Vol 5 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 4: Confusion

Part 1

The entire floor was jaht from the start

There were tea for the lowest prices, traders

queuing to buy the works of renowned artisans, and noblemen merchants dressed in their splendor

Although the crowd had been expected, few guilds had foreseen that it would be such a grand spectacle

The scene was chaotic, with various stalls busy touting customers

This large hall was the venue for the clothing expo

Since the wares here were liuilds had set up booths here It

was a uilds, who had at least 500 members each, had

various departments that catered to different industries and needs However, the small or medium-sized

guilds would usually choose to specialize in a specific type of product

For instance, Auild that was known to all of Akiba's insiders It

specialized in the production of japanese swords All of its h-level Blacksmiths Their

dedication, which stemmed from their near-freakish obsession with quality, allowed them to rediscover

the techniques for uild would obviously not have

Tailors, and would naturally not partake in the exhibition held within this building

However, the entire Libra Festival was a big opportunity for all sorts of guilds and artisans

This floor was aand was indoors at the request of the female

Adventurers However, a 'fleaheld outside concurrently, centered along the main

streets The open-air stalls there were selling all sorts of different wares

The clothing 's interior, but the market outside sold weapons, armor, and

even jewelry To be honest, the heart of the festival was obviously the 'fleaheld outside;

however, the clothing expo also received a significant amount of attention as well

The clothing market's main event was the 'fashi+on show' Basically, it was an event featuring the clothing

various guilds had designed with as enuity Models would wear these

fashi+on items and parade on a runway The models were Adventurers famous in Akiba for their popularity

or appearance With soin the show, it wouldn't be surprising if a

good portion of the croere actually here as fans instead of shoppers

The booths were split into two categories: large and small

The large booths had reater variety of wares on display These were the

booths of the large-size guilds They were situated against walls, oods an

easy task

The area in the middle of the floor had been partitioned into semi-open spaces for the small booths These

were used by the suilds

Crescent Moon Alliance's booth was not situated in a good location It was rather far from the center of

the floor, but it was not close to the walls either With regards to the crowd's traffic, it was a rather

unfavorable location, it was also far from the fashi+on show's runway Hence, it was expected that their

business would be a bitter struggle

However, Crescent Moon Alliance was different fro as

long as it interests us!” That was the sort of guild it was In fact, its booth was only set up by the members

who had expressed an interest in doing so It was not a concerted effort by the entire guild

Since the Crescent Moon Alliance was a friendly guild full of equally-friendly Adventurers, players, even

councilto lend them a hand if they asked However, when compared to pure

production guilds, their experience in business was a little lacking If, perchance, they got a good

location, ru their position in the Round Table Council were bound to come up In this

sense, their location was very appropriate

”Say, isn't this crowd a bit ridiculous?”

Henrietta grabbed hold of Maryele, who had lost her co ”wuah~, wuah~”

She took this guild leader, who had such a voluptuous body that it incited hatred froed her

back to the counter, and sat her down on a stool

”Marie, you are a guild master, how can you lose your cool like that? Do me a favor and sit here quietly”

”You're right It's just that, how do I put it in words, I haven't seen so many people in quite a while”

Maryele felt restless inside and was unable to settle down

What she had said was indeed true In the original world, taking a crowded train was a common routine

In the heart of Tokyo Prefecture, it was a co about their

business in front of train stations or at crossroad junctions

However, ever since they came to this world due to the Catastrophe, they never had the opportunity to see

such scenes anymore Despite the fact that Akiba's central plaza was filled with activity, it never felt

crowded due to its spacious open area

This place made people reinal world The crowd had

rushed in i around the myriad booths to shop

The fact that they could still afford to quarrel despite this ongoing commotion proved that Crescent Moon

Alliance's booth ay from the main traffic of the crowd

Like a waterfall splashi+ng against the rocks below, the bulk of the crowd first swarmed the booths of the

large-scale guilds situated next to the walls Subsequently, smaller streams of people made their way

towards the booths of the se

However, they were only able to afford the luxury of observing the crowd in such a detached manner for

roughly half an hour

After the large guilds had attracted long queues, a significant number of people started to think in the

following manner: ”Isn't it better if we looked at the smaller booths rather than line up now?”

