Vol 6 Chapter 4 (2/2)

That hy Akatsuki had to protect everyone froe

That was her promise to him

”Nazuna-san is asking whether you can win”

Facing Rieze's question, Akatsuki grew timid

She couldn't pros

There was no guarantee

Please don't s

” I can't do this alone That's why I need others to help me Please, help me”

This was an unbearable tors was akin to ad she was still an inco her skin The curse-like sensation grew in her heart, la the limited capability of her petite body

But shi+roe had made a similar request in front of Akatsuki before

Akatsuki was surprised by the wared her from behind Nazuna smiled sheepishly without a word

”I kneould come to this when Souji said he would not meddle with this There are so many stubborn people at shi+roe's side, birds of a feather do flock together”

”I can only give you half-credit Fro corps, there is a need for 3There are 8 sets of 'Over levels' uncovered by ranted froht to Akatsuki”

The blonde girl announced gently

”Me too, there is so I have to do”

The silent Raynesia nodded and said with a pale face

” Really, I didn't expect to act like ato Serdesia”

With the soft sigh of Rieze, the mini-raid party was formed

For Akatsuki, this was a huge step forward4

Mikakage took small bites from her rice ball

The take-out meal from Attachment Rice Ball House was popular in Rod Lab Statistics weren't coested that half the lunches in this guild came from Attachment Rice Ball House

Behind Mikakage was a young People of the Land girl wearing a triangle head scarf with excellent service She was giving out rice balls along with take-out receipts Her shoulder-length hair and variety of expressions made her look cute Her name was Kaede

Attachment Rice Ball House was operated by 20-odd People of the Land, but 5 of them were idolized by others because of their cuteness They were so popular in Rod Lab that a fan club had been started Kaede and Kuderya were vying for the top spot on the popularity listing, Mikakage recalled seeing her posters in the science building

(No, now is not the time to think about all this That's not important)

Mikakage frowned and ate her rice ball

She didn't have the leisure to think about the popularity rankings of female bento clerks

Mikakage was one of the people causing this coe was si the results of the survey and the possibility in the future, so she didn't need to take responsibility But it still loomy

Mikakage offered the rice ball to her tiny plant fairy coh, the Alraune Allie The Alraune held the rice ball with her round hands and took a big bite out of it Mikakage looked around her after being healed e scene

This semicircle conical shape hall was an auditorium

About 80 of it was occupied

At lunch time, the majority of the participants would take theirNor outside or to the cafeteria to eat, but because of the contents of the day, there were less people opting to do that

There werea research presentation It would probably be the same in the afternoon

The guild e, so its raduate research presentation

There was a heavy atmosphere in the auditorium

It was not a bright mood Everyone seemed deflated But rather than si in their hearts You could see specialized groups discussing in low voices wherever you looked

There were also groups with ether

That's how shocking the announce was

”This is probably a good thing”

Her colleague Aomori commented with a mouthful of rice

”Is this really a good thing?”

”Ermm Maybe?”

Mikakage nodded vaguely and responded half-heartedly to Aomori

It was hard to say it was a bad thing

In the ave a presentation

In Rod Lab, there were several presentation events every e was in But the presentation was usually held in the fory in thepresentation

As a Chef, Mikakage seldom did presentations in the for hours of acadee, and she resented her colleagues who shoved this work to her in her heart

She kicked Aomori away, stole a piece of fried chicken and fed it to Allie

”What are you doing?”

”Allie~ is it good?”

The introverted Ellie did not reply, biting into the chicken Mikakage relaxed as she watched her cute familiar

Even Adventurers who didn't have the subclass of Chef were gradually able to cook

That was the gist of Mikakage's report

There were 2 ways of preparing food in this world right now

The first was using the ga recipe you 'learned', you could cook using the ga the things you wanted to cook froame menu, it would be made

Notime was always 10 seconds

There was a big advantage in using thistime Be it stewed or fermented food, they all took 10 seconds

Another advantage was the aredients that were consu ite Take potato and beef for instance, the ingredients were potato x3, beef x1, strong soy sauce x1 There were no onions or carrots, not even seasoning spices But the finished products appeared to have these ingredients included, appearing out of nowhere

Of course there was a redients or recipe you used, it all tasted like soggy crackers You couldn't really tell whether they had any taste Its texture was like chewing a soft energy bar, unappetizing

