Soooo I just finished drawing/mapping/detailing every floor and raid boss in the Pit of Anguish and I am tired! There are still a lot of details to hash out so I decided to update for a change of pace.

This chapter I am really trying to hit home with Isuzu's confused feelings at this point as well as her immense popularity. I also have a small scene of foreshadowing for the second arc of this story, though it might not be obvious until we get there. And we are still quite a long ways off from that so I'm not worried if no one can pick it out yet. Anyways I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter! Leave a review and let me know what you think!

It was the best concert she had held to date. That is what Isuzu decided as she enjoyed the after party with her band mates. All around her, people were talking and dancing. Eating and getting drunk. But her mind was back to just a few hours ago, when she stood upon that high stage. The music had surged through her and she could see that it was reaching her audience. She could tell just by looking into their faces. Isuzu and her lute were perfectly in synch tonight, filling their melodies with a euphoric happiness. Playing on stage was akin to an out of body experience; all time, place, and sense of self seemed to wash away. Suddenly, all that was left was her and her companion, the lute, bearing their jointed souls for all to see.

Playing on stage left her feeling raw and feverish. Like she was anyone but the timid high school girl she was before the Catastrophe. Here, in Yamato, she could be anyone she wanted to be. Even a musician.

This had turned into her most lucrative concert ever. In fact, she found it more than a little excessive just how much people were willing to pay to see her. This wasn't what mattered to Isuzu, but it was nice to know she was able to help out her guild. She always placed at least 1/3 of her earnings from various concerts into Log Horizon's guild account. It usually wasn't too much, never enough to draw suspicion from Shiroe, who had told her not to do such a thing. He claimed what she earned was her own and if she really wanted to help someone, it should be Crescent Moon, who directly supported her career. But even so, Log Horizon was her home, and Henrietta and Liliana always got their cut anyhow. The problem this time was...even after giving Henrietta and the band their share of the profits, 1/3 of what would be hers was going to more than double Log Horizon's account. It was mind blowing. Maybe she would place it into the account in installments? Or maybe her Guildmaster just wouldn't notice? He had been rather busy as of late.

She finally decided to bank on Shiroe not noticing the account balance. He had never seemed to notice anything before. But... maybe installments too, just to be safe.

Oh well... She shrugged and drifted back into her thoughts about the concert.

It was really a wonderful concert. So much, in fact, that the venue owner had actually gotten down on one knee after the concert and straight out proposed to her. It was quite the embarrassing ordeal. She got off stage after the last set, all pink with happiness and adrenaline. Suddenly, there he was, rushing toward Isuzu like a bull on a mission. Just as the twins, Naotsugu, Serara, and her various other friends with backstage passes surrounded her for a congratulatory greeting, the young owner named Paul, one of the People of the Land, suddenly pulled out a ring and said "Please marry me! With your talent and my business skills, you'll earn more gold than you could imagine and be known throughout Yamato!"

It may have been a little untactful of her to shout "No!" in his face, but she had just been so surprised! A moment later she took a deep breath and turned the poor lad down properly, with full reasoning of "marriage is not a business contract" and "if you want to schedule future concerts, please speak to Henrietta, my manager." Then Paul admitted that money and fame was only part of the reason, the main reason being she was so pretty and sweet and he was fervently in love with her.

"I'm sorry." She had said with a bow, still clutching her lute in her arms.

"I just don't feel the same way."

He finally scurried off in dejection and she and her friends had headed to the after party. They seemed to be hyped from that scene earlier. Every so often Naotsugu caught her eye, and the gleam that shown told her he was still laughing about it. So was Touya, though he wasn't as good at hiding it.

"This is a great party. Well deserved, of course. You were great!"

A man's voice snapped Isuzu out of her musings, bringing her back to the present. In front of her stood a tall, lanky man. A summoner class named Houshi. He was a stage hand, one of the people in charge of the lighting. In fact, he was the one responsible for the almost fiasco during the dress rehearsal the night before.

"Oh yeah...it's pretty raging right now." She commented back, looking around at all the party goers. Most of whom she didn't know very well or at all.

