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Vrrrrmmm…

Since I had lowered my windows, the unique and powerful revving sound of the Ferrari Enzo came to my ears clearer than usual. Because of that, we gained even more attention from people on the streets¹.

Even though London had more supercars going around in public than Korea, it was still a very rare sight to see a Lamborghini and Enzo driving side by side like this after all. Though it wasn’t preferable to keep getting attention like this, for me who loves cars way too much, being able to drive a supercar like the Enzo made me feel very happy indeed.

Aside from the fact that I was tailing right behind the Lamborghini which Katalina was driving and was told to follow her since she knew the way, I was still having a lot of fun.

If I was able to do whatever, I would try to speed down a long stretch of empty highway like those in the movies but it wasn’t possible in England where land was smaller than nations like China or America². Even so, going all the way to America or China just to have a drive was too much. Maybe if I were to set up an overseas holiday trip as an excuse to drive? I had plenty of chances after all. If this war that’s coming up was resolved properly, then I was thinking of going on a trip. Though I wasn’t sure whether my destination would be Korea or any other country.

“I wonder if supercars can be rented as well?”

Because taking my car with me to that country would be a hassle, I tried to think if there was a way to enjoy supercars in that country without needing to bring mine. I could purchase it if I wanted to, but I didn’t particularly feel good about buying a supercar just for it to remain in that particular country³.

It would be best for me to just rent one out and come back to England without worrying about it after all. As I was having thoughts such as these, we arrived at the destination before I realized it.

As opposed to my prediction that the restaurant would be located at some quiet place in the countryside, the restaurant that Katalina had booked, I mean, rented whole, was located among high-class residential areas.

Tom Eskins restaurant.

Though it didn’t have a fancy outer appearance, it had a rather tidy and modern image instead.

The Lambohrgini’s door opened upwards as Katalina stepped out, and I also followed suit.

Even though this was a high-class residential area, it seemed like it was still a rare sight to see two supercars and a number of black BMWs parked all in one place together, as some people couldn’t help but keep glancing our way.

“You’ve been here as well, right Ellie⁴? This place received Michelin star rating, and is quite famous after all.”
“Hm…”

Though she did say it was famous, it was the first time I heard of this place and the first time I was visiting as well. What can I really say? Of course, Elizabeth of the past may actually have visited here, though I won’t know if that’s true.

“Ah! Sorry sorry. I forgot that you may have lost your memory. It’s just a really famous and great restaurant so I’m sure you’ll like it, Ellie. Now, let’s go in.”

Katalina gave a simple apology upon realizing her mistake from seeing my reaction, as she held and pulled on my arm.

“Welcome.”
“Welcome!”

When we stepped inside the entrance, a number of people who looked to be the employees of the restaurant greeted us with a bow.

As they weren’t expecting me to greet them back courteously, I simply acknowledged their greeting and looked around. The interior was painted in white with similarly colored walls and tables to match, the black chairs beside them provided a good contrast. I could also see simple dividers made of wood and picture frames of landscape paintings. Though it wasn’t a particularly unique interior, I loved the simplicity and modern style. It was much better than flashy and peculiar styling after all.

“The people you’ve invited are waiting for you. Please come this way.”

A neat-looking man in his early 40s who seemed to be the manager guided us to our seat. She really rented the whole restaurant, huh? Going inside, I saw the rare scene of there being no customers at all even though it was clearly dinner time. It was quiet to the point where if someone who didn’t know about the situation saw this, they may actually think that this place was doing badly.

“Ah, you’re finally here!”

The one who noticed us entering first and waved at us was Eva. I mean, Esther. All the others were sitting around a giant table that was not commonly seen, but it seemed like not everyone had arrived yet, as there were only Champagne glasses instead of food for now.

“It’s nice to see you, everyone. I’m Elizabeth, and I’m active in Blue Sky with the user ID Artoria.” I greeted them with a light introduction.

As I did so, everyone, Esther included, stood up to offer their greetings.

“It is an infinite honor to greet you, Duchess Elizabeth, leader of the alliance guild.”
“It’s an honor indeed.”