Another as to cook the food manually by hand

To cook using the methods of the old world They were not restricted by the crafting menus and were totally dependent on the recipe the chef caredients to s wouldn't appear out of nowhere The freshness of the ingredients would also affect the coic as the real world applied

But for both methods, the main difference fro to have the Chef subclass Another feature was the ih either method

If you cooked using thedishes would be low if your Chef level did not meet the prerequisite

For , there was no way to tell as the prerequisite level toor frying would have a high chance of failure

Failing in eitherinto burnt debris or ame

Adventurers without the Chef subclass would fail no matter what food they tried to make No matter how skilled you were on Earth, you couldn't even e after the Catastrophe

But this coround

Even Adventurers without the Chef subclass were able to do siredients They were able to make salads now

Why was that so? They were not sure

They didn't know anything about the Catastrophe in the first place, the e was also unclear

It was easy to tell that this would have huge repercussions

Even Chefs like Mikakage were unable to tell when this change came about The Round Table Council discovered the restriction of crafting items in the early days That's how the Round Table Council was founded in the first place

Rod Lab beca of people with sie was surrounded by other Chefs Including Mikakage, all e that ht from other Chefs

That's why no one was sure when this change came about

According to the survey of Mikakage and the others in the gourmet department of Rod Lab, about half the Adventurers were able to make salads with a decent chance of success Even those who failed commented that it felt different from before

They were able to confir

But they were unable to tell whether this was the result of the unconscious effort put in by individuals, the increase in capabilities of Adventurers, or a loophole in the ga to the People of the Land as well Even the plant fairy Allie could do it too

The frightening thing about this was that it was not only restricted to cooking

For example, the Constructor subclass focused on construction, while furniture wasto the rules of Elder Tales

But after the presentation in the e's depart to surface

Construction and crafting were not techniques , so there was a so by But froh experimental data to shake the foundation of the theories they had built to this day

Mikakage was not the only one as shaken

Be it Aomori or other friends in the auditorium, all the members of Rod Lab sensed some form of premonition

Mikakage raised her gaze when she sensed the hall quieting down

Theon the podiu the lunch hour looked at Roderick with a puzzled expression

Wearing a shabby white lab coat, the usually cal his head with a tired look

”Ah Sorry for interrupting your lunch, but the long awaited experi from this afternoon, ill need to shi+ft our focus, so let me say a feords Lunch will be extended another hour And by changing gears, Icountermeasures”

Hearing this announcement caused an uproar in the auditorium

Going as far as to research countermeasures, this was half the reason the people in the hall were shocked The other half was because the cautious Roderick decided to play an active role in this matter

”It's fine to listen to s I need to announce I will start with the Appearance Reset Potion and its difference fro to various case studies or rather, based on all the cases, there have been reports that your personality will be affected by your body, but it seems that the voice will be affected too It's not certain if this has so to do the vocal cords structure of the body, but Adventurers with feradually sound more feminine This is so even for players who are male in the old world”

The unti onto the floor marked the end of this statement

The auditoriu seemed so loud

”Next is the studies on optics Ah, regarding this, we have not confirmed the results yet We can't be certain even if we ain Even so, I think this is an established fact The distance between Akiba and Mount Fuji is growing Meaning the distances between any two places are getting larger”

This report was like a bolt out of the blue for all those present

”Excuse me”

A craftsed this question which was asked on everyone's behalf

”Is this happening everywhere? Does this ?”

”That's our hypothesis”

Roderick's response asp

”One last thing, this is the result of a study co the background of an item, has been found to be effective for some tested items”

Mikakage was dumbstruck

Flavor text had significant effects? What did this mean?

Take a ic weapon for exae 180~216, STR +15' This was the ical prowess of the weapon Able to provide additional powers to nor them

In contrast, flavor text would go soifted to the excellent knights of the ancient Westelande aron tooth is eer Zari used this spear to inspire his in of the ite iteame, it just added some lore to let players immerse themselves in the world of Elder Tales

Flavor text only existed to provide some entertainment for the masses

They had no effects That's why they were called flavor text That's all

But what if they were in effect?