If only Rudy was here. Then everything about this evening and the concert would be perfect.

"You were on point tonight. Truly the best I've seen out of you."

The guy smiled at her widely, slightly leaning forward into Isuzu's personal space, that little imaginary bubble that only special people in ones life are allowed to walk into.

"Umm thanks.." Isuzu replied, taking a tentative step back.

Houshi took another step forward, his head tilting to the side.

"So, you wanna get out of here? Find some place quieter and, you know, talk?"

Isuzu stared back at him unblinkingly.

"Uh look I'm-"

As if sensing her distress, both Touya and Minori appeared on either side of her, each grabbing onto an arm.

"Sorry sir, but she's the guest of honor! Isuzu-san can't possibly go anywhere!" Minori apologized sweetly.

"Yeah man! And anyways, she's totally taken so you might as well give up!" Touya said with an overly bright smile.

"Taken? By you? You're just a kid."

"Don't worry about it!" Touya responded, wagging a finger at him until he finally stalked off in defeat.

The twins burst into laughter, and Isuzu couldn't help it if a couple giggles of her own slipped out.

"Thanks guys. I don't know what's up with everyone today."

"Watching you sing and get all sweaty on stage has all the men going!"

Minori, Isuzu, and Touya all looked up to see Naotsugu approaching. Tetra followed at his heels, waving to their guildmates happily.

"You don't have to put it that way Naotsugu-san." Isuzu replied, pursing her lips.

"And you Touya!" Isuzu rounded on him.

"Telling Houshi weird things. By this time tomorrow he'll have spread around that I'm seeing someone."

"Oh come on! You practically are. I mean, Rudy is coming for you in a couple of weeks. After that, it's all going to be the same."

"It isn't like that. Rudy is not 'coming for me' as you put it. He's just coming home after his raid. And Im just accompanying him on the next one. That's all."

"Right, right! That's all, you say. Whatever you call it!" Touya laughed, unconvinced.

Everyone laughed with him while Isuzu pouted. Suddenly, the familiar chime of an incoming call rang in her ears. She answered quickly, pressing a hand to her ear.

"Rudy! Sorry, it's going to be loud."

"Rudy?" Minori questioned.

"Rudy-ni!" Touya shouted.

"Speak of the devil!" Naotsugu laughed, shaking his head.

Rudy could hear his companions shouting his name from her end of the line. And the sound of loud music playing. They must all be together at an after party.

"It is lively there is it not?"

"Yes. And they are all being mean to me!" She continued to pout.

"Surely they are not." He laughed, ignorant to the curious staring of his own companions who were eager to discover what Rudy was smiling so widely about.

"How was the concert? I'm assuming amazing."

"It was great, actually." She replied, not realizing she was smiling like a fool.

"Yo, Rudy! You missed the most hilarious thing!"

Rudy could hear Naotsugu's voice in the background, shouting between fits of laughter.

"No, you didn't." Isuzu cut in quickly.

"You didn't miss a thing."

"Yes he did! Oh man!"

Suddenly Naotsugu's voice was really close. He must be talking right next to Isuzu's lips.

"The owner of the Stage totally proposed to her! Made a big ol' scene and everything! You should have seen it!" He walked off in a rush to avoid Isuzu's fists, laughing wildly and completely oblivious to how red Isuzu had turned.

"Wh-what? To who?" Rudy gasped in shock, sitting up a little straighter fighting off a shiver of dread.

"To me but...it was super awkward. Not funny at all!"

"To you then? So when is the big day?"

Rudy heard himself joke, attempting to smother out the panic he was actually feeling. His mind was racing. There was another man out there, acting upon his feelings of love for her. As Touya would say, coming on to her. But no, it was more than that, this man was actually courting her!

"Not you too! That isn't funny! There's no way I would marry someone I barely even know!"

"Heh but now you have broken the poor man's heart and he will die of despair!"

"He will not! And that's why you don't propose to strangers! Rudy, I swear to Kami-sama I'm going to punch you so hard. That's the first thing I'm going to do when I see you!"

He could hear the heat rising in her voice and hastily changed the subject.

