That's not a threat!

　Meanwhile, in the vast conference room on the top floor of the guild hall, a discussion by the members was boiling over right now.

　Shiroe's declaration that he owned this guild hall had a bombastic effect.

　What wasn't shocking was Shiroe himself and Nyanta, who was standing behind Shiroe. The members of the Crescent Moon Alliance guild. I don't know how, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Soujiro from the West Wind Brigade was the only one who knew what he was doing.

　The Guild Hall is one of the main facilities in the city of Akiba.
　The function of the hall itself is to form guilds, join and leave guilds. In addition, it also receives the privileges associated with high level guilds. It can be said that it handles all of the systematic administrative procedures related to guilds.

　In Akiba, however, there is a bank reception desk in the entrance hall of the guild hall. The bank is an everyday facility in the Elder Tail world, where you can deposit money in the form of an account or even items in the form of a safe deposit box.

　This is an alternate world where the only penalties for dying are a small experience penalty and reduced equipment durability, but normal items that are not equipped will be scattered around the moment of death.
　If you're lucky, you can recover them, but if the cause of death is a PK, they will undoubtedly be stolen first. If not, it's still careless to carry around large amounts of cash. Normally, all players keep most of their wealth in banks, and for a small fee, you could withdraw money from your bank to buy expensive items in the market.
　Banks are the most familiar and important commercial facilities that players in the Elder Tail world use every day.

　The only bank in Akiba is the Guild Hall, and the fact that Shiroe personally manages the admission restrictions of the Guild Hall has tremendous implications.

　Of course, there are banks in every city. It's a good idea to have the same account, not only for cash, but even for items, which can be deposited anywhere. For example, you can deposit money in the city of Akiba and withdraw it in Minami, for example.

　However, with the absence of the inter-city portal gates, a long journey between cities is a big risk. I'm sure there's no more than a few percent of the players in the entirety of the Japanese server that have moved to another city since the disaster.

　Considering the current environment, Shiroe's right to do so was almost equivalent to the authority he had to freely block banks' deposits. It was understandable that the members of this table were astonished.

　It was only after the prospect of five million in guild hall income funds that Shiroe announced this strategy against the Crescent Moon Alliance, but even that Henrietta said, "The devil is far more adorable than Shiroe-sama. The devil is aware of being a bad boy, but Shiroe-sama doesn't have it. "Two names like 'belly-button glasses' are too cute." she even let out a leak.

''That's right. That's right, blocking the bank's deposits is nothing more than blackmail!
　Woodstock, the guildmaster of the small guild , his voice trembled.

I was only answering Isaac-san's question. The question was, "Even if the meeting is approved, depending on the matter, won't the big guilds veto it and turn it into a war?" This was the case.
　The answer is that there will be no war. The warring forces will lose their right to use the guild hall in Akiba.
So you're calling it a threat...
　Shiroe responds to the pursuits that are repeated.

If you say so, it may be blackmail.
　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you're ready to start a war if someone makes an inconvenient proposal," he said.　What's the difference?
　I'm just saying, "We're going to set up a conference to talk about it." I'm not going to ignore what they say. I'm not going to ignore what's inconvenient for me, and I'm not going to ignore what's inconvenient for you, but you should consider which is the sensible thing to do.

　There is a stifling silence.
　To the conference attendees, it may feel like a nightmare of poor quality.

'Where did you get that kind of money from!　The Guild Hall is a general zone!　A lot of money.

We financed it.
　The answer was given by Michitaka, the "mighty" general manager of the Japan Agency for Maritime Affairs. He seemed to have recovered quickly from the shock, and his voice was beginning to grow taut.

"Now then, what is the challenge you were leading us to meet?
Yes, the founding of this conference, that's what it is.
No wonder.
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on some of these things. In the event that there were only eleven people sitting at the round table to officially participate in the meeting, the shock of Shiroe's statement seemed to send even the members and staff members of the entourage into a state of panic.

''Be quiet!　Make some noise!
　Michitaka snapped back and then looked down at the document. The secret of the cooking method that Nyanta had discovered and the recipe for the hamburgers currently being served at the Crescent Moon Alliance were listed there. It was a "cooking method" in the proper sense of the word, not a "recipe", a special item that registers a new completed item in the item creation menu.

