43-043
Eh....
It's an attack. An information warfare or psychological warfare of some kind? Bad taste.
Shiroe snorts.
He has bad taste and bad manners.
It's too obvious a move.
The current attack by the infiltration forces seems to be aimed at undermining the credibility of the Round Table Conference and weakening the ties that exist in Akiba's town. However, the method is too crude.
Is that because the "enemy" that is attacking us is incompetent or is that?
''.........or is it arrogance?''
Akatsuki nods his head at Shiroe's muttering.
Seeing this, Shiroe gives a small wave of her hand.
'Just put the kunai away,'
But my lord,
There will be no such thing this time.
Akatsuki puts the rude blade back into her skirt with a look of disapproval. Shiroe averts her gaze from the glimpse of her calf and turns back to Henrietta.
'The city of Akiba is under attack.
Yes, sir.
Henrietta nodded while looking tense.
Then, Shiroe understood that Henrietta must have sensed it secretly. Then he decided that it would be better to tell Henrietta about the situation to some extent.
The means of penetration and then mildly disturbing, it's probably drivel. The purpose is to discredit the 〈Roundtable〉.
''Let's take action as soon as possible. In some cases, we have to cancel the festival.
That's not a good move,
Shiroe replied to Henrietta, who was rushing to a conclusion.
In the event that the festival is cancelled, the credibility of the
Well that's true.
Henrietta's expression is not excellent.
The fact that you are being attacked by an unknown opponent in a way that is not directly visible to the eye puts so much pressure on you. Even if you are Shiroe, you are not immune to that pressure. I'm just a little more "visible" than Henrietta, so I'm calm.
This attack, Shiroe has a hunch, is from the Daichijin. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest one is the discomfort in the key phrase "discrediting the governing body".
Almost all of Yamato's "adventurers," including Shiroe, are Japanese in the real world.
It's not something to be proud of, but for the Japanese, there is no trustworthiness in the governing body to be lost. Of course, the Japanese provide the world's best services in the real world in terms of administration and the police force. It is obvious that if those institutions were to be shut down, Japan would be in immediate trouble.
But in the minds of many Japanese people, those end services and the governing institutions seemed to exist independently of each other. In other words, the very idea of attacking the credibility of the governing body is non-Japanese, and in the case of the Yamato, non-adventurer-like.
And the crude nature of the attack tells us something else, too.
At the very least, the Daichijin don't expect their attack to be a devastating blow to Akiba's city or to the Adventurers themselves. Even if the festival fails and the city's security deteriorates a bit, or the Roundtable is accused of being incompetent, the Adventurers will not be weakened immediately.
The attack wasn't a stand-alone attack, so even the "loss of trust in the Roundtable" was a stepping stone to the true goal.
What, then, is the true objective of the attacker?
Perhaps it is to negotiate with the city of Akiba on favorable terms.
That's probably the purpose of the 'traders of the west' as mentioned in the conversation with Minori. Now that the Roundtable had signed a treaty with the League of Free Cities of Eastar, the Daichijin of the West needed to sign a treaty with the city of Akiba in order to ensure that their interests were not monopolized. In order to make the terms of that treaty better, they had to make a preemptive strike against the city.
Since merchants of this scale are mobilized, a large merchant or aristocrat with a decent amount of capital must be at the helm.
This is also confirmed by Isaac, who was able to obtain information that only one group of applicable bigwigs had entered the city this morning or so to stay in the city.
It's understandable.
In some cases, it's a strategy that can have a certain effect.
But that's why Shiroe judged it to be crude and aesthetically unpleasant.
While mobilizing such a large number of personnel, trying to carry out negotiations with threats, intimidation and quips in favor of the negotiations, it's hard to know where it came from.
''The West, huh........''
Stay down for a while, please.
Shiroe finished his explanation at the back of the Crescent Moon Alliance booth and requested Henrietta.
''That's fine, but what are you going to do now, Shiroe-sama?''
Oh, well.
Shiroe stuttered as she tried to continue.