"At least the concert was good!"

But his mind still lingered. Rudy could imagine the scene in his head.

The handsome venue owner, grandly lowering himself onto one knee and producing a magnificent ring. Flashing her a cool smile as he said the words aloud.

"Please marry me."

"It was. My best one yet! At least, I think it was!"

She would smile back, tears glistening in her brilliantly auburn eyes, then slowly extend her hand out to him. He would take it delicately, sliding that magnificent ring upon her finger.

"Of course I will."

"The lights went over exactly how we rehearsed, and nothing else went wrong. I was really worried about it after last night."

The crowd watching the scene would applaud the happy couple, who would both be beaming and glowing in delight. He would stand up and stare at Isuzu lovingly, wrapping her in his arms.

"Forget all about that man, Rundllehaus Kode."

"Rudy?"

"Rundllehaus who, my love?"

"Rudy?"

"Merely some insignificant bug who wished for your affection."

"Rundllehaus Kode!"

Rudy jumped, realizing he wasn't just imagining it.

"Ah...M-Miss-"

"Are you even listening?" She snapped, obviously annoyed.

"Yes but...it's hard to hear..." He said slowly, and, to him, unconvincingly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She deflated, frowning to herself.

"I know it's loud. I'll move somewhere quiet-"

"No, no please don't. You shouldn't leave. We shall talk later."

"But Rudy-"

"Honestly. You need to be out there with everyone. Please enjoy."

"Oh, fine. I guess you're right. Have a good night."

"You too."

He heard the line disconnect and slowly let his hand fall to his side.

"Who was that?" Kyoko asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

She and several of their companions were sitting around the campfire with him, making their own conversation as they pretended not to eavesdrop on Rudy's conversation.

"Did you have a friend who went to the Isuzu concert tonight?!" Richard asked in excitement, practically bouncing from his seat.

"Hey Rudy, you wanna play cards?" Souta shouted from where the tables were arranged.

"Rudy, you okay? You look really pale." Ken noted, peering at him carefully from around Richard's bulky frame.

The voices of his companions sounded so far away.

His head was spinning and he closed his eyes, taking a slow and deep breath. Isuzu is well known now. So men are going to take notice of her. They are going to start liking her and act on it. She will probably receive more offers of love than he could ever imagine. Right now she was indifferent but...what if one day someone comes along who she...

His eyes snapped open and he realized several of his raiding buddies were standing around him looking worried.

"I have consumed too much alcohol and feel nauseous." He said, getting several sympathetic sounds from the girls.

"I believe I will retire for the night."

He rose and retreated to his tent, willing the dreadful feelings away. For now all this attention was unwanted by her. He could relax knowing that and work toward bracing himself for the future, when she does find a man worth her affections.

One week passed quickly for Isuzu. It was the last week of October, a cloudy day with the first winter flakes of snow settling from the sky. While the idea of snow was nice, it wasn't quite cold enough for it to be nice and fluffy. Sleet was a better description of the phase of water currently raining down on her. Even so, a hooded Isuzu made her way through the streets of Akiba, running various errands. Most of which included buying necessities for her upcoming raid.

Just being able to say it was exciting to her. She had been on cloud nine for the past week, knowing that she would be advancing down an unknown path with her loyal puppy prince. She smiled up at the sky, not really caring that it was a dreary day. Today was perfect. So was yesterday. Tomorrow would probably be too. Besides, this type of weather was best for her to venture out in, since it meant less people on the streets.

There was talk of another festival for pumpkins, but the Round Table seemed really busy these days so Isuzu didn't think it was going to happen. From what she could tell, things in Minami were really beginning to heat up. But that wasn't something she could control.

It wasn't that she didn't care. She really hoped it could all be resolved. The rumors were, the People of the Land in Minami were treated pretty poorly by the Adventurers. She could believe it, if what she saw with the Knights all those years ago was any indication. Hopefully, Shiroe and everyone else would come up with a solution quickly, before it was all out war. She didn't know what she would do if it were up to her.

Good thing I'm just a musician...

