. She knew she envied him that. Shiroe’s world was bright and warm, and her own was dingy and cold. It seemed to her that, in other words, the grime inside her heart was seeping out into her surroundings and that hurt her.

  Shiroe told her things, bit by bit.

  That he’d never settled down in any guild before.

  That he’d traveled around providing support, like a mercenary.

  That he’d destroyed everything he built and had never tried to help it grow. That even so, he’d finally decided to make a place for himself to belong. That even now, he was a little afraid of working with others, of asking for things, of issuing invitations.

  To Minori, these were just groundless fears on Shiroe’s part. Needless worry.

  After all, he’d been kind to Minori and Touya. Maybe to Shiroe that kindness had been too small to count for much, but it was still saving her and Touya, even now.

  The world Shiroe lived in was a world he’d won for himself. If she didn’t have the world Shiroe did, it was because she hadn’t been able to win it.

  Minori thought she’d probably lost it during those few days after the Catastrophe.

  I spent those days after the Catastrophe crying because I wanted somebody to save me. That’s why I lost it…

  That thought was accompanied by bitter pain. Minori had joined Hamelin for the same reason: She’d wanted someone to save her, hadn’t felt like saving herself. She’d lost it because she’d foolishly thought that someone would rescue her. She and Shiroe had been given the same chance. It was just that Shiroe had made good on that chance, and she hadn’t.

  In that sense, then, the situation wasn’t unfair.

  If the shining things that surrounded Shi
roe didn’t surround her, it was in no way Shiroe’s fault.

  Besides, if I thought like that, this time I’d really… I’d be too worthless to even talk with him.

  If Shiroe had begun working to secure a place for himself now, even she ought to be able to do that… She might have lost all her property, but as a newbie player, she’d barely had anything to begin with.

  She had Touya. She still had her precious family.

  No matter how lonely or scared it made them, they could leave the town and live in hiding, in the shadows of the ruins. If they’d only managed to steel themselves for that in the days after the Catastrophe, they never would have found themselves in a situation like this.

  She rallied her feelings by main force and started for the living room, where the other beginners would be waiting.

  Shiroe really did seem to be working to rescue Minori and Touya. Not only that, but from the odd word here and there, she’d sensed that he was working not just to rescue Minori, but to free all the newbie players who belonged to Hamelin.

  Shiroe is an amazing person. …He’s calm and collected, and mature, and cool, and he knows everything, and he’s tall, and he’s kind…

  Noticing that her thoughts were tending to fall into a loop, Minori’s cheeks grew hot.

  Someone like that was trying to save her.

  Shiroe still thought Minori was an acquaintance worth helping.

  Of course Minori herself couldn’t believe she was worth anything of the sort. She thought Shiroe’s kindness had probably made him feel responsible for the two of them, even though they’d only played together for a little while.

  But Touya was different. Touya had muttered, “He’s really awesome.” Then, after falling silent for a very long time, he’d continued, “…Wonder if I could be like that.”

  Minori was really proud of her little brother.

  If Touya was thinking that way, Minori had to, too. In the future, she would have to prove to Shiroe that he hadn’t been wrong to save them. If she didn’t, she’d lose the right to accept Shiroe’s calls now.

  For that to happen, she couldn’t let herself think underhanded things like, It’s not fair.

  She could be jealous. She could also let that envy make her suffer.

  If that pain became the strength she needed to move forward, Minori thought, she’d welcome it. However, she didn’t have time to waste on pessimistic feelings like “It’s not fair.”

  After handing out bread to the other kids, Minori went to the west corner, her usual place, and nibbled at her own black bread. It didn’t taste good, but it wasn’t terrible, either. As she swallowed down the rather vague, unstimulating food, she waited with bated breath.

  There were no key members of the guild in the living room.

  The newbies who’d gathered around her sent searching glances at Minori. In response, Minori nodded, whispering things like, “Hang on just a little longer.”

  Most of the commonsense things Shiroe had taught them were very general knowledge, the sort of rudimentary information that formed the foundation of all game play in Elder Tales. However, in this other world, where they were cut off from online solutions sites, these knacks and scraps of knowledge gave Minori and Touya a big advantage. Before they knew it, this broad, shallow knowledge that wasn’t limited to their main classes or subclasses had elevated Minori and Touya to something slightly above ordinary newbies.

  The two of them had tried to use this modest knowledge to alleviate the impossible demands Hamelin placed on them, and somewhere along the way, that attitude had earned them trust from the other newbies.

  Minori gave one of the players who already seemed to be in bad shape some hot water she’d snitched especially for her, then went back to thinking.

  Shiroe had said he’d contact her today. Once his call came, she’d have to act.

  She’d already told her roommates a little bit about it, and she knew Touya also knew what they were going to do today.