Shiroe is a member of the Roundtable and one of the 11 guild masters. However, the Roundtable is an autonomous body and is merely a trustee of the city of Akiba. Whether it was right or wrong for him to act in defense by himself... Shiroe thought about it for a while, but then dismissed it halfway through.
The result was that he gave up on the idea that it was not something that could be answered so easily.
(Besides, this time, it looks like I won't have to see any blood. .........Since you came to stir things up by forceful means, I'm sure you're thinking about the possibility of getting a kickback.)
There was also the somewhat irresponsible notion that the
If you hit him, he'll hit you, and that's as it should be. This world is much more serious about the providence of retribution than Earth.
But either way, we had no choice but to adopt a defensive tactic this time.
We're going to fight. That's it.
My lord, is this a war...?
Shiroe's eyes narrowed slightly at Akatsuki's question.
Where is the point at which the 'enemy' is concentrating its attacks?
At the present time, that is the point at which the Growers Guild Liaison Association does some paperwork. A patrol of city entrances, warehouse facilities, and "flea markets". This kind of work is deliberately misrepresented and multiple declarations are being made, reducing the processing capacity.
Also, the points of interaction between adventurers and earthlings are under attack. It could be said that by disrupting the place of communication, they are making the atmosphere of the festival and the town worse.
In both cases, the only thing that can be done is to increase the number of people working on the ground. In addition, the key is to create an efficient and flexible organization.
The Roundtable and all of Akiba's other self-governing bodies are made up of volunteers. The volunteers show an unusual degree of problem-solving ability, but this is only possible when there are enough of them and their morale is high.
Lack of numbers leads to fatigue on the ground, and lack of morale results in a lack of energy to work. Furthermore, without proper staffing and a sense of purpose, we would have lost our way.
It is necessary to establish a chain of command and invest personnel.
This alone would not be enough to stop the "next" attack. Of course, it's not always the case that the "enemy" will make that move, but Shiroe believes that if he were the one, he would at least prepare a surprise attack. It's a move that will put an end to the working ability of the Round Table.
Shiroe calmly plays the cards in his mind.
The battlefield is wide. Each and every one of these penetration attacks is insignificant. It's not much trouble. ........But the battlefield is the entire city of Akiba. The area is too wide for me to deal with on my own. No, just throwing the Record Horizon into the mix wouldn't be enough.
But that said, calling up the Round Table to take action is in itself a poor idea. (At this point, making the conversation that big could lead to widespread panic.
Of course, it is necessary to contact the appropriate parties and ask for their cooperation, but giving instructions to the ends of the Round Table to take a defensive posture will put an enormous amount of stress on the chain of command. As long as this attack is a saturation attack on the processing capacity of the Roundtable and the Producer's Guild Liaison Association, raising the alert status without a second thought will only serve the enemy's purpose.
(The ideal is, after all, to eliminate the incident itself. That's right...
Shiroe first thinks about the ideal outcome.
He deploys and simulates his forces under those conditions. He discards the failed plan and resimulates it again, changing the conditions. When he stops breathing, the ambient noise fades away and a world of silence envelops Shiroe. Amidst the accelerated simulated battle, Shiroe searches for a balance point that must exist somewhere.
But there's nothing he can do about it.
The enemy's attacks are too incompatible with Shiroe.
The enemy has no idea what to do. The overall objective may be vague, but each attack is carried out almost ad-libbed in every 'scene'. It is not a one-point attack based on a precise strategy, but rather a haphazard carpet bombing.
Moreover, the actuality of the attack was only predictable after the enemy had already formed their position and attacked first. I'm not a good match for Shiroe, the strategist who uses pre-arranged coordination as a weapon.
(Ugh. I hate these enemies.)
I told Akatsuki and her friends that they would fight, but this is not as bad as they thought. The enemy's strategy is to be random. There is no way to predict it. Besides, you don't have enough men to cover all the fronts.
(In this kind of situation, I guess you just have to give up once.
Shiroe switched gears in his thinking.
Giving up on dealing with everything.
I can't do what I can't do. We do what we can on that basis.
We are running out of time. The day is already past, and unless we do something within the next hour, the situation will deteriorate to the point where even the residents of Akiba will feel something is wrong.