Mikakage was not able to grasp what this ht mean

Because she didn't understand, she looked towards Aomori

Aoe

Most of the people in the auditoriu at each other

Roderick closed his eyes and let out a sigh It was ti issues, and the members were prepared for it

”These are not independent pheno in this sa incident Right now, this world is going through a e The Catastrophe has not ended I propose we collate data on a grand scale”

Roderick's speech stunned every single member in the auditorium

Most of the citizens of Akiba didn't know about this phenomenon yet5

Akatsuki and Raynesia sat side by side in the bustling office

In front of the around, busy ork, while Nazuna was eating a strawberry Daifuku lazily

Akatsuki, as brought back straight froether while they asked her for the details

Akatsuki found it hard to explain the details and looked at Raynesia from time to time Henrietta directed Raynesia to sit beside Akatsuki

The luxurious carpet was fluffy enough for her to sit on her knees comfortably Akatsuki had always lived in a japanese ho on her knees But what about Raynesia? She looked uncomfortable as she did her best to imitate Akatsuki

”I have a rough idea of the situation The Murderer is a Person of the Land, one of the Kunie clan That inate froic circle used to defend the city, giving hith of a Full Raid Boss”

Raynesia lowered her head when faced with Rieze's words

It see to the tea party participants

Akatsuki was surprised

People of the Land killing Adventurers

Raynesia, as panicking when she found out about this, should have been cowering in fear and trouble But she earing a deter beside Akatsuki

But that ht be within expectation This was the People of the Land princess whoriffon to raise a volunteer army for the war of Sand Leaf

” If the public knew about this, the relationshi+p between People of the Land and Adventurers ht deteriorate If distrust in the Kunie clan rises, it will fracture life in the city Akatsuki is worried about this, and wants to resolve the issue, not kill the Murderer Aht?”

Akatsuki ht for aher head

That was how her thoughts would sound like in words

She still reht without any plans Akatsuki just wanted to convey to others that Raynesia was not at fault If she could stop the Murderer, she would be able to express her feelings No, she was rationalizing it this way after the fact, she really wasn't thinking back then, just acting on a whi a tantrum at the world that didn't understand her and Raynesia

She didn't want to express these thoughts into words, so Akatsuki just looked at Rieze in silence

”I can understand how you feel I don't think we can hide this , but to resolve this as soon as possible and suppress the co”

”We already have quite a number of victims after all”

Nazuna took so Rieze's lecture

” Will West Wind Brigade expose this incident?”

”Er his hands off this We won't expose this or seek revenge There are definitely people in the guild who are against this, but Soujirou will think of souild we are I'm the one who cleans up the mess But all this is dependent on what the two of them decide”

”Erm”

”Let's not confirm this in a roundabout manner and lecture them directly”

Rieze and Henrietta sighed at Nazuna's suggestion

They were not trying to ignore Nazuna, but wished that she would go through the process normally But Nazuna didn't seem to care She looked really lazy and didn't care about the gazes of others, showing off her snohite cleavage supported by her chaincat instead of a fox

She looked different without the tension of battle in the air Akatsuki thought this was how Nazuna hen she was relaxed Maybe that was her true self

(But a real 'true self' doesn't exist)

The shi+roe that patted Akatsuki's head was her real lord

But the one hard at work reading co fights on the battlefield was also the real lord

ItMinori and s at Maryele was also her real lord

Raynesia beside her had lost her usual drea a determined expression

There were no complete lies in this world

In this world that had becohtly wider and more colorful, Akatsuki understood this fact

There were many truths in this world

”Is that everything?”

Henrietta crossed her arms and said calmly to Akatsuki and Raynesia

”You wanted to do everything yourself because of your ego You already know the right thing to do is to discuss it over with everyone correct? Both of you, aren't you letting the blood rush to your head toothose around you like idiots?”

Henrietta's eyes were no longer mischievous

It was a very serious expression

Akatsuki had nothing to say Henrietta was right

It was fine at first She could use the excuse that she went off with a head full of steam

But she didn't have any excuses now since she had been hiding behind shi+roe's shadow all this while

When things got out of hand, she didn't approach others to resolve the issue Nyanta, Naotsugu, even the junior team's Minori and Tohya, she could have conversed more with them

Akatsuki did support their activities, such as guarding therounds in advance But she avoided h she had no reason to

Because this was not her area of responsibility, she avoided it with excuses

Akatsuki was in pain after others sensed this

”How long do you want to keep at this alone? Are you still wishfully thinking that everything will be fine if shi+roe-sama is by your side?”