She shook her head of these thoughts and kept moving, intent on visiting a weapons shop she liked to frequent. Upon arriving at the store front, she was immediately greeted by the manager, one of the People of the Land.

"Isuzu-chan. It's good to see you in again today." He waved happily.

His name was Jacoby, an employee paid to run the store. He had short brown hair and brown eyes with thick lashes. He was a cute Lander, and not at all shy. Of course, he couldn't be if he was to run the shop properly.

"Hi Jake-kun! I just wanted to make sure it was still here."

"Haha, yes the spear is right over there. Though I can't guarantee someone won't buy it. You know, there was an Adventurer in just yesterday asking me all sorts of questions about it."

"Ah! Really?" She gasped with wide eyes, stepping over to the cased spear they were speaking of.

"You know, you really should just purchase it. If you want it so bad. I think you come to look at it on all your days off."

"Maybe I do. But I can't buy it yet. Not until my friend looks at it."

"Why must your friend look at it? I can guarantee its durability."

"That may be but I'm no good at identifying weapons myself and my friend is really good at it! So I'm going to wait. This thing isn't cheap, you know!"

The young man chuckled and shook his head.

"Whatever you say. I apologize my boss didn't do that before he left town, but I would bet you anything that your friend is just gonna say the same thing I am. It's better than the one you are using now."

"Yeah, well I'm not so sure. Maybe I'll take you up on that bet."

They both stared each other down, the challenge running like a jolt between them.

"Okay. I have a deal for you then."

Her eyes widened and she flashed him a curious smile.

"I'm all ears."

"I'll put this weapon on hold for you, until your friend gets back into town. No telling the boss."

"Okay..."

"If your friend says it's better than your current one, then you'll buy the spear."

"But, of course!"

"And you also lose the bet and owe me a favor."

"Owe you a favor? What do you want? Concert tickets or something?"

"I'll let you know when I win."

She giggled and leaned forward on the counter.

"Alright. But what if it isn't better and I win the bet?"

"Then you get fifty percent off your next purchase. You can apply it to anything. No telling the boss." He repeated with a laugh.

She narrowed her eyes in thought, sizing up the deal in her head. She was fairly certain this spear was better than her current one. But even if that was the case, she didn't think it was by much. That's why she wanted Rudy to look at it first. So this wasn't a bad bet, in her opinion.

"Okay. Deal." She replied, holding her hand out to shake his.

Minutes later she was practically skipping from the shop in happiness, knowing the weapon she had her eye on could very soon be hers. It was a great feeling, knowing everything seemed to be falling into place wonderfully.

Why exactly did everything feel so wonderful all of a sudden anyways? Even the music she was playing seemed more resonant than usual, the notes swirling around her brighter and much more vivid. And whenever she thought of Rudy, the color of the notes would change, taking on pinkish hues that exploded toward the audience.

She had learned throughout the years that color and sound, as a bard, had everything to do with your emotions. If she could control her emotions on stage, she could control the brilliantly colored display of notes that surrounded her. Her projection determined where the visible notes were placed and her feelings determined their color. When she played casually, they usually lit up in an array, across every pigment in the spectrum. If she concentrated enough and honed in on a single emotion, she could produce notes of a single color. It seemed super straight forward, but even the saturation varied between the feeling of being a little happy and being super happy. Overall, Red was anger. Orange and Yellow were joy and happiness. Green and Blue were negative emotions like sadness, despair, and jealousy. Purple was confusion.

What was pink then? Pink was even more confusing than purple.

Okay, she didn't really wish to dwell on what pink may or may not be. She needed to focus right now. It was the home stretch. Less than a week until her next concert. And then she must play the waiting game for her Rudy to come home. It was making her anxious, nervous and a multitude of other emotions, each so intense she could hardly comprehend them. It made her head spin, but it also made her music all the more beautiful.

Rudy and his group had finished early for the day. The next two raid bosses had been identified near one another, an alarming sign that could spell doom for himself and his team if they were not careful. It was a well known fact that even raid bosses knew there was safety in numbers. If they attacked without thinking, they could very well end up facing two raid bosses at once.