If we were to find out what we could do to counter this 'enemy'....
''That. Isn't that senior White? You were at the 〈Crescent Moon Alliance〉 booth, weren't you? Yes, that's right.
When I turned around, I saw Shiroe's old friend, Soujirou, leading the West Wind Brigade, standing in the background of the crowd. Today, Soujiro was dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, as if he was wearing street clothes. He wears a Kasuri kimono and dark blue hakama, his hair is pulled into a ponytail rather than a topknot, and of course he wears a large and small battering rifle on his hip.
It has been a while since I've been away." "Hello! Nice to meet you." "Who is this? You know, the record horizon.
Behind them, the girls who were shouting in yellow were the cronies that accompanied Soujiro.
''We went to the cake shop my senior told me about. It was already an amazing service! We couldn't eat all of it, so we called our guild members and told them it was free. We couldn't finish them, so I called my guild mates and told them it was free cake, and the more members we had, the more cake they served. The more members we had, the more cakes they served. It was a very nice guild! ........Oh, what?
Shiroe feels her knees go weak and she feels like she's about to slump down. It's not a service, they're just adding a challenge menu based on the number of people, but Soujirou doesn't seem to notice it at all.
''It's like they ran out of stock around thirty whole cakes. We all ate it together, and it was delicious. I like the orange mousse.
While heaving and weakening, Shiroe put a hand on Soujirou's shoulder as he gave her such a report.
'What's wrong? White senior?
No, you've come to the right place. Hey, Soujiro. I've got a case for you.
The enemy is conducting a random saturation operation that also incorporates randomness.
And if this is the case, it's only fitting that the defensive front is also random.
The best person for that is right in front of Shiroe.
◆
Minori clenched her fist as she cut off her telepathic message.
My fears were correct.
The city of Akiva (Minori and others) is under attack.
Are you sure?
Karasin asked, sounding shocked. Minori nodded at that.
'Shiroe-san agrees with you,'
Biting his nails, Karasin looks at the pile of papers with a stern expression, then goes back to his thoughts.
Eight hours have already passed since Minori entered this office. Thanks to the continuous processing from early morning with hardly any breaks, the tower of documents had mostly disappeared. They are now compressed and stored in a document crate in the corner of the room.
But that's why the situation was so clear.
I hadn't noticed because the reports had been delivered in a dispersed fashion, but the merchants from the west had broken through 15% of the total number of participants.
The numbers themselves, while high, are not that much of a problem. What's increasing is the trouble of over 60% caused by the 15% incoming population.
This room is the department responsible for the Balance Festival. In other words, it's the control room.
Whether it was before or after the event, information was gathered in the form of reports.
As it turned out, this "report" was already a source of error. The various "reports" were putting pressure on the process.
Of course, documents are important.
Keeping records is an ironclad rule of office work, and in this world, that can only be accomplished on paper.
However, the Growers' Guild Liaison Committee was overwhelmingly lacking in processing capacity. They had failed to create an organization that would allow them to record with the accuracy they had originally planned, and they lacked the proficiency in system operation. Above all, the number of personnel was vastly inadequate.
And that was the point.
For example, we had to conduct a simple survey of the cargo to be loaded before entering the market. The procedures for issuing tags for exhibiting at the flea market. Procedures for reporting sales items to the market. Procedures for the use of public warehouses managed by the Roundtable. All of these procedures are short-staffed.
Delays lead to stress, and stress leads to trouble.
At first, it seemed that the confusion was inevitably caused by the unexpected increase in the number of merchants of the Earthmen. In other words, the liaison committee had been reminded that the fault lay with the liaison committee, which had underestimated the situation.
However, as the report was further divided, the reality that the same western merchants were deliberately applying for multi-step or duplicate paperwork became apparent.
Someone, or some 'we', is trying to overload the system. Karashin confirmed that the Adventurer's Guild, D.D.D. and the Black Sword Knights are also overheating due to the rapid increase in noise and conflicts that have occurred on the streets. I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than you're used to.
Things here or there, Minori contacted Shiroe with Karasin's permission. He was afraid of the harmful effects of not sharing the information.