　Earlier today, the leaders of the three production guilds - the Oceanic Organization, Roderick's Trading Company, and the Eighth Shopping Street - had been summoned to this location prior to the meeting and handed this document directly by Shiroe.

　The structure is too simple if you ask me. --The new food items in the Crescent Moon were not the result of a new recipe. The Crescent Moon's new food items were not the result of a new recipe, but rather the guilds that chased the illusion of a new recipe and were trapped by the Crescent Moon Alliance. Each of them had lost their investment of 1.5 million gold coins.

　However, Shiroe made no apologies for that.
　However, Shiroe made no apology for this. ''What makes you think that the value of that material is less than 1.5 million gold coins?'' And.

'You still have something to say to Lord Shiroe, don't you?
　Michitaka was ready to go, but a look on his face that was neither wry nor mortified prompted him to continue.

'Right. There is no doubt that Shiroe-senpai is currently in a threatening position, no matter how you try to put it. And human beings are creatures that lose their composure just to find out that the other party is blackmailable, and depending on the matter, they feel threatened. You understand that, don't you?
　It was Soujiro who made the comment.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

You are right. I'm not sure that a city where a single person has the power to do this is ideal.
　So let's go back to the beginning. Do you think this city - or, to put it in a larger context, the adventurers in this world - really deserve this kind of status?　I have two policy proposals. The first is to restore life to all the people living in the city, and by extension, to this world. The second is to create and implement a law to govern at least the adventurers who live in this city. Is there anyone who is strongly opposed to this at this point?

　There is no answer.
　In the first place, what Shiroe is saying is not a bad thing when considered individually. It's a good thing to regain vitality, and it's not something that either the fighting guilds or the production guilds are opposed to.

　Of course, if the burden of that specific measure is severe, it will be a different story. If the burden becomes severe for only a few participants and the rest of the players regain their vitality, then it's "who will draw the poorest of the poor? That's the problem.
　However, it is not a subject that I would disagree with at this point in time.

　The same is true for the enactment of the Law. Some of you may feel that the law is too formal and cumbersome to follow, but we are all here because we were originally Japanese who played on a Japanese server. As such, there is no one who does not know the importance of the law.
　Of course, this one, too, can cause problems, depending on the content of the law. Of course, there may be some bad laws that we don't agree with. But I don't think there's anything to disagree with, if only for the enactment of the law.

All right.
　Isaac, the Black Sword, slams his thick palm down on the conference table and cuts into the conference as if he were the only one to bear the confusion of the group.

"If you insist, let's hear what you have to say about the specific measures you propose for this conference, the Record Horizon.
　The gazes of the people around him were naturally drawn to the black-armored warrior who continued to pour his strong stare on Shiroe. Shiroe stretched out his chest and began to speak with more fervor.


　◆


　Zone movement is a unique thing.

　In the case of the relationship between the Guildhall and the Guildhall, that zone movement is mediated through a concrete object: a door.

　On the Guildhall side, there are numerous doors in the Guildhall corridor on the second and third floors. This corridor, which is lined with only doors, leads to a number of individual zones, the Guild Hall.
　In fact, there is no room in the physical sense of the word behind the doors.
　There is no space for it to exist. The doors are adjacent to each other, and the wall behind the doors is only about a meter thick. There are 17 of these "door-lined passages" on this floor, and there is no room to create a room, no matter where you look.

　It's easy to understand that if you use a door in the Guild Hall's strange corridor, you will be transferred to a different space called the Guild Hall. On the contrary, if you use the door that is the exit on the side of the Guild Hall, you will now be transported to the corresponding door in the zone called 'Guild Hall'.

　They didn't know until the end whether Minori or Touya had touched the doorknob. In any case, they had jumped away from the swarm of poisonous insects that swarmed like black smoke, and as a result, they had rolled out into the corridor of the guild hall.

''Two more are here!
　The corridor of the guild hall was different than usual, with a number of players waiting. At the stairs, a boy in leather armor and a woman equipped with a sword seemed to be guiding the newer members of the〈Harmelung〉 to the rear of the room more and more.

　Minori coughs repeatedly.
　I feel a surge of vomit in disgust, as if those poisonous insects have entered my mouth as well. In reality, that swarm of insects is a magically created "effect", a temporary product. Now that I can no longer look at them from the surgeon, that entity has disappeared, but the real feeling of realism that remains in my body doesn't make me think so.