While Rudy let the competent ones decide on a feasible combative strategy, he sat with his other companions playing cards. He couldn't keep his thoughts from drifting to his beautiful bard friend, patiently awaiting his return. How he wished to hear her sweet voice right now!

Actually, if she is in rehearsal right now, she should be on her lunch at this time...

He realized this with a smile, and rose to excuse himself from the group.

"Rudy?" She answered after a couple rings.

"Good day Miss Isuzu."

"Rudy, I was just thinking about you! How is it going? Are you taking a break?"

"We are actually done for today."

"This early?"

"Yes. We ran into some difficulties, which need to be better planned for. It should be resolved by the morrow."

"Well that's good. I was just out running some errands. It's raining or snowing or something right now, so it's perfect to go out in!"

"Perfect weather to go out in?" He repeated, feeling confused.

"Uhhuh!" She agreed, not noticing his confusion.

"So you see, there's this weapons shop in the Cave district. They're selling a two handed spear."

"That sounds like your type of weapon."

"Yeah well, I really need a new one, I'm just no good at identifying weapons."

"Ah I see. The owner can't do that for you?"

"Well, the owner doesn't actually run the shop. The shop manager does and he's one of the People of the Land. So no."

"But shouldn't he have identified it in the first place?"

"Yeah. Yeah he should have, but the manager said he must have forgotten."

"What a businessman. That's quiet a dilemma he has left for you to deal with. I would do it for you, if I could."

"Actually...you can. I kinda made a bet with the manager."

"A bet?" Rudy echoed suspiciously.

"Yes! He's insistent that it's going to turn out better than the one I have, so he agreed to hold it for me until you get back into town."

"He's willing to hold a weapon for two whole weeks?"

"Uh...yeah."

"What kind of bet is this?"

"Don't worry about it. The point is, I'm going to need you to come with me when you get back into town. If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind." He answered automatically, still feeling uneasy about this so called "bet" she made.

"Ah, Rudy I'm so excited! I have another concert in a few days and you'll be home in a couple weeks!"

"Haha I am glad you are so happy about this!"

"Oh I am! Goodness, I feel like there's so much I need to get still. It's been a long time since I last camped out! And I've never done such a long raid, I don't even know how many potions is enough or-"

"Miss Isuzu, calm down. Just buy what you like and I'll instruct you on how much you need when I get back to Akiba."

"Promise?" She breathed, feeling super worked up with excitement.

"I promise. You will have everything you need by the time we leave for the Pit of Anguish."

"Good! I've been a little overwhelmed trying to figure it all out."

"Well, that's what you have me for. Haha!"

They chatted together for a while afterward, taking refuge from their every day lives in each other's voices. Rudy could really get the sense of how excited she was about their trip and she could sense a gentle softness to his tone, as if relief had completely washed over him.

"Rudy I hate to say it, but I have to go rehearse with my band now.

"It is fine. I understand." He said, smiling to himself.

"Have a good rest of the day."

"You too Miss Isuzu."

"You know, Rudy, you could...I mean...if you want you could call tonight. I'll be out by then. If you're not too tired or-"

"I will! Most certainly, I will call you. Yes?" He said excitedly.

She could just hear the wide smile he had on his face. She could even imagine how much his tail was wagging right now.

"Okay! Until then." She giggled and hung up, skipping in happiness to the studio she worked out of.

The next two weeks tested Rudy's patience. He was so ready to be back in Akiba! He was so ready to see her pretty, freckled face again!

They talked almost every night. He was practically over the moon with how much attention he was receiving from her. She called him to hash out every little detail for the coming raid and he readily advised her. What kind of raid would it be? What kind of dungeon? What kind monsters were there? Everything Rudy knew, he told her.

From Isuzu's end, she played for Rudy to soothe out his daily tension. It was like heaven in the middle of a dark, dingy raid cave. Rudy could forget any mistakes he may have made in battle. He could forget the grave, worthless feeling that death brought. And he could forget that dubious vision of Isuzu's perfect man somewhere in Yamato, popping up and stealing her away from him.

Because for now it was just him and her. Sorcerer boy and bard girl. Just as it has always been.