And now, after confronting the information, Shiroe's decision was that they were under attack by someone, and unfortunately, Minori's prediction was supported by Shiroe.
'Minori-chan is going back to Shiroe-dono, right?
Karasin's question was as expected. So, Minori shook her head in the same manner as she had planned.
'I won't be returning to Shiroe's place.
"Huh?
I'm here.
Minori repeats.
Karashin's flabbergasted expression is no surprise.
If attacked, the herd will gather to its leader. This is a defensive instinct that has existed since humans were animals. It is the same in a guild.
In this situation, the common sense response is for members to gather to the guild leader and follow his instructions as a group. This is more like a set in stone than anything else, even before we can talk about group discipline. It's a one-sided approach to social infiltration invasion that is unknown to us. It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of your time.
Not to mention, Minori is still young. Even Minori can understand why Karashin thought it was 'natural' for him to return to Shiroe's (guardian) wings.
However, Minori made the decision to remain here.
Minori's paperwork organizing skills are already at the level of a full-fledged office worker. Of course, he worked with a few younger members of the Eighth Shopping Street, but the fact is that Minori had eradicated the overflowing documents in his office. There was no way Karashin would refuse.
As far as Minori is concerned, it's not a 'big deal' to be admired. He thinks that all he did was to compress documents. Compression consists of ignoring information that is not currently necessary. In other words, I just accelerated the process by ignoring part of the work.
Documents and statistics will need to be re-examined if the information from the festival is to be used for similar projects in the future.
What Minori did was just a crude check to create the management statistics needed for now and extract the problem areas. In that sense, he was only doing two jobs, so to speak.
However, it is also an effective strategy for getting out of the current tight spot with a small number of people. Even more so if the facts derived from that would depend on Akiva's future.
Daring to pretend not to notice Karashin's worried gaze, Minori takes a deep breath.
(I mean, it's just like that thing.)
The problem is 'low' processing power.
It's a concept that goes along with 'inability to recover'.
It reminds me of the murderous atmosphere and breathless tension that chills my spine. Slowly loosen your palm, clench it, and consciously circulate your blood. That's right, what Minori is envisioning now is a large scale battle 《Raid》.
Just remembering it makes me thirsty and cools my body.
All you have to do is do the "thing" you did in Raglander, Chousi and Zantorieff. Imitate it, just like Shiroe had done.
'I'll stay here and work on the warehouse. Can you take all the paperwork to the warehouse and everything else, please?
'What? Oh. Well, yes. .... although I would appreciate it if you would do it, of course.
Karashin gives instructions to a young man named Taro, who is nearby.
The warehouses are the warehouses of goods under the control of the Roundtable. These warehouses, which small and medium-sized guilds can rent out on a monthly contract, were built relatively early in the Roundtable's history.
In a world that has mutated since the catastrophe, the quality of materials can affect the quality of items after they are created. For this reason, it became important for producers to make connoisseur purchases on a material-by-material basis.
If you use a damaged tomato, your tomato salad will also turn out to be just as bad. In the past, you could simply buy tomatoes on consignment or in bulk from the Daichijin, relying on the name "tomatoes," but nowadays, people want to see them with their own eyes and check the quality before purchasing.
For this reason, large warehouses were needed for storage and large transactions. Many large guilds operate their own warehouses, but smaller guilds do not have the strength to do so.
The Roundtable responded to the demands of such small and medium-sized guilds by setting up several large warehouses to manage them.
During the Autumn Festival, these warehouses were open to the Daichijin.
This service was necessary for the Daichijinshi merchants who came in wagons, for example. Among the merchandise, there were many items that couldn't be left at the stables of the lodgings, as well as bulky items. Summoning the Tianjin Winter Clothing and cooling it down, the warehouse would retain some of its freshness.
However, since the warehouse was opened up to the Daichijin, the procedure itself has become complicated. Without recording the details of the items entrusted to me, I can't be responsible for them. In addition, these warehouses, which were intended to be used by pulling out a certain amount every morning and depositing the unsold items in the evening, are not designed to be used as frequently as they are for every sale.
