Log Horizon - Volume 9 - Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1: Traveling Companion 

1 
The vast space was filled with the fragrance of greenery. 
Calling it a botanic garden would only be natural. Although it was indoors, there were areas with exposed soil, now occupied by planted trees from southern countries. Sweet-smelling flowers bloomed riotously in pots, providing a brightly colored feast for the eyes. The air was hot and humid, making the place seem tropical—but truthfully, the space was a bathhouse. 
Although the space was fifty meters square, its interior sight lines were cleverly obstructed by vegetation, making it look even larger than it was. At its center stood a warm-water bath made of marble. Judging by its size, pool seemed to be a more apt term for it, but this thing—which even had a sandy shore that resembled a gradual, shallow beach—was just another bath. White steam rose from the hot water within, and the vapor that left the water’s surface filled the space with warmth. 
A lovely girl with crimson hair was sitting on the marble edge. 
The girl was lightly splashing the water around with her ankles as though she was taking a footbath. After a little while, seeming to tire of this, she twisted around, leaving the enormous bath behind her. Although the space was illuminated, the steam made the air vague and misty, and as she walked through it in her white dress, the girl was an unearthly sight. She was petite, and although there was arrogance in the way she walked, she exuded a kind of elegance. The most striking things about her were her pomegranate-colored hair and eyes, each with a translucent luster. 
She strolled along as if she was used to this place, and after a long detour, she emerged in an area that mimicked a white, sandy beach. It was on the opposite side of the bath from the spot where she’d been warming her feet a moment before. Large trees that looked like palms grew there, and an elegant sun lounger had been set up in their shade. A large glass of tropical tea, garnished with a hibiscus flower and sweaty with condensation, sat on a little table beside it. It was a picture-perfect vacation scene. 
With her chest still puffed up, the girl raised a slim, bare foot, then brought it down squarely on the young man who was lying stretched out on the deck chair. The movement was casual, but her toes burrowed right into the space between his ribs. The guy bounded up as if he were spring-loaded, then fell back gracelessly, yelling unintelligibly: “Fook, oogk, d’ouch!” 
Mirthlessly, the girl twisted her toes two or three times, then flicked the youth’s ridiculous eye mask out of place. He used them habitually in this conservatory, indulging his laziness. 
“Owwww. That hurt, Gar-gar!” 
“Don’t yowl. Shut up.” 
“Did I do something? I didn’t, did I?” 
“You sleep far too much.” 
“I wasn’t sleeping. I was working, using Soul Possession.” 
“You were sleeping.” 
“……” 
“There, you see? You looked away.” 
Stretching out her slender fingers, the girl gently stroked the young man’s T-shirt-clad side (right where she’d just dug her toes in) and broke a rib. 
It made a light sound as it went, and it was the perfect thing to divert her mood. 
The adorable sensation pleased the girl. 
“Gugh, agh. Ow! Seriously, that hurts!!” 
“Don’t get flustered, boy.” 
Her companion was down on all fours, writhing in pain, and the girl took over his place in the comfortable sailcloth lounge chair. 
“You do this every time, Gar-gar. Why are you like that?” 
“No Adventurer worthy of the name should whinge so. Even young dragons are slightly more moderate in their remorse.” 
“I’m not whining, I’m protesting injustice. Yeesh.” 
With a brief gesture, the young man summoned a kikimora and had it cast a recovery spell upon his rib. 
The Adventurer’s name was KR. 
A former member of the Debauchery Tea Party, he was now the lowest-ranked member of the Ten-Seat Council that governed Plant Hwyaden, currently the largest guild in Yamato. On the Council, whose reign was based out of Minami, he had the byname “Transforming Jester,” and he was a master Summoner. 
“You’re as clever as usual.” 
“Don’t underestimate Summoners.” 
Summoner was one of the magic attack classes. In the MMORPG Elder Tales, their main role was to inflict damage on targets using magic. Sorcerers, the leading magic attack class, personified that role: They were pure attackers who controlled enormous elemental energy and sowed death far and wide. As another magic attack class, Summoners could do similar things, but they were a bit of a hybrid class. So, while their attack skills were typically far below the experts’, they were able to cleverly handle everything, including material attacks, defense, recovery, and support. 
The kikimora the young man named KR had summoned was a magical beast, and it could chant recovery spells. Summoners were a highly adaptable class in part because they could “summon” a servant with abilities the caster didn’t personally have. 
“I’m neither underestimating you nor complimenting you,” the young woman said. 
“For a servant, you’re pretty cold, Gar-gar.” 
“Treat me like a servant, and I’ll bite you down to the bone next time.” 
“Maaan…” 
KR, who’d regained his health through magical recovery, swung his arms around in circles and sighed. 
The girl, looking prim, used the straw to take a sip of her tropical tea. 
Her lashes threw shadows into her jewellike eyes, and KR gazed at them with a feeling that vaguely resembled heartburn. The girl certainly looked like an incredible beauty, but this wasn’t her true form. He couldn’t let himself be fooled. 
“And? How was it?” she demanded. 
“How was what?” 
“You were using Soul Possession to reconnoiter, were you not?” 
“Oh. Yeah. It looks like the steel train’s on its way back.” 
