Disclaimer: Log Horizon, all of its characters, musics, and stories belongs to their own respective owner. In this case, is written by Mamare Touno, illustrated by Kazuhiro Hara and published by Enterbrain. The only things I own here is the OC named Drest. This fanfict may or may not be canon. Besides that, I've got nothing else to say. So with that, please take a seat, grab your drink, pick your snack, and have a pleasant ride (or read).
Chapter 12 "A Time Together"
Drest tapped the name and then the button to call the person. A slight ringing came into his ear as he put his right hand on top of it. After a while, the sound of the call connected could be heard.
"Ah, Kyouko-dono. I've finished checking the marketplace."
"Oh, good! Well…any good news?"
"Ehm, regrettably there's none, Kyouko-dono." Drest reported his mission with a slightly disappointed tone. After covering the whole area of the marketplace, he found out that the stock of raw food was already depleted. That was either because the stock has been bought out completely or there were no stock at all in the first place.
"Aww, that's too bad. But there's nothing you can do, Drest-san," said Kyouko from the other side of the line. Although she said that, Drest could notice the traces of disappointment on her side. Hearing that, his chest felt slightly tightened as he knew that he failed his mission. Although that was not his fault, he still felt disappointed that he couldn't fulfill his guild mate's request. "Well, I guess that's all then."
"Do you need something from the marketplace, Kyouko-dono? I can get it for you if you want to."
"Hmm, let me ask the other. I'll close this call for now."
"Understood, Kyouko-dono." A single sound of beep that indicated the end of the call was heard in his ear. After he put his hand down to a relaxed position, he took a walk around the market once again, just to make sure, and then stopped at a nearby vine covered branch that faces the many stall in the marketplace. He took a seat and then surveyed the scenery. Just as usual, the marketplace had no spirit in it. The merchant's stall lacked both in variety and in customer. The majority of the adventurers in the marketplace were either sent to scout the stock of raw food, just like Drest, or buying stock items such as potion and herb. The marketplace used to be a bustling place where adventurer opened their own stall to sell items they have acquired from their journey. Now it has lost the spirit completely. No adventurer stall, only stall manned by The People of The Land that still resided in Akihabara.
Looking at that, Drest let out a quiet sigh. As one of The People of The Land, he could not really understand what's going on inside the adventurer's mind. Sure, he had spent quite some time with his guild mates, but that was not enough for him to be able to feel the same thing they felt. He had seen them in their moment of despair at the place he woken up a few days before. After that, he had gone alongside them fighting the demi-human, realizing that the one he thought as invincible and all mighty had also felt pain like him. He had also seen them showing fear when he practiced together with them. But even all that was still not enough to make him understand them. In his mind, the creature called 'Adventurer' was and still a strange creature for him.
Then another ring came into his ear, stopping his thought. He looked at the surfaced window, tapped the button, and greeted the person on the other side.
"Yes, what should I get you, Kyouko-dono?"
"…And here's the last batch of the Small Healing Potions."
"Okay, put it over there with the rest. Be careful not to stack it too high, Drest-san."
"Understood, Hisako-dono," said Drest with a single nod while lifting the crate filled with odd shaped bottle. Each of the bottles is filled with reddish colored liquid with a small cork plugged on top of it. A quiet cracking sound was made as Drest placed the crate on top of the other, carefully trying to maintain the balance as to not tip it over. "Is that all, Hisako-dono?"
"That's all, Drest-san." Hisako said to him as she kept counting the stock inside the warehouse of West Wind Brigade guild house. "Hmm,…" She crossed her arms as she frowned a bit.
"What is it, Hisako-dono?" Seeing her wearing such a complicated expression, the male swashbuckler decided to ask her.
"The stock of food. I mean the stock of raw food." She said to him as she tapped her own chin. "It is not enough."
"Did we not gather a lot the other day?"
"Hmm, that will only enough for about 2 days at most." She looked at him, tilting her head from side to side while still crossing her arms. "Even if our guild is just a middle sized one, we have to feed quite a lot."
"Oh, I see." Drest looked at the bag of vegetables in the corner side of the room. Although that looked quite a lot, it was still not enough for them. With that in mind, a question came across his mind. "How about the other food?"
"The other food? Ah, You mean 'those' food, right?" At that, Drest nodded. "Well, …there's still plenty of it. But…no one wants to eat them."
"Hmm,…" Drest folded crossed his arms, mimicking his guild mate's posture. "Then in the worst case, we can still eat those, right?"
"Err, hate to admit it," she scratched the back of her head, "but you're right. Although, that will make the other quite unhappy."