Henrietta had initially planned to deploy Maryele (or rather her smile) on the frontline, with herself

serving as the cashi+er and accountant However, current circuly difficult to

do

The nureater than expected

The members of Crescent Moon Alliance ere stationed at this stall were Maryele, Henrietta, and

two Tailors Apart from this booth and the fashi+on show, the Crescent Moon Alliance had also set up an

al-fresco restaurant and a weapons shop at the flea market

As Maryele was the guild master, it was expected of her to make an appearance at every one of their

booths Henrietta had decided that it would be best to keep Maryele here only until this afternoon after the

fashi+on show By doing so, only the two inexperienced guild members would be left to man the booth

Henrietta snuck a look at the aforementioned two They shook their heads in response

Thebehind it was clear ”No way, no e're not familiar with this!” The two of them were

expressing this through their gazes

Henrietta was negotiating business and sighing internally at the same time

If the other party was an Adventurer who simply wanted to buy outdoor clothes for daily use, there would

hardly be an issue Since they were all from another world, they were all equally unfamiliar with

conducting such business Thus what they were doing could be better described as

business” But that was h for Adventurers

On the other hand, the People of the Land were mostly merchants and traders

Furthermore, the purpose of their visit was not simply to pick out clothes that they liked They were here

to gather inforotiate the establishment of a supply line

Hence, they would make inquiries about the price, the materials, and even in depth details such as how

things were sewn

(However, I have neither the experience nor the kno for such a responsibility)

With this thought in mind, Henrietta politely refused the inquiries of the ed People of the Land

merchants with a smile on her face

(During the for put one over the three big production guilds—

could it be that I've developed a taste for this kind of situation?) Henrietta thought to herself

Henrietta was currently in her 20s

One could not regard her as experienced

Although she was technically a 'professional', she knew a person in his or her 20s, like herself, was like a

newly hatched chick with its eggshell still stuck to its head But she also knew that in order to graduate

froain experience in the frontline Henrietta understood this through

personal experience

(I can't just leave this to my juniors I have to at least take care of the troublesome merchants before I try

sense of the situation)

Her guild mates could probably sense Henrietta's concerns

It ht have been a result of their subconscious team spirit, but while Henrietta handled a People of the

Landthree Crescent Moon Alliance ed themselves into formation

to handle an Adventurer

The inexperienced pair packaged the wares while the s Maryele received the payment The

transaction was then completed after the three bowed in appreciation

Henrietta observed this scene from the corner of her eye as she handled the inquiries of the People of the

Land Given the scale of the Crescent Moon Alliance, even an order of a 100 pieces a month was far too

large for them to handle If it needed to be refused, it needed to be refused— this was so that

Henrietta had put her foot down on

(If I agreed to such a contract, I have no idea what the consequences would be like Since a man who has

such a pitch-black nature like shi+roe-sauard down eh?)

Henrietta exas

She had just realized that shi+roe had disappeared

She re him the clothes that he wasman was

currently nowhere near the booth There was no sign of a certain black-haired girl either

”—shi+roe-sama?”

After checking that there were no troublesohtened her back

and scanned the area While Henrietta was taller than Maryele by a bit, the endless traffic in front of the

stall obscured her vision

”Where is—”

”Yes, the iteetting as much feedback from as

many people as possible, every customer is restricted to two items”

”I've alreadyto pay!”

”That's not the problem”

Henrietta, who had craned her neck to search, heard shi+roe's bland voice

It sounded like he was dealing with somebody's complaint Henrietta examined the endless streams of

people and finally spotted shi+roe's figure at a booth located opposite the passageway

shi+roe earing a long sleeveless hooded vest This, coupled together with a thin long-sleeved Tshi+rt

worn on the inside, round, with a steady

expression, in front of asteam from his head

Wearing Crescent Moon's apparel, shi+roe looked more like a normal japanese youth than a character

fro feeling that she was getting a sneak peek

into shi+roe's private life back in the original world

”Sorry, please let h!”