To put it bluntly, the load is far beyond the processing capacity of the counter. -- this is a prime example of the attacks Akiba's city is undergoing right now.
Minori, you're back.
Yeah, Toya.
Minori nodded at Touya, who walked into the office without even saying hello.
Their contact information for each other registered at the top of the friends list was unique to the twins. Because they repeated it so much, telephonic communication, which could no longer be communicated even by unconscious manipulation, was reaching the realm of Ishin-denial beyond direct calls.
''Karashin-san. I'm here to support you. I'm your twin brother, Touya.
Yeah, it's been a while. I'm sorry, but it's good to see you.
OK. Okay, Minori, I'm going to go check it out.
Touya walks out of the office, dropping only his bag, without a word of greeting. Minori also asks, "Where? I don't ask.
The other office on this floor should have received the deposit slips for the packages that arrived from several public warehouses. As I was talking to Karasin earlier, Touya should have gone to get those packages.
Soon, this office would begin to bring in various documents at twice the speed of the previous one. In addition to the reports arriving from the "City of Mino City", even the deposit slips from the warehouse group would be brought into this office.
In this office, which had been opened up by organizing the documents for the time being, those massive documents would be processed in parallel.
That was the battlefield Minori had chosen this time.
''Karashin-san, I'll need this as well, please.
Minori turns to Karasin for a highly important report she has made at hand. It was signed "ASAP" in red on the right shoulder. Karashin was puzzled, but he nodded at one and began to quickly run his gaze over it.
It was a guild leader who was so highly regarded by Shiroe for his practical skills. Even if the goods that had been deposited - such as a pile of potatoes that had been 'double pulled out' - a fiery case that Minori couldn't handle, he would put together a story in the direction of assurance in a short period of time with a telephonic tale.
Minori is convinced of this.
At this moment, running back to Shiroe is a 'weak move'.
It is the moment when the front line is being overwhelmed, and this is the moment when we need to take care of the front line and stop it from collapsing.
(I don't know if I'm going to be of any use...)
But at this very moment, there's no one in this office. It's just Karashin and a few volunteers from the Eighth Shopping District. Even if you add Minori herself and Touya, there are only about five people in the room.
-- despite being the center of the Balance Festival, there are only five staff members.
All Shiroe was instructed to do was "join Touya".
Minori ponders the intentions behind it.
The first thing he felt was the message that the situation currently looming over Akiva was not the kind of danger that would cause direct physical damage. If it was a situation that posed that kind of danger, Shiroe would have given instructions to join them in a panic. If necessary, he would have sent for them to be picked up.
But the next thing he felt was the fact that he was allowed to be free.
This was not simply a matter of being allowed freedom of action. Minori interpreted the fact that they were allowed freedom after sharing information that they were being attacked as being expected to move as reinforcements.
A small expectation from a distant Shiroe.
Minori's soul flared up at the possibility, as if she could be mistaken.
(But if it is. (I am........)
In this office, Minori decides to imitate Shiroe.
Minori decides to do so.
He would recreate Shiroe's control battle.
Two Shiroe in the same place wouldn't make any sense, but in this place where Shiroe wasn't present, the imitation might make sense.
The person in charge of receiving complaints from the Daichijin at the reception desk of the warehouse is the 'vanguard wallflower'. Is the Karashin, who deals with the problems of the vanguard in the time they earn, in this case a "restorer"?
If that's the case, it's the best Minori can do right now to sort out the problems, divide them into small and large, foresee the next move, and shape the information so that everything proceeds smoothly.
I can't be a vanguard or a restorer.
The only thing he does, despite his high ideals, is to organize his paperwork and allocate its contents on a separate sheet of paper. She feels a pang of helplessness and frustration, but Minori does her best to put a stop to it.
It's no surprise that she's incompetent as a middle schooler.
Besides, Shiroe has taught him that irritation and self-deprecation are more futile than anything else on the battlefield. There is no way to betray that Shiroe.
--The flow of battle isn't something you can 'read'. The flow of battle is not something to 'read', it is something to 'become' the flow.
I remember Shiroe's gentle voice as she laughed jokingly.