My greeting was received by Esther and given back in a stereotypical courteous way, and the rest of the guild leaders also greeted me in a similar manner.

It seemed like Esther had already informed everyone ahead of time so there won’t be any confusion in greetings.

“Well, this isn’t like an official meeting with royalties so please just think of me as only the alliance leader Artoria while we’re here. It would be tiring for all of us to maintain the proper etiquette throughout the meeting after all⁵.”
“Of course. As expected of a Duchess of a modern era.”

One of the guild leaders who was keeping an interested eye on me answered, and all the guild leaders laughed in unison as they nodded. I then sat down to which everyone followed suit, and a moment later Katalina stood up from her seat once again and spoke.

“Since the alliance guild leader had introduced herself, I’ll introduce myself next. As you all know, I’m Katalina, the leader of the Volcano guild. And my Blue Sky ID is Merlin.”

Clap clap clap…

A round of applause came out, and Katalina sat down gingerly as all the guild leaders nodded their heads to greet her. Soon, Esther stood up next and spoke.

“I’m Esther, the leader of the Sapphire guild that just joined the alliance recently. My Blue Sky ID is Eva. I consider it a great honour to be able to join the Camelot alliance even though my guild is small.”

“Ngh… If you call Sapphire a small one, then what are we?”
“Hahaha.”

Hearing Esther made light of the size of her guild, one of the other leaders jeered at her, and everyone laughed.

“Ah, looks like I’ve made a mistake. I give my deepest apology, and hope that you understand as I feel tiny when comparing myself to those two giant monsters sitting there.”
“Heheh…”
“Pfft…”

In the end, Esther mentioned us before ending her introduction. Hearing herself described as a monster, Katalina’s eyebrows raised slightly, to which Esther quickly opened up her mouth again.

“That is all.”

Clap clap clap…

As another round of applause came out, Esther bowed before sitting down. Though it was quite a frank description to call us monsters, it was still true somewhat. It made me think that she had ample leadership skill by showing that she can make boring and stiff situations like these feel more welcome and comfortable. Though she called her own guild small, it was well-known that the Sapphire guild was one of the 8 biggest guilds existing in the England server.

“I’m…”

Continuing on, each guild leader stood up and introduced themselves. In total, there were eight small to medium sized guilds that were under the umbrella of the alliance⁶. Seven of those guild leaders were male with one female, and all looked to be in their early thirties to mid-thirties. Two of them looked to be over forty years old.

From their perspective, we were much younger than them, and if this was happening in Korea, everyone in the group may feel awkward about being overly respectful to someone with so much difference in age, but this was England. I saw that none of them were too bothered by the large difference in age amongst everyone.

But it was certainly rude of me to keep observing everyone’s reaction closely.

After everyone introduced themselves with no problem, the mood in the room became positively lighter. Soon the meals that each of them had ordered arrived, making the mood even brighter.

“The reason why I’ve set up this meeting was to prepare for the long war that’s ahead and to build relations with each of you guild leaders. And also to hear about any problems you may have. If any of you have any good agenda to bring up for the future of the guild as well as things relating to its policies, please speak up without hesitation.”

Everyone nodded positively in unison after hearing my words before any of them started eating.

“Then if I have a question, can you answer it as well?” Esther raised her hand and asked as if she had been waiting for my words.

“Of course.”

“Thank you. There is a possibility that the war will be prolonged. Does the alliance have any suitably well thought out campaign for this?”

I felt that her question was an extremely obvious thing. It hasn’t been that long since the alliance guild was established. Anyone could see that it was certainly made in a hurry. Other guild members seemed to have wondered that as well since some of them nodded and agreed.

“As I am a human as well, I cannot guarantee that the campaign is completely perfect. However, the preparations for the best and worst situation possible are all complete.
There are 3 billion and 900 gold ready as war funding, and 3 billion of that gold can be managed on a tentative budget. As I had already announced in the group, I have the intention to support any of you with however much gold you need in private if needed.
I do not see how we can be in a disadvantage position against Shining and Chaos.”