'Are you okay?　Minori.
　Touya pats her back with concern. Minori, who kneels on the floor, cannot see all of Touya's body, but she can only see the red stain that spreads on the floor in front of her.
You are the one who's going to be the one who........ Wait for me, I'll have a 'minor recovery' soon.
No, I'm fine. But.....
　The sign of Touya raising his gaze caught my attention and I looked in that direction. There was a boy swordsman in blue leather armor with two straight swords of Chinese style, and a girl in black.

What are your names?　Is there anyone else running away?
　The boy swordsman, though, is probably higher than Minori and the others. The dark-haired swordsman, who looks like a high school student, speaks to Minori.

(Saved...?)

　I don't know why the members of the Hamelung didn't run out into this corridor of the guild hall, but I'm sure they were saved. Minori felt the strength in her knees slipping away with a sense of relief.

　Minori grabbed the hand he'd lent her and stood up.
　Touya had regained his position earlier than that and answered the question.
'I'm Touya. This is my sister Minori. We're supposed to be the last of the new members.'
Well, good.
　The boy swordsman laughed as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

'My name is Xiaolong. It's a pleasure to meet you. --

Hey, Minory. Don't get tired of it, it's not cool.
'Woo. Touya's mean.
　Touya's teasing voice is also soft with relief, despite the content. Now all we have to do is follow this swordsman who calls himself Koryu and we'll see Shiroe. That was when Minori thought that.

(---ha!)

　Minori feels a creepy, uncomfortable feeling behind her. You don't have to turn around to feel that someone is "appearing" there. Minori almost skipped a glance in that direction, but even as she was doing so, she knew she was in fact aware of it. Now is not the time to be checking, but to run towards the stairs. However, once you start looking back, your body doesn't stop.

　Minori felt a strong shock to her body when she recognized the adult man in her field of vision, whose palms were full and ready to grab her roughly. It was Touya. Just as he thought that, a jet black cat-like shadow jumped in from the opposite direction this time.

　The shadow kicks off the large man's arm as if it were scooping him up from underneath, and stands between Minori and the Summoner of Hameln, who appears from the door.

(Wow..... (This guy is so beautiful.)
　Just as Minori had praised, the dark-haired girl flicked the 'Summoner''s arms with a smooth movement that looked as if she had been trained a thousand times, then poured a cold gaze on the man who seemed to have a height difference of more than forty centimeters and muttered, "You still look weak.

''Who are you?　--Record Horizon?　I've never heard of it.
　The sorcerer, who stopped moving for a moment, must have confirmed it in the menu in his brain, read Akatsuki's guild tag and turned a blatantly contemptuous expression on him.
　But those words didn't seem to give Akatsuki any pain or itch. She replies with her usual genuine expression, nodding her head slightly as she replies.

''Really?　Wouldn't it be more embarrassing to wear the tag of a third-rate guild like Hameln?　Don't you get giggles when you walk around town and want to go back to the Guildhall or...?

　The man, enraged by these words, grabs the girl by the chest. Fighting is prohibited in the guild hall, but the members of the Hameln know from their own experience what constitutes an act of combat.
　Attacks with weapons drawn, the use of hostile magic. These were immediately and mercilessly recognized as acts of combat. However, bare handed contact must be accompanied by pain of intensity to be considered combative contact.

　Just as the yakuza of the real world know how far to go in order to make their actions illegal, they know how far to go in order to be recognized as a combat act and punished by the guards.

What did you just say?　You don't know anything about Hamelin.　Hey, kid.
　It's not at all flinching from the bottomless threat. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

''........Oh, is that you, my lord?　Sorry about that. There was a security leak. His name is Shrayda. He's a big guy with a bad breath, and as his name suggests, he looks like he's been thrown into a shredder. ........oh.
Jesus Christ, man!　If I go back to the Guildhall, I'll be d*mned if I'll let you.

　The man's voice was cut off.
　To be precise, it wasn't just the voice. It was a break in existence.
　The man didn't exist in front of Akatsuki, who landed on the floor with a light thud.

