Th-This is Akihabara?
Are you frightened?
Of course not.
Coming here was your idea,
so I suppose that is only natural.
Princess, I must return to my guild for a time.
They will accompany you until I return.
We haven't introduced ourselves, have we?
I am Shiroe, of Log Horizon.
This is Akatsuki.
P-Pleased to meet you.
Um, so... Where do I start?
For starters, here in the street is not the place. Shall we go?
They left me in charge here, but there isn't anything interesting to do now.
Both Shiroe and the princess are gone.
And I was only a blacksmith to begin with...
Now, what to do?
Sir Soujirou, this custard is delicious.
Thank you.
Hey, no fair! Listen to me, too.
Um...
Sir Soujirou is tired.
Then I'll sing him a lullaby.
No, I will!
This is part of the job. This is part of the job!
All right, everyone...
Let's all get along,
okay?
Yes!
Yes...
I'm not even sure I care anymore.
Is that some kind of event?
Maybe it's just cosplay?
You're walking a bit fast...
Expeditionary Force
Expeditionary Force.
We've been waiting, Shiroe...
And Princess Lenessia.
Hello, I am Karashin, the trader.
I am Lenessia of the Cowen family.
A pleasure to meet you.
A real princess, huh?
She's even more amazing than I'd heard.
I think we need something with impact.
The first impression should blow them away.
Do you have Valkyrie mail?
We have about seven types,
between model variations and our own, original designs.
And a good weapon would be nice, as well.
One with a required level under 4.
U-Um...
Oh, wow! It's a real princess!
She looked this way!
She's so cute!
She smiled!
This is a one-handed weapon, with high attack power.
I'd like something flashier, with priority on looks.
Princess, are you hungry?
Yes, I suppose...
Then have this.
You got these here with perfect timing.
Shiroe asked me to bring them.
Crescent Burgers are so good.
She ate it!
She eats like a princess.
Do you like it? It's called a Crescent Burger.
Yes, I've never had one before!
It's so...
Princess Lenessia, here.
Akatsuki, help her get changed.
Right.
We'll help, too.
Could you all help me with something else?
Yes!
I'll help you with your skirt.
Eh?
This armor emphasizes the lines of my body a bit too much...
Actually, it makes them look better than normal.
Special Dressing Room Peek and Be Sent to the Cathedral
And it shows my entire legs!
You're tall, so it has to.
Deal with it.
Right...
Looks pretty good, Karashin.
Yes, I think it's beautiful.
Th-Thank you.
A lot more people are in full gear all of a sudden.
Yeah, are they handing out a quest?
Thank you for coming so early in the morning, everyone.
I am Shiroe, of Log Horizon.
Our situation is pressing, so I'll get right to the point.
An army of up to twenty thousand goblins
has appeared in the northern Kanto hills.
They threaten the League of Freedom Cities, Eastal.
Even if we leave them alone, Eastal will not be wiped out,
but they'll lose around thirty percent of their total forces.
Thirty percent of their total forces?
That's practically annihilated.
Northern Kanto would mean...
When did they show up?
Show me that map.
All the people here understand tactics, and they can read maps.
How are they all so intelligent?
Are the adventurers here more than just soldiers?
Does that mean they're smarter
than our military officers or a court official?
Then what is a noble?
What is a commoner?
What is a serf?
For our part,
defending Akihabara from the goblins would not be terribly difficult.
If all we care about is ourselves,
there's no need to save Eastal.
There's nothing we stand to gain by doing so.
However,
with this in mind, there's someone I'd like you to listen to.
Let's go.
Th-This is...
What do I do?
Everyone, it's nice to meet you.
I am the granddaughter of Duke Cowen, one of the People of the Land,
and leader of the Freedom Cities of Eastal....
Lenessia El Arte Cowen.
I am here today to make a request of you.
As Shiroe has just explained, the land of Yamato is in peril.
Our guardians, the Izumo Knights, have vanished,
leaving Eastal to deal with the threat on its own.