Akatsuki lowered her head while listening to the lecturing voice of Henrietta

She had nothing to say That was absolutely right

She was overly reliant on her lord, so she became useless when her lord was not around She couldn't even keep her proh Akatsuki was the only one he had asked this of

”Did you intend to just be a guard when you came to this consulate?”

Sensing so the query she wanted to ask, Akatsuki raised her head

”Visiting the Water Maple Consulate, becoime is not the sole task of Akatsuki-chan That's Rieze-san and my role as well”

Akatsuki's face turned red from shame and pain

It was only natural if she thought about it Raynesia was one of the most iuard her alone Raynesia's tea party was shi+roe's instruction This was very obvious

Thinking that 'shi+roe is depending on ht

This pain and regret turned into tears

But noas not the ti Akatsuki definitely wanted to protect Raynesia And not just as a guard protecting her life That day, thatthe heavy burdens for the People of the Land, she should be watching over her noble dream

”Akatsuki-san is, ermmm Eh”

Raynesia who found it hard to interject spoke

But she was stopped by Rieze

”I want to borrow your strength I have to”

Akatsuki struggled to form her words

”Ah, as pro these words to?”

This was a hard question for Akatsuki

Who were these words for? For Henrietta and Rieze? Or Nazuna? Or for Mikakage and the others ere not around?

Whoever it was for She was asking for their aid Did she have the right to do that?

But, there was definitely so here

Just that Akatsuki was unable to find the right words to describe this gift

Akatsuki definitely noticed in that faded dream

The thing that overflowed in the light of dawn tormented Akatsuki

She was holding on to shi+roe's coat, but her hands were empty when she woke

She couldn't bring it back from the dream

There was a sense of frustration and unhappiness in her heart

The words she was supposed to have were truly not co

It was right here in her chest but she was unable to tell everyone

Akatsuki felt like tearing her chest open in order to share her wish and thoughts with everyone

But that was not so they could see if she opened her chest

Bla her own incompetence, Akatsuki's expression became twisted and tears started to fall

”Akatsuki-san is my friend!”

Raynesia shook off Rieze's restraint and said with anger, shocking Akatsuki

It filled a hole in Akatsuki's heart

They ords that were lost because she failed to hold on to them, the key to Akatsuki's closed-off heart

This sentence that she had never expected the silver-haired princess to say, Akatsuki felt war to her

”Raynesia is working hard That's why I want to help Everyone please help, everyone Ermm because we are friends”

She was unable to speak properly

She was full of embarrassment and helplessness

But she had the resolve to see this through

In order to break through this situation she was unhappy with, Akatsuki took a half step forward

Just a tiny step

The word 'friend' ca with her hesitation

Akatsuki had come to understand this in her heart

Raynesia who see fro in anger beside Akatsuki was also real The Henrietta who treated Akatsuki like a toy was real, but so was the Henrietta lecturing her Rieze who did in-depth research on the clothing of the People of the Land was real and so was the Rieze who commanded the troops in battle

If she looked carefully, there were many people who cared about Akatsuki around her

Akatsuki was not inferior or ive herself was also the real Akatsuki

There were so many people concerned about the Akatsuki who fell to the blade of the Murderer

She was starting to understand why Rieze referred to her as a middle schooler She was at the middle school level after all To only learn all this now, Akatsuki thought she orse than Minori But she did not panic It was correct to say that she was not as good as Minori And the people worrying about her were right in front of her eyes

”I understand Let's start the strategy session In order to end this problem I already have permission from the Round Table Council to ihts from now”

Rieze's words calht this time

6

Henrietta looked out at the streets from the top of the stairs

Although most of the leaves had fallen froreen trees on the streets The greenery scattered a to the eyes Crescent Moon Alliance was based in this guild building, so she was used to the scenery, just that the elevation was different

The guild hall of the Crescent Moon Alliance was on the fifth floor This corridor was on the tenth floor They were both on the upper levels of the guild building, but her destination right noas the Round Table conference room

Henrietta kept walking With the lift just a decoration in this world, it was a pain to climb all these stairs But with the durable body of Adventurers, it was not an issue, they could evena sweat

The staircase revealing its concrete base seemed to be cold, but it was not a problem for Henrietta as she reached her destination floor

Henrietta greeted the People of the Land girl she was acquainted with and entered the secretariat This was the core of the Round Table Council The Round Table Council referred to the governing organization based on its 11 founding guilds, while the secretariat here the administrative as done