“Oho. The thing that stinks of iron.” 

Mizufa Trude of Plant Hwyaden’s Ten-Seat Council, “the General Who Dominated the East”: The train in question was a military apparatus that had been earmarked for the special unit she commanded and its ongoing mission. 
So that train is returning, is it? the girl thought. She had never been at all interested in human society, but lately, that tendency was beginning to change. After forming a relationship with this young man and observing human society through him, she’d seen that it held mingled joys and sorrows, in its own way. 
Most of all, there were individuals with too much internal fire to scoff at. Even though her partner, KR, was nothing short of tragic as far as mental capacity was concerned, this was true of him as well. 
Yamato, this Far Eastern island country, was small compared to her birthplace, the Northern Ridge Rus. The Holy Empire of Westlande, which was managing to govern only half of tiny Yamato, could be considered an insignificant organization as well. However, the Ten-Seat Council that controlled it was full of interesting individuals who truly could not be mocked. 
These outsiders, the Adventurers, seemed powerful even to her, but the Ten-Seat Council wasn’t made up entirely of Adventurers. Mizufa, “the General Who Dominated the East,” and Jared Gan, “the Great Wizard of Miral Lake,” were People of the Earth, and they looked quite self-seeking. The People of the Earth were nothing to sneeze at, either. 
“They’re probably planning to pick a fight with Eastal,” KR noted. 
“That’s the East’s organization of self-government, is it not?” 
“That’s the one. They’ve got a partnership with Akiba.” 
“Isn’t it unwise to make war with the Adventurers? The difference in combat strength is far too great.” 
“Westlande may think Plant Hwyaden will save them if they start a war with Akiba. Actually, they’re probably planning to drag us into it under cover of the confusion.” 
“Relying on others, hmm? That’s how inconsequential people think.” 
“They’re small-timers, but y’know, they’re just really… Sometimes, low-down small-timers are tougher to deal with than heroes.” 
The girl folded her arms and considered this. Hmm. 
Her partner was an idiot, but he occasionally spoke like a sage. 
“Profound words. I’ll take my reward.” 
When she gouged at his side with the nails of her white toes, KR stuck out his hands and arched backward, shouting, “Ow! Seriously, I can’t believe you! Gar-gar, you fiend!” 
Still, on hearing those words, several things had clicked for her. 
“Is that why you told that departing Samurai of the matter on the continent?” she asked. 
“What was that about, again?” 
“It was the one who calls himself Kazuhiko.” 
“Oh. Yeah.” 
KR looked away, his response short. 
He hadn’t given her much of a reaction, but she didn’t think it was because he wasn’t interested. This young man was shyer than he looked, and he had a habit of hiding his emotions at times like these. 
“That’s not the only reason,” he admitted. “Kazuhiko’s always been way too serious… In a different way from Shiroe. If he’d kept that up, he would’ve burned out.” 
“Compassion for an old companion, hmm?” 
“…I probably wanted to tell somebody about it. It’s too big for one person to keep to himself. If I got too psyched up and my chest exploded, we’d have massive trouble. If my heart stopped, my entrails being eaten would be the least of my worries.” 
“Keh-keh-keh-keh.” 
The girl’s smile indicated her agreement. 
Their adventure on the continent had been quite thrilling. 
There had been a battle for the sky the likes of which even she, in her long life, hadn’t often seen. 
The protection of dragons, the blood of the fairies, the principle of transmigration, the skills of the great ones: That place had held all four of the grand powers that governed this world. The woman whom they’d supported, Kanami, had certainly had the look of a hero. Those imposing forces had swirled around her, and yet they hadn’t seemed to affect her at all. She hadn’t even been aware that she was receiving support. 
“Where are they now, I wonder?” 
As she asked the question, the dragon girl’s eyes narrowed softly into a smile. 
She’d last seen them in the distant land of Aorsoi, beyond a wasteland, in a place that even she couldn’t easily reach. She’d never spoken with them, but through KR’s Dragon’s Eye, she knew the band of travelers well. Remembering the woman’s group was quite pleasant. 
“I dunno. They’re probably headed our way, though.” 
Seeming to give up on the deck chair, KR sat down on the white tiles and—without permission—leaned back against her knees. She was on the verge of rebuking him for his insolence, but in deference to the sage words he had once again produced, she decided to lend him her noble legs for a few moments. 
“Kanami will come here, aiming for the sun.” 
“Undoubtedly.” 
“That guy, too.” 
“You think well of that man, do you?” 
KR shrugged his shoulders: Of course he did. Kanami was special-made. She smashed everything to pieces and let in a fresh new wind. However, it was hard for her to show her humanity there. In that sense, she was too far from human. 
The corners of KR’s mouth rose, fearlessly. He was remembering the reunion and adventure in faraway Aorsoi. Elias, Coppélia, Leonardo, and Kanami. The journey of KR’s former friend to Yamato, and the slight assistance he’d been able to give her… 
This oncoming tale of adventure might belong to Kanami. 
But at the same time, it had one other protagonist, too: 
The level-90 Assassin and hero. KR’s friend Leonardo. 
It belonged to the man cloaked in the strong, dry Aorsoi winds.