It shames me to say this,
but even now, we haven't managed to decide on a course of action.
And what's more...
And what's more, we were planning to force you
to take over our duty to protect our own cities.
We were prepared
to depend on you, the immortal adventurers, to protect our lands.
I am
terribly sorry...
And the reason I am sorry is that I, myself,
have come to make another selfish request.
Neither I nor Eastal has much with which to pay you.
I cannot even imagine
what we could offer a town as prosperous as Akihabara.
And there is no price we could name that's worthy of your freedom.
But...
As a daughter of the Cowen family,
my duty is to protect the city of Maihama.
I am cowardly, lazy, and little more than a decoration that cannot think...
But I am going to fight!
She's a goddess!
She's so beautiful...
So, if I may ask...
If any of you would still be all right with that, would you please join me?
Would you fight for me, in the name of your good will and freedom?
I wish to protect the freedom of all adventurers as much as I can.
Please...
Please help me!
Princess!
I've been waiting for a big event like this!
I've never seen a real princess before!
I'm going with the princess!
Princess! Princess! Princess!
We will now set out for our first military expedition.
This quest is from the Round Table, and it is for adventurers above level 40.
If you wish to volunteer, come forward!
I, Crusty, will lead the army.
And I, Shiroe, will be our strategist.
We will begin by forming a forward strike battalion.
I will be contacting you within fifteen minutes via telepathy.
That is all!
Stand by until then.
Dismissed!
I said it...
Why are you so flustered?
Wh-What are you saying?
A noble shouldn't speak that way. They shouldn't...
I think you did well.
What?
Let's go, Princess.
In this operation, our primary concern is speed.
Why is that?
We don't know what the goblins will do after this.
After they eat all the food in the mountains,
they might come to Akihabara.
Then Akihabara would become a war zone?
You're saying that's one possibility, right?
As long as we don't know where they'll choose to fight,
they have the advantage.
So we need speed.
Then we have adventurers leave as soon as they're ready?
Yes.
I see.
Prototype Steam Engine-Equipped Transport Ocypete
So that's why we're using this steamship?
It still won't fulfill all our plans,
but it can get our forces to Narashino Port quickly.
Later, we can use it to ferry more.
Crusty, I'll leave the Ocypete to you.
Right.
And what will you be doing?
Well, I'll be...
The Midraunt Equestrian Park?
Yes.
There are only wild animals nearby. No nasty monsters.
It's the ideal place to set up a strategic HQ.
How many people?
Around twelve hundred.
Twelve hundred?
Wow, I'm amazed you got so many.
The princess's recklessness paid off.
I see.
If we keep up this pace, we'll arrive this afternoon.
Tonight, we'll make camp, and then set to organizing these twelve hundred.
I'll continue to keep an eye on the nobles.
Sorry to make you do all this.
Not at all. Thank you.
I really wanted to see the Ocypete leave port...
Michitaka?
You have a visitor.
A visitor?
My granddaughter's actions risk splitting the league.
Are they concerned that the Cowen family
might have been working secretly with the Round Table on a separate deal?
Yes.
But I'm sure the princess had no such designs.
But that isn't how they see it.
That's exactly what some of the lords are saying.
I understand...
Then they believe that Maihama may establish a new power with Akihabara at its side?
That is a possibility, correct?
What are your thoughts on the matter?
What...
First, we'd like to hear what you have in mind, Lord Sergiatte.
Whether the Round Table can accept it is the question.
That is quite true.
It's strange for me to say this,
but we'll never get anywhere if we keep questioning the other's intentions.
I'd like to hear your best-case scenario.
First, I'd like to exterminate the goblins.
Protecting our lands is an absolute necessity.
I can understand that.
Then what would you like from us?
I've abandoned the idea of having the Round Table join the League as nobility.
I would like to apologize for offering you a noble title.
It was very rude of me.
I understand now that the Round Table and Akihabara
are forces that rival Eastal in both strength and structure.
It wouldn't have ever been possible to make you part of our alliance.