'Thank you for the additional registration, my lord.
　The elimination is complete. Apparently, designating the name of the target present in the zone as off-limits will eject them outside the zone. I'm not sure if they're in Akiba or back in the original guildhall.
　Yup. I figured it out. I get it.
　We've got a girl named Minori and a boy named Touya. They're the last two. We'll continue to monitor the Guildhallor in Hamelin.

　The girl with the translucent beauty turned around with a serious expression on her face and came to Minori and her friends, who had slumped to the floor of the aisle with their hips relaxed.
You must be Minori and Touya.
　My name is Akatsuki. I'm a ninja of my lord Shiroe.
　The two of you and your friends are now safe. The two of them are now safe and my lord is fighting valiantly on another battlefield. It's a good idea to take a bath for now, don't you think?
　This time Minori's tears began to spill out of her eyes in relief.


　◆


As I explained earlier, there are two basic policies I would like to propose: revitalizing the area and improving public safety. As I explained before, I'm going to revitalize the area and improve public safety. I'll start with an outline for the revitalization side. We have already talked through this with some of the stakeholders. ........Miss Mari

　Marielle stood up at Shiroe's words, gathering her courage.

I'm sure some of you know that the Crescent Moon Alliance has recently opened a snack shop called the Crescent Moon. It's been doing quite well.
　It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your friends.

The Crescent Moon snack shop will be the first ever to offer mainly tasty hamburgers and take-out, and there are many rumors about it. We know very well that there are a lot of rumors about this place.
　The secret is not a whole new recipe with 91 levels and above found in the unknown zone.

　Aside from the commercial guilds that already knew about it, this news also brought no small amount of throbbing to the conference hall.

''I'm going to reveal the secret here and now.
　The trick is this-- I'll prepare the ingredients normally and cook them as I would in the real world. But the person who prepares the food has to be a 'cook'. And if their cooking skills were deemed insufficient, they would fail. That's all there is to it, isn't it? Seeds are what you don't have.

　As the words seeped in, the murmur grew louder.
　This belief that "food is made from a menu" had been misleading to everyone. It's easy to say, but it was also revolutionary.

　Marielle sat down in her seat amidst the murmur. Siloe interrupts a word before the rest of the discussion begins.

The one who discovered that cooking method is the 'cook' behind me, Nyanta. With his permission, I taught the Crescent Moon Alliance about it and set up Crescent Moon, a snack shop.

　--Okay. So the OCEAN Organization is submitting funds.
　--Or does that mean they've been duped?

　The buzz of various speculations has never receded in the conference room, but Shiroe's mouthpiece continues to flow, ignoring such voices.

This........is a discovery rich in many suggestions, I think. This discovery itself was made by Team Leader Nyanta here, but without this discovery, I wouldn't have been able to establish this seat, nor would I have thought of doing so. --I'm not going to be able to get a seat. Did you get the results?

There it is.
　Michitaka replies in a wild voice. A deep sense of astonishment resides in the expression of the head of the giant production guild, who appears calm in one case.
　The reason why the three major commercial guilds had been consistently silent since this meeting began - it was in Shiroe's words now.

''My guild, in cooperation with the Roderick Trading Company and the Eighth Shopping Street, has just successfully developed a steam engine.

　The announcement was greeted with surprise again, but the surprise no longer aroused a buzz as it had in the past. Rather, they couldn't believe their ears and watched with enthusiasm as Shiroe and Michitaka continued.

'It's a prototype, to be exact. There are many problems, but the theory is proven.
In less than half a day, that's wonderful.
"The basic components can be created in the build menu. The basic components can be created in the build menu, as can the tools and equipment. The idea of reusing parts is a brilliant one.
　Michitaka and Shiroe nodded at each other.

Hey. That's a great steam engine, but..... What's that supposed to mean?
　Isaac, the Black Swordsman, who has been drained of all his venom, asks, "Don't you understand?

"Don't you understand?　Mr. Isaac. So here's the thing.
　The discovery you just made is not just related to cooking skills and "cooks". "It proved that "if a player who has mastered the artisanal skills of production can actually create something that doesn't exist in the create menu, if he or she does it with both hands, without using the create menu.
　There wasn't a single item in the original Elder Tail specs that had anything to do with steam engines.
　There were no recipes for new food items. But the fact that it didn't exist opened up a new dimension for recipes that were no longer petty. Things are no longer on the level of good food or anything like that.
　The question from Isaac is now answered by Roderick of the Roderick Trading Company. The way he answered the question was logical, more like a scholar than a merchant.

