New World, New Reality

#17: Guild Master

The carriage is already near the area. It was already 3 days since Shiro and the group left Arincrad. They were given the permission to go back in the place and take their rest. "Shiro, you havent slept for 3 days straight. Want me to drive the carriage?", Fye asked. Shiro nodded and entered the carriage. He was able to sleep. Akame watched him the whole time. "You are really a loving friend Akame", Aika noticed. Akame flushed. "It's just that he's been like this ever since we left Arincrad. Is there something that kept bothering him?", Akame asked. "Isnt it obvious?", Rin sighed. "He's worried about Shira who we just left", Naru joined the conversation. "I drugged him so he'll be able to get some rest", Naru informed. "What's wrong with Shiro?", Aika asked again. Aris tried to escape but Akame pointed the sword to him. "Dont you dare escape", Akame threatened. "Where exactly are we headed?", Akame asked. "The graveyard of the fireflies", Aris gulped. "That's not all", Aika also glared at Aris. Fye chuckled as he hears the conversation. Naru seems to read the situation. "Who wants to hear a story?", he asked. The two raised their hands looking for a hint. Naru narrated a story of a Guild Master. He was amazing. Almost perfect. His team looked up to him... The two already went to sleep. "Thank you", Aris fixed the two ladies. Rin sighed and looked at Aris. "Why wont you just tell them?", Rin asked. "They are not yet prepared. Plus, you only heard our conversation because you put a transmitter on my shirt", Aris pouted.

Aris looked at Shiro. "Dont blame yourself for what happened", he whispered.

Arincrad...

Saruhiko and Shira went to a nearby lake to have some fishing. Shira was just sitting at a rock. Saruhiko was busy looking for any fish. "Shira, this is what we usually do before the Apocalypse,right?", Saruhiko smiled at her. Shira was blankly looking at the lake. Saruhiko continued fishing. He looked at the sky and sighed. He went near Shira with the fish already cooked. "Are there any place you want to visit?", Saruhiko asked. "This is fine. We cannot go far from the guild", Shira reminded. "True, I can ask the Guild Guards to be on red alert", Saruhiko insisted. "Anywhere is fine, as long as you are there. Being with you makes me at ease. I no longer think of the danger. Honestly, I was so happy to see you. There is someone who will always take care of my back", Shira faked a smile.

They went back at the guild.

Garden of the fireflies.

Shiro and the rest camped at the area. Fye cooked for dinner and the rest set the tents. Akame was left with Shiro at the carriage. "Master. This is place is bothering you, isnt it? Why do you still have to stay here?", Akame asked. "Why say so?", Shiro faked a smile. "You've been trembling a lot. If I am not mistaken, this place was a former dungeon. An ugly dungeon full of mystery. During the Apocalypse, there were still guilds trapped in certain areas. One of them is this place. Master, do you have any past in this place?", Akame asked while feeding the horses. "Akame. There's a story I wanted to tell you", Shiro sat on the grasses.

"Before the Apocalpyse, my guild members learned that it was my birthday that day. They pushed me to raid a dungeon and get a rare item. I never knew what that was. Its not important anyways. But they did it because of me. The game suddey changed. We can no longer transport or even log out. That's when the Apocalypse came to happen. Two of my former teammate survived, the rest died", Shiro burrowed his face on his knees. "I didnt know you had that kind of story. Well, you were always smilling and laughing. Why didnt you tell us? We could have done the quest alone", Akame stopped feeding the horses. "I wont let that situation happen again", Shiro clenched his fist.

Fye called out for dinner. "Any messages from Shira?", Aika asked. Everyone shook their head. "Dont worry, we'll be back after few days", Aris cheered her up. "We might be able to see het but she will no longer be with us", Aika cried. "Stop crying, Aika. Everyone has their place in this world we are in. She's work is to protect 2,000 people in that guild", Naru comforted. "Is she really happy with that?", Rin added. "Happy or not. We had a contract", Shiro ended the converstation.

The next day, they went deep into the garden and found a huge rock in the middle. There were notes written in blood. Shiro was startled that he fell on his feet. "Sorry, can you leave me and Aris. We'll be reuniting with you after a while", Shiro instructed. They followed. "Shiro, I was always wondering. I never found any opportunity to ask you. Do you feel guilt on leaving them?", Aris asked. "Of course I do", Shiro slowly stood up and held the huge rock. There were notes from the seven written in blood before and while they are dying. "Sorry Shiro. Never blame yourself for this. This is the resolution of the team. We respect you and look up to your ability. That's why we also saved you. You have a great resposibility to save everyone in this game. See you in another world. -Miura-". There were notes for Aris and Akashi. "Why did we visit this place in the first place?", Aris asked. "We're going to claim this place as the property of Log Horizon. This will be one of our evacuation areas in any cases", Shiro announced. He already purchased it to the Game Store. "Why in the world did you buy this place?", Aris asked. "Its a scary thing to trust", Shiro explained.

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