So how do you feel we should proceed?
I would think it best for both parties to make a nonaggression pact and a trade treaty,
and to use that as the basis for further relations.
If we can take each other's hand as neighbors, that would be a good start.
But what will we do about the goblins?
What are your thoughts about the inequality inherent to the defense?
The inequality between adventurers and People of the Land?
Well, I don't think we have to worry about that now.
Without Crusty, Princess Lenessia,
and Shiroe here, we can't really make a decision.
No point in worrying about it now.
I'm sure Shiroe can find a way to work this out.
Very well.
Then I'll just have my granddaughter take responsibility for this.
Cinderella Castle Japan Server League of Freedom Cities, Eastal/ Maihama No Monsters No PVP Skill Use Permitted Entry Restrictions/ None Events/ The Goblin King's Return
I far exceeded my station by running into that conference and making a fuss.
Then I humiliated my grandfather and the other lords, and ran away.
And I gave a speech like that in these embarrassing clothes.
I let the momentum take over and said such outrageous things.
I regret it, but...
You look as though you're dying to take it back, but you can't.
Th-That isn't true.
You're stuttering.
You look tired and miserable.
But I don't regret it.
I'm asking you to risk your lives,
so naturally, I should accompany you and stand in battle beside you.
Ever since I went to Akihabara,
I've been feeling kind of down...
Down?
So many things are different from the world I know...
I really was a bird in a cage, wasn't I?
I was born a girl, so I have no political power.
Even if I promise to protect the adventurers' freedom,
I don't have the power to do so.
But...
Just as you were first to acknowledge my freedom to go to battle,
I wish to protect their freedom!
That is my desire.
Of course, my life isn't so valuable as to make up for that...
That's fine.
It's more than—
The formations are ready, my lord.
All right.
I'll see you later, then.
Welcome back! I'm so glad you're safe!
M-Marielle, I can't breathe!
You all did well! I'm so impressed!
Aww...
Well, I suppose we did.
Thank you.
What? If you want, boast more.
But it isn't over yet...
I suppose we can say we've made it through wave one.
The town of Choushi wasn't hurt.
The camp leaders did a good job,
but it was the new players who really worked hard.
I wasn't sure how I'd persuade them, but it turned out I didn't need to.
They volunteered to fight on their own.
I get it...
To be honest,
I was shocked to learn
that the People of the Land have emotions and thoughts like we do.
Of course, so was I.
But Shiro said it first...
That they're human, too.
That we're the ones who are different.
NPCs, events, flags...
The more games you've played, the harder it is to accept.
But these kids never really knew the old game.
They can look at the People of the Land as fellow humans.
Yeah.
Okay!
Everyone, we're almost done.
Let's all protect the town of Choushi!
I know you can do it!
Yeah!
Okay, let's do this!
I'll do my best.
Leave it to me.
This is what it means to be an adventurer!
Rudy...
Then, I will announce the formations!
Right!
We'll fight in legion raids.
Four groups of twenty-four members,
so ninety-six in all.
Ninety-six?
It's difficult for this many people to fight as a single group,
and it's impossible to understand the state of the overall battle.
You need a lot of experience to command them.
But in that respect, my lord is the best there is.
In Yamato,
he's one of fewer than twenty people to have commanded an entire army.
His experience, instincts, and powers of concentration
all make him the ultimate commander.
I see...
One further thing.
I am giving you a guard of twelve.
Please refrain from doing anything foolish.
Understood?
Y-Yes.
We'll disembark at the abandoned Narashino Port.
We'll head for the west side of Kasumi Lake.
It's twenty-four kilometers away.
We move straight north.
And as for the invading goblins...
Kill them all.
There was a young person who wanted to change.
They thought and thought,
then fought as hard as their soul and life would allow.
They wanted to protect someone.
All they wanted was to be able to protect someone.
Even if that meant sacrificing their life.
Chasing After Them
Next time: Chasing After Them.
Always look thirty seconds ahead.