''From now on, you will be able to create items that are not on the creation menu. There will be a rush of inventions for a while. I think we'll be able to recreate some of the things that existed in the real world. Well.........TVs may be difficult, but if it's just a radio, it's not unlikely that we'll be able to create them.
　Karashin of the Eighth Shopping Street receives Roderick's words.
　Roderick, with his scholarly appearance, and Michitaka, with his rugged smile, nodded at Karasin's words. Their guild had witnessed the success of the steam engine experiment.

''The more new inventions, the more new demands will be aroused.
　Naturally, the means of making money and the need to earn it will increase. In other words, it's a revitalization.
　I think there are some considerations that need to be made. I mean, there's a possibility of an economic runaway. -- but it's a mess that could be overcome. It's not stagnation leading to despair, is it?
　In this world, basic medieval items and tools that can be handheld can be created in the creation menu. As long as you have both tools and role models, you can expect the rate of progress to be fast.

The three of us producers' guilds have confirmed these facts, and we have noted the profits to be made from them as well as the newfound motivation that will emerge. So much so that we are willing to support Lord Shiroe with this one thing.
　Michitaka takes back Shiroe's words.

''Then the Producer's Guild........''
Yeah. We will support the creation of the Round Table.

　In fact, even the small Crescent Moon, which sold snacks, achieved 50,000 gold coins a day. If competition arose, the price of new-style meals would come down. If competition arose, the price per customer would drop from the 30 gold coins sold at Crescent Moon, and the price per customer might even drop to a few gold coins. But even so, the number of potential customers, or players, is ten times greater than the number of snack sales Crescent Moon was dealing with.
　It's not hard to imagine the incalculable economic impact it would have.

　The combat guilds could only gulp in amazement.
　If the three major production guilds were so assured, it seemed that they could only agree on the point of vibrancy.

''The lack of vibrancy is partly a matter of feeling hopeless and unmotivated, but we believe that the lack of things to do is the main reason.
　We don't need too much money to live in this world. It would be more accurate to say that I have to spend money to some extent and earn it to spend it. I think there will be more jobs in the future. In the case of Crescent Moon, for example, I think the seller was willing to pay for it.

I guess. It's a matter of when, so we did everything ourselves, but I really wish we could have hired a salesman.
　It was probably true that Marielle returned to Karasin's words with a series of shakes of her head.

''I think there will be more work for the combat guilds as well. The same is true for tasks such as obtaining materials, searching, and escorting, but once the conference is established, shouldn't we request a complete investigation of the with a budget?
　When the research on the fairy ring is complete, we will accumulate information on the zone. Eventually, we will compile historical records and publish newspapers and other information media. We have a lot of things to do if we can get a budget.

　We know that the inter-zone teleportation device, the Fairy Ring, is working, but it is a type of teleportation device that changes the destination under the influence of the moon's motion. However, the Fairy Ring is a type of teleportation device that changes its destination under the influence of the moon's orbit. The chances of being connected to the desired location are slim, and with no strategy sites available, no one will go near it because it is completely unpredictable as to where it will fly.
　Investigations are possible, of course, but the labor involved is enormous. In addition to the 28-day lunar cycle, the destination changes every hour. It is also significant that the destination information for one fairy ring is completely different from that of another. Even when the moon is up, there are probably a huge number of combinations of connections between the different fairy rings.
　It's not that no one had the heart to look into it, but it was a far-reaching undertaking for a single guild to undertake.

　But if you can get a backup system like Shiroe said, it's not impossible. The fighting guilds would have a great task ahead of them.

The second is the issue of security. I'm sure the idea of 'law' may seem inconvenient to some people. But I don't think it would do any good to cramp them up too much. This is a different world in the Middle Ages, and we are Japanese, so we don't necessarily have a sense of ethics.
　There are occupation of hunting grounds and turf wars. But if you think of it as competition, it's not something that can be unilaterally denied.

　The people in the meeting nodded their heads. You can see Isaac the "Black Sword" in the midst of them.