(To "be" the flow...)
To Minori right now, the flow of the battle was a continuum of documents brought in one after another, and contacts waiting for instructions to be popped in by telekinesis. It 'becomes' those things.
I don't worry about anything.
I don't think about anything.
I could "get rid of" the documents and the solution itself.
Chasing that faint sensation, Minori furiously began to work furiously on the task at hand.
◆
The venue for the dinner party was filled with a gorgeous atmosphere.
This is the House of Waterfrogs, where Reinesia resides. This is the main hall on the first floor of the mansion, where Reinesia lives. The house was renovated from one of Akiba's many collapsed buildings, purchased by the Duke of Cowen's family of Maihama when Reinesia was transferred to the city of Akiba.
Most of the buildings had been abandoned, but the basic structure had been restored to resemble a nobleman's residence of the Daichijin.
As an official residence, the building is sometimes used to house guests, hold meetings, and evaluate local products, so although it has the aspect of a Reinesian residence, it is quite large in scale. There are 3 halls and 80 rooms, and the number of servants usually exceeds 30.
However, as the big event of the house, the dinner party, the number of staff members has swelled beyond the usual 30 people. The cooks, minstrels and waitresses brought in from Maihama weren't enough, they had to mobilize the kitchen staff and other artisans hastily recruited from the streets of Akiba to provide a large scale service.
In fact, the Daichijin weren't the only ones who responded to the call.
There were also cooks, waiters, musicians, and a small number of adventurers who worked behind the scenes. The level of income for the Adventurers is high. The wages offered by Reynesia were based on the standards of the Daichijin, and we had not expected any adventurers to apply for the position, but this was Akiba, after all. But this was Akiba, and it was the town of Akiba, so there were times when adventurers would apply for a job, just for the fun of it.
I guess they were more than half-volunteers. While these adventurers worked busily behind the scenes at the glamorous banquets, they would become close to the people they worked with, or even form a cute little relationship with the people they worked with, but that's another story.
Thank you very much.
Reinesia smiled and bowed to the adventurer in front of her. The young adventurer looked away bluntly, but muttered, "No, of course not.
The young man is said to have participated in the logistical support and siege operations during the Zantorieff war. The only thing Reinesia could do was to thank him, but that was exactly why we were having this dinner party today.
Thanks to all of you, both Maihama and the League of Cities were saved. We thank you beyond measure.
He lifted his skirt a little and bowed his head.
The young man waved his hand at the situation and said, "It's nothing to be thanked so much. It's just that we're adventurers, and it's natural that we get paid. It's just that........it wasn't much of a hassle," he said.
After that, the young man's cheeks are colored, and he says uncomfortably, "I hope you don't mind. I'm sure of it! I said and slipped away.
You're all very naive, aren't you?
'Well..... Really.
Reinesia replied to Elissa, who was standing behind her.
Adventurers--especially young men--seem to be shy people. It's not hard to see why they're so absorbed in their "chivalry" that they're willing to impose their own ways on you.
It's a good thing that the young adventurers are not the only ones who are embarrassed when Reinesia thanks them for their service.
At first, she had wondered if they didn't like her, but now she knew that was not the case. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time in the world," she said.
The adventurers are embarrassed and bashful.
I'm sure you're not the only one. It's a good thing that you're not the only one. I felt more likable and softly smiling than if she had made a fuss about it.
There must be about 300 guests in the hall.
Two-thirds of them are adventurers and one-third of them are earthlings. One of the Dairikuans is a shopkeeper who does extensive business in the city, and another is a young chieftain of the Kunie clan, who manages the banking business. There was also a trading officer from a major trading association who had come from the Eastern Territories for today's festival.
The hall is filled with a fragrant aroma.
Although the purpose of the evening party was to have a convivial dinner, they didn't skimp on the subject matter, the food. The cooks from Maihama had apparently done a great job of preparing the dishes for Raynesia. They prepared sumptuous and elaborate dishes for the "adventurers" of Akiva, as if to show off their skills.
Fish soup and veal with raspberry sauce, for example, are dishes that have been "rediscovered". These are the traditional dishes of Zantorieff, but before the Revolution, they were prepared as part of the item creation menu.