  Minori wasn’t sure when the call would come, but she thought it would be either in the morning or that night. During the day, Touya and the others were out hunting. Any strategy would be harder to implement if the targets that needed to be rescued were scattered.

  After they finished their bread, Touya and the other players who were going out to hunt began drifting to another room to get ready. The newbies who would be hunting would gather and be given the day’s destinations, party members, and formations. After that, the chosen members would change, check their equipment, and depart.

  Just then, a faint bell sounded in Minori’s ear.

  That’s it! It’s Shiroe!

  Tension over the uproar that was about to break out made her heart begin to pound like a trip-hammer. Even if she was killed, she wouldn’t die. Logically, she knew this, but if someone were to turn a weapon on her, she’d still shrink back.

  Minori didn’t know what sort of operation was about to play out, but there could very well be violence. The possibility that there’d be a battle was not a small one. Still, Minori had thought it through carefully, and she’d resolved that, no matter what, she wouldn’t disgrace herself.

  When the telechat was connected, Shiroe’s voice, a voice only Minori could hear, began to speak.

  “Good morning. Minori? …I know this is sudden, but we’re about to begin the operation. The signals will be the same as always. …Are you in your bedroom right now?”

  Koff. She gave one small cough, answering in the affirmative.

  “Is Touya in the other room getting ready?”

  Another cough.

  “All right. When Touya leaves the guildhall, you leave, too. …All of you, the new players. Just walk right out the door. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve taken total control of the guild center.”

  Total control?

  Minori didn’t know what he meant, but she responded in the affirmative anyway.

  “Next, if anything happens inside… If you fall and resurrect, after you wake up in the temple, run for the guild center. The guild center entrance hall is the headquarters for the rescue operation.”

  Minori struggled desperately to remember everything exactly.

  “I have an important battle to fight on another front, and I can’t be there. A young guy named Shouryuu is commanding the operation. Aside from him, there’s an Assassin named Akatsuki; you can count on her. She’ll be either at the hall or nearby.”

  She was so nervous the strength had gone out of her knees, and her chest hurt. Even so, fighting hard, Minori managed to return a single small affirmative cough.

  “Naotsugu is camped at the temple. If the worst happens, you can count on him as well. All right: This is it. …Let the escape begin.”

  4

  Touya had received a similar telechat.

  So the operation’s starting, huh, big brother Shiroe?

  Touya gulped. He was putting on his battle armor, and his hands felt unusually tense; he breathed slowly and deeply, scanning his surroundings. It was still too early to tell his nearby companions.

  Shiroe’s order had been to get all the new players to flee into the guild center. The Hamelin guildhall, where Touya and the others were now, was linked to the guild center zone by a single door.

  If they all made it through that door, he would have achieved the objective Shiroe had given him. If it had just been him, Touya was confident that he could have gotten away in less than ten seconds.

  However, Minori wouldn’t do a thing like that.

  Minori would wait to make sure that Touya had gotten completely away before she made her escape. No, if he knew his sister, she’d let all the other new members besides Touya go as well and be the very last one out.

  In that case, I can’t just run, can I?

  He knew Minori tended to punish herself.

  It was the flip side of having a sense of responsibility, and Touya suspected he might be the reason that responsibility had taken root in the first place.

/>   Touya liked his big sister.

  His classmates said that siblings tended to fight whenever they got the chance. He’d heard that habits and ways of thinking that one could have forgiven in a stranger turned into a source of stress when one had to live with them, and he remembered thinking, That makes sense.

  Still, Touya thought the pecking order was what caused the stress. There was an age difference between normal siblings; between one and three years in most cases. In children, an age difference like that created a disparity in abilities that was too big to ignore.

  To older siblings, their younger brothers and sisters probably seemed like badly made copies of themselves. To younger siblings, older brothers and sisters were tyrants.

  If things were like that, and they had to live together, of course it would be stressful.

  On that point, twins had it easy. Minori always did her best to look after Touya because she thought of herself as his big sister, but she was only a few hours older than he was, and Touya didn’t consider her to be any kind of guardian.

  He thought of her as a great person to have as family and as a friend.

  The fact that they were twins made them excellent playmates and opponents for each other. In a world where it was normal for there to be an age difference between siblings, that sort of pecking order was completely foreign to the two of them. As far as Touya was concerned, they were lucky.

  However, even though they were the same age and on equal footing with each other, his sister was a bit timid. He was a guy, and so at times like that, it was his job to protect her. Touya had thought so for ages.

  “Hey, it’s time to move out. I’ll go tell the guild master. You lot line up in front of the guild center.”

  The speaker—the leader of the hunting team, that arrogant Summoner—left the room, tossing those words back over his shoulder. He’d probably headed for the guild master’s room.

  Touya shoved his cheap sword into his belt and, starting for the door, called back to his companions.