However, some excesses still need to be deterred to some extent.
　It's a good idea to ban penalties in low-level zones. For example, you can't abuse your fellow players below 50 levels, can you?　They don't have enough property to hunt them, so it's entertainment killing.
　We can decide on a specific location later, but I think PKs should be banned in the low-level zone near the city of Akiba.

　There was no comment on this.
　It's no surprise that there were no large guilds that were called to the meeting that were pushing for PK with the whole guild. The guilds that do PK in the first place are often medium-sized, high-pressure groups.

'Then there's the human rights issue. Let's properly guarantee the right to freedom.
　In today's environment where death is not an absolute endpoint, confinement and abduction, for example, are considered more serious crimes than in the original world. Guild membership and withdrawal should also be left to the person's own free will. Surrounding and intimidating people without regard to their own will. These should be banned and penalties should be imposed.
　It goes without saying, but forcing a person to engage in s*xual activity with the opposite s*x is a maximum penalty.

--Oh, man.
--I'll have to include it, I guess.

　The air in the conference room is tinged with agreement. It wasn't that the participants hadn't thought there were no problems in the first place.
　They were an abhorrent problem for everyone here, and they thought that they should eliminate them if they could.

　However, in the current system of this world, "fighting in a combat zone" was subject to automatic punishment, but other violent acts, confinement and threats were not. And non-automatic punishment, i.e., someone responsible for monitoring, judging, and sometimes punishing each case, was considered too time-consuming and impossible to implement.
　However, if the card of deposit blockade can be obtained by Shiroe, the story becomes much easier. If there were any problem players, they could simply suspend the use of the Guild Hall after an inquiry by the Roundtable. The problematic players would find it difficult to live in Akiba's city, and realistically would have no choice but to move to another city.

　For many participants, Shiroe's suggestion was really quite benign.

　The invention of the steam engine and the Producer's Guild's support for the Round Table were some of the more surprising elements, but the explanations were convincing enough.
　The announcement of the concrete measures that Shiroe is currently making is to listen to the content of the proposal before deciding whether or not to approve of the formation of the Roundtable.
　However, that proposal was a line that everyone could accept, if not agree with. The atmosphere of the meeting itself seemed to be gradually changing to what we should do after the formation of the Roundtable.

And last but not least, this issue of human rights should apply not only to the Adventurers, but to the Earthlings as well.

　Several of the participants almost opened their mouths. If the most slightly astute one had listened, it would have been possible to predict this development from the crap about human trafficking on the streets of Susukino.
　But it was something else entirely that Shiroe began to talk about.

'I still don't know what the outcome of today's meeting will be.
　We don't know yet what the outcome of today's meeting will be, whether my outline will be approved and the 'Roundtable' will be launched or not - we don't know that at this point.
　But there's something I want you to recognize by now.
　We are in a different world.
　There's something terribly strange and twisted about this world.
　It's true that we are influenced by the Elder Tail.
　But as the Cook's earlier discovery shows, this isn't just a simple game. It's a different world with more proper physical laws. Has anyone ever spoken to the Daichijin in the proper sense of the word?

　But aren't those guys non-player characters, I heard a voice from someone's attendant.

'They are not non-player characters. They're not non-player characters, they're people with their own personalities. They each have their own worries, dreams, ethics and lives. They call themselves 'Earthlings'. They call themselves Earthlings, while we call ourselves Adventurers.
　To be clear, they are the original inhabitants of this world, and we are the parasites. The city of Akiba is an adventurer's city, so the number of earthlings is relatively small, but if it were the world as a whole, there would be far more earthlings.
　The adventurers and the earthlings have different roles to play in the world, but I don't think they'll be able to build a proper relationship with each other if things continue as they are.

Relationship...?

　Shiroe's words, when you think about it, there was a part of him that could nod to the truth, but he still disliked relying too much on reason. "In the Elder Tail, which has been turned into another world, they are not non-player characters, they are also residents of this world. It's a true statement, but for most players, it still didn't make sense to them emotionally.

''Oh......... Well, we're going to add some more information.
　In the midst of this bewilderment, it was Marielle who timidly started the conversation.

　It may be that she gets nervous every time she speaks in front of such a distinguished group of people, but even so she maintains her natural cheerfulness and states clearly

It's true that the Crescent Moon is very popular.
　But you know what? But, you see, it wasn't just the players, the adventurers, who came to buy it. --They're not just the players, the adventurers, but the people of the earth, too. I mean, I don't know how to describe it, though. We don't know what to call them either.
　They want to eat good food, too.