It would be unnatural for the 11 guilds setting the policies of Akiba to not have a central base of operations Such an opinion was gaining strength auilds set up an office in the secretariat But h to run Akiba by theuildall sorts of aduild Crescent Moon Alliance also had a private office for their guildto her preferences

That hy the offices in the secretariat were run by people working on shi+ft, serving as a communications base Unfortunately, Crescent Moon Alliance did not have the manpower to be on duty at all times, so Henrietta would check in periodically to handle the letters and paperwork

There werein the secretariat

They were not only hired to handle the menial tasks, but also to test the possibility of Adventurers working alongside People of the Land They ht be tasked to handle liaisons in the future, but that concept had not been put into action yet The People of the Land were busy enough without the extra duties, handling the coordination and notification of hundreds of guilds

Henrietta headed for the office after greeting them, and screaain piled into a otten used to it, but she still felt dejected looking at this Crescent Moon Alliance who had been assigned lesser as already in such a state, Henrietta didn't want to iuilds must be like

Henrietta sorted the papers deftly, putting thereat, but eht back to the guild hall were signed and sorted into the permitted box

She fell into her office work routine and reminisced over the events of the past few days

Things progressed speedily after that day

Rieze's command was excellent, but the other participants were also a ht about it, Nazuna, Kyouko, and Azuki irls, but they took part inas a team should be a piece of cake for them

Raynesia's living room was now the teuild to the roo the hectic pace of the secretariat Large a the editing and amendment process The Adventurers like Henrietta who lived onat this scene

The members called this anti-murderer mission 'Operation Capture' or 'Operation Retake' The base was set in Raynesia's place, so the members were limited to the female tea party participants Henrietta and Maryele were also a part of this

There were 2 central figures, Akatsuki and Raynesia Not only were the 2 of theood at this, they were not suitable as well They were experiencing all of this for the first ti them nervous and uncomfortable As the initiators, the 2 of them were at the core of all this, but they were not reliable in groupin their stead

That was the only way

Henrietta, as frustrated with all the paperwork, leaned back in her leather chair and stared at the ceiling Unless they were looking for her, only members of Crescent Moon Alliance would enter the office, so she was assu a more relaxed position than usual

In her guild, the livelyabout, so she couldn't think in peace Henrietta adjusted her glasses gently and sighed as she took out a card from her card holder

A plain card with just a few simple words written on it

This card was linked to a bank account

This card represented the only bank in Elder Tales, that was situated on the first floor of this guild building It was an ATM card that didn't exist in Elder Tales before

Elder Tales was a game before the Catastrophe The bank here was not the saanization that stored the money and iteanization, it was siame function

In the ga when you started playing, an account would be set up autouilds, an account was given the moment it was founded This was all done by default, there was no need to spend ti for an account, but you couldn't oppose it being created for you either That's how the setting for bank accounts was The bank didn't provide stateae the account accurately without needing all this

But it was different for the card in front of her

This was one of the cards that was planned for 3 representatives from the Round Table Council to utilize It represented a certain bank account that didn't belong to a person or a guild It held potential beyond the iination of the Adventurers of Yamato

” This is why I was hoping it would be peaceful during this period of time”

Henrietta spun the card on top of her finger and closed her eyes

She had already felt that shi+roe was not in Akiba Although she was not infor this card to her it was a clear sign

This card was ht now Because there was no money in this account and there were no transactions linked to it It was just an account set up in advance

But its potential in the future was bright

Henrietta understood this point She shi+vered just at the thought of how this card ht be used

They had not publicly disclosed the existence of this card because the card was still ht now That was to say it was still in the experimental phase, it was not the time to announce it yet That's what Henrietta heard about this On the other hand, Henrietta sensed that this was not the whole truth

shi+roe was probably wary of information leaks if they announced it prematurely

Akatsuki hiding shi+roe's absence was also proof of this

Krusty, shi+roe, Michitaka, and the others were preparing for 'probleht arise in the future', and the existence of enemies was one of them Unfortunately, they had to be wary of enemies from within the Round Table Council itself

Henrietta could feel Plant hwyaden looking towards Akiba from the west The small but infamous 'Odyssey' faction was also fearsome

(Believing they can return to earth after clocking enough deaths)

Henrietta sighed at their absurd idea These troubles were too much for an