"Then give my portion to the other." Drest said to her immediately.
"Give your portion to the other? What do you mean?"
"I don't mind eating those if it is not enough. If that will make the stock last a bit longer, I'll gladly–"
"Absolutely not!" Her shout surprised him, making him took a step back from the brunet haired girl. "As the one in charge of daily living, I will not allow that!"
"B-But, Hisako-dono. The stock is–"
"Even if it is not enough, I will not let anyone suffer it alone!" She glared at him. "And that includes you too! Do you understand that, Drest-san?" With pointed hand, she asked him with a raised voice the male swashbuckler never expected.
"Y–Yes, understood, Hisako-dono." Although the girl has smaller posture than him, Drest felt kind of small compared to her at the moment. But in the same time he felt that, he also understood that the girl in front of him have determination to not let anyone in the guild to suffer as long as she is in charge.
"Good," said Hisako while nodding once, looking satisfied with her fellow guild mate response. With her usual expression came back, "Then let's bring that sack and that sack. I guess that will be enough for tonight's dinner." She pointed to several sacks that were lying nearby. Drest quickly picked up one of them effortlessly while Hisako also done the same. After that, they went to the dining room to meet with the other.
After the dinner, Drest was alone in his own room. In the barren looking room that filled only with the necessary, he was sitting in the middle of the room and thinking about the condition of his guild's food condition. Over the course of supper, there was no evident sign of it among the other. Hisako, as the one in charge of the guild daily living, also didn't mention it publically. As he ate his own portion, he observed their attitude and found out that it seemed their situation was already known to everyone. For example, the spirited monk, Kawara, ate very slowly and looked to be holding herself back. Hisako's loyal partner, Kyouko, also acted the same. At one time, she was going to grab another batch, but Hisako glared at her, making her retracted her hand and faked a smile while saying "On seconds thought, I'm full" or something like that. The only one that acted as usual was their guild leader, Soujirou. He ate at a normal pace and never once showed that he was holding off. Although his portion was the same as the other, he seemed to have enjoyed a satisfying and fulfilling meal. For Drest, that was probably one of Soujirou's talent or traits that made the other guild member respect and love him. After witnessing that, he knew why the other adventurers can gather under his wing.
"I've got to do something." He muttered to himself as he think about the situation. The first thought that came into his mind was his previous offer to the one in charge of the daily living, Hisako. After thinking about it carefully and calmly, he understood that his suggestion will not only be ineffective, but might also roused suspicion among the other member. Even if he had only spent a couple of days in the guild, he could see how solid their bond was with each other. If Hisako accepted his suggestion, the visible different in treatment might disturb their solid bond, not to mention it will certainly make the other doubt Hisako. He regretted that he had thrown that suggestion without thinking carefully like that. But without doing anything, the problem will remain. He felt it was somewhat his fault that the shortage of food happened. Inside his mind, he knew that an addition of a single person will not worsen the condition that much, but the fact that his presence has worsen the condition even slightly really bothered him. Every day he has seen most of the guild member went on expedition to look for food. He himself was also a part of it, gathering and hunting together with either Kyouko's team or Kawara's team. Even after doing that most of the day, they have not been able to secure a steady supply of food. The reason was because the number of mouth to be fed was quite large and the hunting ground on that time was filled with other guilds trying to do the same.
"Ah, that's it!" he shouted to no one in particular as he realized something. Tapping the screen on the edge of his sight, he looked at the clock on the far right corner of it. "Good, I can still do it." He stood up and picked up his gear. Clinking sound was made as he fastened his weapon onto his belt while the trench coat didn't make even the slightest sound as he put that on. "Okay," said Drest as he did a double check over his equipment again.
Feeling quite ready, he opened the door of his room slowly, avoiding making any sound. He felt his heart beat much faster as he peeked from behind his door, afraid of being found out. Convinced that the coast was clear as most of the guild members were sleeping at that time, Drest exited his room in a hurry while being quiet as possible. After closing the door behind him, he headed out to the exit of the guild house, tiptoeing from time to time along the way. Reaching his destination, he slid the door open and exited the guild house. A brief wind came blowing inside the building for a moment. It ended as the sliding door was closed right away, blocking the air completely. After that, no sound was heard and the hall was filled with complete and absolute silence.
Unknown to him, a pair of eyes was not far from the entrance of the guild house. The figure, still hidden by the shadow of the night, looked at him from the corner of the hallway. Donning her usual working outfit, the figure couldn't really understand what happened. The only thing that came out of the figure's mouth was a simple question directed at no one.
"Was that…Drest-sama?"