　This time the conference room went silent as if it had struck water.
　It brought a shock to the participants, as if their feet were collapsing with a rattle underneath them.

　For many players, non-player characters were just that, non-player characters. The Brigantia of the city of Susquino were an overkill, but to the average, and I mean even the good players here, they were a kind of "talking vending machine" as they were often called.
　That's not wrong, at least not in the Elder Tail. That was true in the days when this was a game.

　On the contrary, that's why the players gathered in this conference room, who were experienced in the Elder Tail, felt Marielle's report as a blow to the common sense.

I'm not saying that you should give up on returning to your old world. And I don't want to.

　When Shiroe finished speaking, she didn't wait for an answer, but slumped back into her chair. I was tired, but I felt refreshed.

　The conference room was quiet even after all of Shiroe's proposals had been made.

　Everyone was as if they had been turned into statues, not moving a muscle. The content of what Shiroe said was so bizarre and shocking. Many of the participants here thought they were caught up in the world of the Elder Tail. It felt like the world of the game had come true.

　Even now, it's not something that can be denied.
　But there are a number of facts that Shiroe brought up today, such as the method of creating items that uses a menu other than the item creation menu, and the fact that the Daichijin are a mainstream force in this world and have a real personality. Such facts were more than enough to shatter the "understanding of this world" they had gathered over the past two months.

"-- Shiroe, are you suggesting that there is a possibility of war with the Daichijin?
　In the words of a white philosopher, Krusty asks quietly, "I understand that's not what I think right now, but what the Round Table thinks.

'I understand that's not what I'm thinking about now, but what the Roundtable thinks about.
　Shiroe says irresponsibly.

　The die has been cast. All the moves that Shiroe could make were taken. I've disclosed all the information I had on Shiroe. I've shown him in plain sight, and I've shown him the world that Shiroe wants.
　It's a battle that was started because of Shiroe's selfishness, but Shiroe just wanted to win, not to beat anyone. He just wanted to win, not take it away.

　I don't mean to sound pretty, but if possible, we all wanted to get there. I mean all the people who live in the city of Akiba.

(But if you can't understand what I'm talking about, you're too young to understand. ...then there would be a war.

　When Shiroe looked to the side, she met eyes with Marielle.
　Marielle chuckles with a troubled, but usual sunflower-like smile. Henrietta, who stood behind her, shrugged her shoulders. The expression on her face is as if to say, "Please be my guest.

　What seemed like a long time, or maybe less than a few breaths, passed. The first person to speak in the conference room, where everyone is silent, is Krusty, the leader of D.D.D., the largest fighting guild in the city of Akiba.

　He told them all in a calm, unruffled voice, "We are the D.D.D.'s of the city.

"We, the D.D.D., agree to establish the Roundtable as an organization to govern the city of Akiba and we hereby join it.

　The words that follow come from a somewhat amused Soujiro, "We, the West Wind Brigade, agree with you.
''Let's agree on the 'West Wind Brigade' as well. It's been a long time since I've seen Shiro-senpai's all-out control battle. --I knew I wanted it at home.

We can't afford to miss Akiba, can we? The Black Sword Knights will be there.
The Honesty agrees. From now on, we will work to improve our relationship with the people of the Earth.
　"Isaac of the Black Sword and Ains, the guildmaster of the Honesti, also responded.

As I said before, we, the three major production guilds, support Shiroe and the Roundtable. Hopefully, the decisions that will be made there will be fruitful.
　Roderick and Karasin nodded at Michitaka's words. They had already figured out a number of possibilities from Shiroe's report and instructed the guild members to conduct various experiments.

　The rest of them had already received a series of voices of participation, as if they were carried along by the flow of momentum. Smaller guilds such as Grandeur and Radio Market have also announced their participation as part of the liaison group that used to exist.

　It seems that Marielle was taking a lot of pressure off, and with a smile on her face, she collapsed on the table in the conference room with a slap. Smiling bitterly, Shiroe slowly untied her hands, which were clenched and slick with sweat, so that Marielle wouldn't notice them under the conference desk.

　The "Round Table" was born in the city of Akiba.