Henrietta onlyhih the

the expo and rushed towards the opposite booth

That was the guild Cocoa Brown's booth

shi+roe stood a in frustration Akatsuki was next to him,

but it see her rather than protecting her

Cocoa Brown's clothing stall see beautiful precious stones

of various colors as well as delicately-crafted necklaces and earrings

Henrietta felt that the items on display were very classy She had already seen them earlier, before the

expo's opening, when she was greeting the booths around theirs Furthermore, the items were priced

shockingly low, to which the Cocoa Brown staff explained that 'This is in gratitude to the battle guilds that

have been taking care of suilds like ourselves'

”It's like I've been saying, right? If you sell the the People of

the Land—”

”I'm sorry, please leave”

shi+roe continued to reject the merchant's offer

By this point, the crowd nearby had noticed the commotion and naturally formed a semicircle around

Cocoa Brown

This ill-oods in bulk It was okay to buy just one or

two items, but a bulk purchase would make the stall unable to continue its operation for the remainder of

the expo

If their aim had been profit or to sellout, then Cocoa Broould have sold everything by then But that

was not the case It was their heartfelt wish that their products would prove useful to Akiba's local

Adventurers Thus, their policy of li the items sold per customer didn't sit ith businessmen

Adventurers had superior physical and ical capabilities in comparison to the People of the Land

Their subclass level could allow the capabilities comparable to a master artisan's

skill

However, haggling and negotiations did not depend on physical abilities After all, the proficiency of

some skills depended entirely on one's personality and traits Further to

do with physical capabilities and instead was about interpersonal skills

This hy shi+roe had intervened

He decided to lend a helping hand

(This line of reasoning shouldn't be too far from the truth— ahhh, this Person of the Land-san is quite

unlucky)

”Don't get so cocky, kid!”

Just as Henrietta h the crowd to reach the area in front of Cocoa

Brown, the Person of the Land finally snapped and tried to punch shi+roe

The onlookers that gasped were mainly People of the Land

Some of them even averted their eyes

However, the result was as Henrietta had expected

shi+roe stopped the punch with his fingers

shi+roe was an enchanter Like the other th were lower

than the other classes— however, that only applied when compared to an Adventurer of a different class

and of similar level

With a level difference of over 50, and up against a People of the Land no less, even as a ician, the

difference in agility and strength was overwhelhty merchant's fist was

nothing more than a balloon

Because shi+roe caught the People of the Land's punch, it was not judged as an ”attack” and there was no

sign of the city guards appearing

As he caught the punch froed merchant with his left hand, shi+roe stopped Akatsuki with

his right, probably to keep her froave shi+roe a displeased look

”Have you had enough?”

shi+roe asked with a smile

In spite of his sy being focused in shi+roe

shi+roe was gathering the mana in the air Because both bards and enchanters were similar in that they

could provide mana to their party, Henrietta was keenly aware of as happening

The expressions on the faces of other Adventurers also changed as they became aware of shi+roe's actions

Brandishi+ng a friendly sradually a atmosphere All

around them, a look of horror could be seen

shi+roe was not casting any spell

He wasone

Therefore, it was not an act of couards would not appear Moreover, his expression

was kind and did not contain even a hint of aggression

And even though the People of the Land weren't as sensitive to ic as Adventurers, at that point, they

too should have felt the enor from shi+roe

The rehite and withdrew his fist from shi+roe's hand

”This is unpleasant, I'!”

He hastily muttered these words and fled the scene

”There are a lot of hot-blooded people”

”My lord, didn't you also force him into a corner?”

”If you had dealt with him, wouldn't he have lost his head?”

”After breaking all of his limbs”

shi+roe appeased Akatsuki as she tilted her face up

shi+roe shrugged helplessly as members of Cocoa Brown thanked him The cute and round face of the

dwarf girl had tears of gratitude in thehtly

”shi+roe-sama”

Henrietta was startled when she heard her own voice

That was because it contained a somewhat displeased tone

”What's the matter?”

”Nothing, it's just that”

”My lord, it o back to work”

”That's right”

Upon hearing Akatsuki's reply, shi+roe scratched his head, his previous aura having totally disappeared

The crowd nearby had also begun dissipating as though satisfied with the ending

”Henrietta-san?”

”Yes, shi+roe-sama?”

”— This expo is so chaotic”

Henrietta instantly set aside herunhappy?” and considered the

behind shi+roe's statement

A chaotic expo

The disturbance in this incidence should be referring to the People of the Land incident just now Thinking

back, she had also just handled a business transaction that nearly turned into a fight It was because on one

side, there was a People of the Land, while on the other, it was an Adventurer that was lacking in

experience that hat Henrietta suspected Did shi+roe think differently?