I have only foggy memories of the food of those days, but of course it was tasteless and left a gloomy impression on me. It's hard to imagine how they managed to survive with food that tasted like that.
However, after the Revolution, there are many dishes that can no longer be made. However, they have no idea how to prepare these dishes and how to prepare them in order to make them look the same as the items on the Creation Menu.
The catastrophe exposed the ignorance of the earthlings to the world. We can't even make things by hand that can be made from an item menu.
The chefs of Maihama, however, were brave enough to confront such a situation. In an attempt to create "local cuisine" for which the actual cooking method is unknown, they managed to deduce from the list of ingredients used in the dish.
This process of determining the cooking procedure is called "rediscovery".
It's a task that requires a great deal of flair, whether it's learning ancient knowledge from old cookbooks or free thinking and repeating cooking methods. Of course, there were times when the process was influenced by the adventurer's new knowledge and advice.
I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results. Reinesia went around the hall, introducing the Daichijin to the Adventurers, and bringing the Adventurers to the Daichijin.
So far, the banquet has been very well received and seems to be going very well. The bond between the Adventurers and the Citizens of the Earth is a treasure for the Eastar, Leinecia's grandfather Sergiad had told me.
That may be true, Reinesia thinks.
But this is a result of the importance of that bond, which must be cherished and honed daily. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one. That was probably the aim of her grandfather, who had sent her to Akiva.
It's just that Reinesia personally just wants to live a lazy, leisurely, or even a chill-out life.
'Princess....'
What's going on? Elissa.
The maidservant behind her calls out to Reinesia as the human wave breaks. Perhaps it had something to do with the maid's message that had rushed to Elissa earlier, but her complexion was not excellent.
Raynesia resigned herself to the fact that it was probably bad news.
The Lundstad is coming, and she has been prepared for it since she heard it.
She had not greeted Lundstad at this dinner party. I've been waiting for this to happen.
"I have bad news,
I don't want to hear it, but I will.
This is Lord Lundestad. He's on his way to see you now, and he'll be in the hall in ten minutes.
Yes.
That's to be expected.
It's a heavy, pressured piece of information, but not so much a bad news.
"So...
What's going on?
Raynesia urged him to continue in a distant manner.
'Actually, Lord Lundestad was off the coast of Akiba on a ship, and he has a considerable amount of supplies with him. You will find that you will be able to find the best way to get a good deal more information on the subject. But.....
What's the problem?
Yes, it's quite urgent and the volume is large. --To begin with, storeroom custody is a service originally intended for adventurers.
Elyssa said, annoyed.
That would be obvious. If there are any problems, Lundstad must be consulted. It was Reinesia's duty to act as a bridge between the Earthmen and the Adventurers.
The murmur in the hall grew stronger.
A large delegation must have arrived. It seems that the Lundstad has arrived.
Reinesia, accompanied by Elissa, nodded to the Adventurers as they crossed the hall to the orchestra. A mature aristocrat entered through a large, open door.
Raynesia didn't know him, but she was sure he was Lundstad, a nobleman from the Holy Empire of Westland.
''Welcome.''
Leinecia softly picked up her skirt in a graceful gesture and hung her head reverently.
In the aristocratic society of the Earthmen, Reinesia's position is extremely delicate. As the daughter of the Corwin family, the largest noble family in the East, she is held in high esteem. Her beauty also earned her the admiration of society as the princess of roses.
However, she is a woman, and in an aristocratic society, there is no such thing as a woman and ostensibly public service.
Of course, Reinesia lives in the city of Akiva as part of her official duties as an intermediary between the Daichijin and the Adventurers, and to lay the groundwork for various negotiations, but the announcement was made that she was being held accountable for her decision to go to the Adventurers without permission from the League of Free Cities of Eastar to seek reinforcements from the Adventurers. There is.
Reinesia is actually living in the city of Akiba as a representative of the East side Daichijin, but she has no official status whatsoever. She is simply the daughter of the Corwin family, who is under house arrest in a villa.