“From the economic point of view, your words are very encouraging indeed. I certainly didn’t think so much money could be accumulated for war funding after all. It definitely seems that we won’t crumble so easily if the war is to be prolonged. Regarding the military, there has been huge damage inflicted on the Volcano guild as well as ours due to the Ianus incident. Part of the main force of our military won’t be able to be at their top form when the war begins soon. Do you have anything prepared for this?”

It certainly was a smart question and a hard one to answer. This was why I didn’t like being in a high position… Whether I was feeling annoyed or not inside, I made the expression as if there’s nothing to worry about as I spoke.

“Of course there is. First of all, it’s true that we’ll be on the defensive regarding the military, and the enemy will be on the offensive side. It’s an obvious thing. However, in terms of defending the castle, it is much more favorable for us to have a small group of elite troops that go against numerous enemy forces. I’m sure all of you know well that just having me and Merlin as part of the defense means that we will have quite a powerful show of force against the enemies.”

I stopped here for a moment and looked at their gazes. Half of them looked convinced while the other half looked like they needed more.

“I’m not sure if there is anyone here that is feeling skeptical about the castle defense but it seems like I should reveal a secret I’ve been keeping in here. A Grand Smith had recently appeared in the server.”

“Oh my!”
“Oho!”

A craftsman who reached the 2nd tier in skills. All the guild leaders knew what that entailed, and also just how much of a worth they are.

“That certainly is surprising news, but since you’re talking about it, that means…! No way…!”

Esther also couldn’t hide her surprised expression from the surprising information I gave. Then she must have figured out the reason why I specifically announced that news here and now, as I confirmed her suspicion that had crossed her mind.

“Miss Jasmine, the Grand Smith had joined our guild, Camelot.”

With that, the reveal was over. They couldn’t tell what kind of influence a Grand Smith would have over a guild that was on the defending side of their castle. However, they knew very well just what a huge difference it was to have a Grand Smith in the guild, so they looked positive upon the outcome of the upcoming battle.

“Everyone. I’m sure you all remember that one event that became hot news around the time of the Ianus incident.”

Hearing Katalina’s sudden comment, everyone’s gaze turned towards her. My announcement was already huge news, so they looked puzzled wondering just what kind of news she would bring up next.

“I’m sure it was the video called ‘Crusaders, rekt’, right?”

One of the guild leaders spoke up, remembering what had happened in the news around the time of the Ianus incident.

“That’s right. And the person who beat them was Artoria.”
“I’ve assumed that much already. Weren’t you there as well, Miss Merlin?”

The fact that I won against the Crusaders was easily guessed by the situational evidence, and the forums had already brought enough evidence to practically confirm it, which was why the guild leaders were already certain of that fact.

However, Katalina opened her mouth again with an indifferent expression to his answer.

“However, I’m sure that none of you knew the fact that there was someone called Lycan amongst the Crusaders that was swept away by the attack.”
“I’m sure that he’s the vice guild leader of the Shining guild.”
“You’re right. And there was that rumor going around about Lycan…”

This rumor that was swirling around the internet forums was brought to light by users that are speculated to be inner members of the Shining guild. I knew of this since I also read the rumors, and the content of the rumor was the growing doubt of whether Lycan still had his legendary item equipped on him or not.

“For the first time in history, that legendary item had been dropped, and the person who had gained it is the alliance guild leader standing before all of you.”

Yet another round of gasps and astonishment went around the table. Esther made an expression as if she was getting sick of it.

However, Katalina opened up her mouth again as if she wasn’t going to let it end this way.

“And the person who gained the new legendary item that recently appeared is also the same person.”

It was yet another astonishing revelation⁷.

1. Robinxen: Since this is Britain I can 100% assure you that all of this attention is people slightly scolding you in their mind.
2. Robinxen: What does this have to do with anything? We have straight roads too you know!
3. Robinxen: Richard Hammond brought home Oliver so I’m sure you can bring home a car too.
4. Robinxen: Why would you ask this?
5. Robinxen: Seriously “proper” etiquette has been pretty much abandoned these days.
6. Robinxen: It’s like the Round Table Alliance of Log Horizon!
7. Robinxen: GASP!