(shi+roe-sa? If that's the case)

Henrietta was in doubt She couldn't decide whether or not to inform him of her bad premonition from

earlier

”Erm, shi+roe-sama”

”Indeed, the actions of the People of the Land are suspicious, but given that we don't know enough, we

si out of this situation”

She understood the things which shi+roe had just whispered In other words, he too had felt some sort of

unknown machination

Akatsuki looked at him worriedly

Henrietta wanted to talk to hiht on her doubts

However, shi+roe had already begun to act Speaking softly, he definitely was not talking to himself, but

was contacting others through telepathy

He focused on his secret conversation

Finally, he nodded and turned towards Henrietta and stated his deduction clearly

”It see Akiba”

Part 2

Today, Raynesia had been in a rush since the break of dawn

Of course, this was not of her own volition

She had believed that she could let her hair dohile the festival's preparations were taking place— at

least eventually

She had planned to become ”plant-like”, to be a lazy-bum, to act like a ”spoiled child” to her heart's

content

However, dealing with a near constant streauests made her unable to make time for

an afternoon nap Elissa was bustling around the roo out dresses and accessories from

everywhere and considering how to pair them with each other

The reason why Elissa was behaving in this irls

who enjoyed dressing up

In the nobles' society, an event such as a dinner party or a for

which was used as a show of prestige A es to

other parties according to its value, its color, and what gemstones it contained This was how nobles

socialized: with subtlety and allusion

For instance, Raynesia was the second daughter of a duke However, because the eldest daughter had

already hter in the family line Also, while

the reason for her deployment to the city was publicly announced as ”a sincere and personal apology to

the Adventurers”, in reality, she was there as the representative of both the ue of

Freedom Towns Eastal and the Corwen clan This was a rather evident fact

Therefore, in situations like a formal reception, she had to make absolutely certain that Eastal's most

prestigious noble family— Clan Corould not be sha her status as a

representative as a shi+eld, she could then leave subtle hints under the table Whenwith merchants,

she had to don jewelry of the appropriate value so as not to be despised, and when she waswith

nobility, accessories that stressed her fae and status were in order If both parties knew each

others' family situations, one could choose to avoid a fashi+on faux pas by wearing so that clashed

with the other party's, or one could even intentionally dress to compliment their attire In the end, it was a

gaical warfare

Given that such a task needed a meticulous eye for detail and it could not be performed by the

inexperienced maids who served as her helpers, the choice was left to Elissa to handle It had to be

executed by someone as familiar with the mannerisms of nobles, as well as the customs of the clan

Such was Elissa

It was obvious that she could not wear the same attire the entire day

She had to change her clothes and accessories for each new guest,her very busy

nobles were very particular about keeping appearances For instance, a the nobility, it was

considered bad forht on the spot This was true even for cases

like a her-classed noble Even if it were just for show, she had to

follow such custoh society

Thus whenrequests, a lower noble would have to be more careful 'not make a request the other

party cannot agree to', and if you were the higher-classed noble to whom the request was made to, one had

to show subtle 'hints re the other party to know their place' In this political dance, clothes, gossip

and gifts were the tools of the trade

”Ah, really What am I to do about the dinner party? I really have no idea what these Adventurers find

tasteful”

”Can't we just go with the usual?”

”And what is this 'usual' you speak of?”

”Uht and airy?”

”Princess Raynesia, really?”

Even Elissa, it seerasped the social etiquette Adventurers' adhered to

In the League of Freedoratitude was common sense But for the

nobility, ould give thanks by giving awards or by asking sohted,

giving their thanks to Adventurers was a complete mystery To kno to dress or how to act for

people you did not knoas utterly impossible

Since this was so, the dinner party was modeled to resemble as popular as closely as possible

The food too was done in this fashi+on as apart from the food the palace chefs that came from Maihama

made, half of the cuisine was from restaurants around Akiba If such an event were held in Maihama

palace, scandals like ”they are uests!” were bound to come up Fortunately, it

seeht

Since the general direction of the party was plain to see, Raynesia saw no need to worry about anything

whatsoever To her, it served no purpose to get frazzled over things that hadn't even started yet, so she

decided to laze about to pass the time But it was an undeniable fact that Raynesia had such a disposition

because she lived a life of indolence while avoiding people as much as possible

However, the situation changed

”This should be on the list— next, coupled with a jade necklace, please wait Remember last year, you

received a birthday gift in”

Elissa's voice contained a hint of nervousness

”You're right, I have to pay attention to status right?”