Naturally, when dealing with the great nobleman Lundstad of the Holy Imperial Westland, you can't help but bow your knees deeply.
''Oh, you are beautiful. If I'm not mistaken, you're the Princess Reinesia, daughter of House Corwin.
'Yes, Master Lundstad. Thank you for coming to our family's feast tonight to celebrate the Fall Festival.
Raynesia wrapped up her inner thoughts perfectly and kept her eyes downcast.
To be honest, it was a bad first impression.
It could also be said to be the worst. Lundstad was an aristocrat with a face like white kneaded clay. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one.
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one. Of course, this may look good on some people, but the make-up on these men is rather dated and bizarre, considering the customs of the League of Free Cities of Eastal.
Rayneshia is not interested in obsessing over the beauty of others. I'm not sure if it's just a matter of looks, but it seems to me that there's a certain inner strength to Lundstad's.
'It's a great party, isn't it?
Yes, thank you.
However, as the daughter of a nobleman, Reinesia had exchanged words with various diplomats and ambassadors. No matter how unpleasant they may be, they are only someone who will be gone within an hour. There is no point in putting on an expression.
It's a good idea to keep your eyes down and give a small, annoyed smile.
'But what about it? It seems a little too disorganized.
What do you mean by that?
At the nobleman's voice, which contained a snorting laugh, Reinesia raised her gaze slightly.
The same as the commoners, a nobleman would attend the same banquet as a commoner. It's the kind of bravery that can only be found in the East, where the blood of the barbarians comes from. Hahaha. Well, well, well... You're supposed to stay away from them. Hahaha...
I'm sorry, sir. I'm sorry, but the East is not known for its elegance, and this is the kind of party we had. I'm not sure if this will suit your taste, but how about some Azuma Sake?
The disdainful phrases were not familiar, but they were not unheard of either. Many of the Free City Alliance were provincial city-states that were conquered at the time of the establishment of the Westlande Imperial Dynasty. Because of this, since the days of the Westlande dynasty, the great cities of Miyagi in the west have been treated as a lowly, barbaric region.
But even so, places like Eastar are still on the better side of the spectrum. In the case of Ezzo, it has a history of being treated with disdain as an unexplored and barbaric region, a barbarian place. It was not for nothing that Ezzo, after gaining independence, called itself an "empire" and strengthened its opposition to Yamato Central.
Reinesia nodded her head slightly and poured the wine into the cup of the Lundstad, who was dressed in an overly ornate and difficult-to-recognize outfit. The Lundstad squinted at Reinesia and touched her silver hair rudely.
There was a glare and fury around Reinesia.
These are the Adventurers, not far from Leinecia and Lundstad. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us.
The implications of their gazes are: "Shall we beat this rude white pig? It is. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
The adventurers are truly free and open-minded like birds. It's nice to know that their thoughts are understandable in this way, which makes Reinesia happy.
However, Reinesia apologizes for the silent offer with just a glance. There is such a thing as an offer that should not be indulged in because it is kind. I'm sure you'll be able to get away with it if you harm the great noblemen of the west, and this level of sticky talk is to be expected.
If we coddle the adventurers, these noblemen will at best be kicked out and at worst cut down. That would be an unfortunate outcome for the West and the East, for the men of the land and the adventurers.
If you're just looking for a snide remark, I'm ready to go along with you.
I'm not a fan of that.
She's a lazybones, after all. I'm confident in my ability to get the conversation from right to left. You can find a number of different types of shoes that you can use.
Well, all right. ''Well, okay, Princess. For now, it would be nice to have a storeroom for the moment. Some of the things we've brought in are marine products. We don't want them to lose their freshness.
Yes, sir. I'm sending you an inquiry. Please hold.
Reinesia bows her head pliantly.
But Lord Lundstad interrupts Reinesia's words with a look of obvious contempt.
''Ha! What are you talking about, Princess? I thought we had already put our request in writing. I have sent a document to Lord Sergiad in Maihama with the same statement and even received a response.
What?
I trust you are ready to receive them. The goods are of the highest quality that are also unloaded to the Saigu family of the Holy Empire. This is not a product I want you to handle lightly. Do you understand?