It was all too sudden

Raynesia received notice that the western merchant Lord Marvis was about to visit

Lord Marvis was a merchant by trade, but was also an important member of Holy Empire Westelande's

nobility Although her fa was not inferior to his, she still could not afford to be careless

And judging fro of his visit, he was most definitely sent here by order of the palace

(The rued were certainly true)

Raynesia bit her lip

Of course, there was a good reason for her stress

About 280 years ago, the Yale, unified country Commonly called the ancient

dynasty, the Westelande Imperial Dynasty was ruled by a royal family which dominated the whole

archipelago by use of force

But during the chaos incited by the Six Scrapped Princesses, the royal fa its

annihilation, the unified Yaether was lost

However, Yamato's current nobility continued the system of 'dynastic succession' used in the ancient

dynasty After the death of the royal fa the core of the former social strata, Yamato's people

were then ruled by the feudal lords that served the former Westelande Imperial Dynasty

To the League of Freedonificant

The title 'Duke' of the Corwens, Raynesia's family and one of only two dukedoms found in Yamato, was

originally bestowed during the Westelande Iue of

Freedoht to rule' the People of the Land from their ancestors

Of the areas of Yamato that were once under the Westelande Imperial Dynasty, the two most influenced,

Holy Eue of Freedoo in

two

The Holy Enized the Itsuki clan as the successors to the Westelande Imperial

Dynasty

Even though Raynesia was not too familiar with history, she did know that the Itsuki clan was a ”branch

fains of the Itsuki clan came about from a political

sacrifice As their clan had moved to Ise, they survived the destruction of the Westelande Imperial

Dynasty

Naturally, the Itsuki clan was put forward to be leaders of the Holy Empire Westelande as their name

alone held a strong appeal to rulershi+p, being the ”legitimate successors” of the Westelande Imperial

Dynasty

However, not all of Yanized the Itsuki clan as royalty In fact, both Akiba and the

League of Freedoed to, did not acknowledge the Itsuki clan as

their rightful rulers

In the end, the Itsuki clan was only a branch of the royal bloodline

Once the clan split from the bloodline, its title could not be reinstated

Besides, if it only were a question of having royal lineage, then even the Corwen clan had royal blood in

their veins through a nues as described by the records kept by the aristocracy

With the way things were, the Corwen clan did not recognize the Itsuki clan as the successors to the royal

bloodline Having said that, the fact that they were still a branch family of the royal bloodline could not

be taken lightly

Under the hierarchical system of the previous Westelande Imperial Dynasty, the Itsuki clan outclassed the

Corwen clan Froue of Freedom Towns

Eastal and the western Holy Ee, they always

had a tense relationshi+p

This Lord Marvis person, the man that was sent here by the Holy Empire Westelande this time, was a

highly ranked noble Raynesia had once heard that he was the head of the merchant nobility and that he

was in charge of maritime trade

Although this dinner party was intended to improve relations with Adventurers, if this person wanted to

drop by, they could not refuse him an invitation He was not the kind of man that could be refused with a

”ot time”

Raynesia shook her head to clear her dark thoughts

After all, both Lord Marvis and Raynesia were People of the Land, and by the culture left behind by the

royal family in Yamato, they were both nobles

Because of this, it could be said that they were of equal footing—both needed to adhere to the

norh society demanded

(At least)

What she could do right noas do her duty, that hat Raynesia was thinking

As a daughter of the Corwen clan in Akiba— called ”Princess Raynesia” She felt that doing her best here

was a way to repay Akiba for saving her home

Raynesia stood up, with her snohite dress floith her

Although she did not know the intentions of this noble frouard

in this battle

Part 3

”Hmm”

”This is an attack As they are using propaganda or psychological warfare, this is really leaving a bad

taste in my mouth”

shi+roe sighed softly

Aside from the taste, it was also incredibly bad mannered

The intent of such actions was obvious