Chapter 61 - Chapter 55 Player Guilds
“Mmm, truly, your omurice is exceptional, Brother!”
I’m happy she enjoys it every time, but could she please wipe the ketchup off her mouth?
“Oh right, you’re going to the Ancient Ruins tower with Bell-buchou today, aren’t you?”
“Indeed. We’re to meet at the club room before heading there. I hope you’ll see me off, Brother.”
“Alright, alright. Speaking of which, I told Bell-buchou about this too, but there’s something I want you to be careful about.”
I brought out my tablet and showed her that video saying, ‘Nation founding is possible.’
“What, have you messed up again, Brother? Shouldn’t you be practicing the line, ‘Oh, did I do something wrong?’ by now?”
“Don’t be like that… Just don’t get carried away and declare a nation. Bell-buchou will be with you, after all.”
“Hmm. If it were a one-session game, I might do it on a whim, but not in an MMORPG with acquaintances around.”
Hearing that, I felt relieved.
“So, what do you think?”
“Well. If we’re discussing ‘how much the IRO developers have considered,’ then it seems quite plausible that nation-founding is genuinely possible.”
“How ‘genuine’ are we talking?”
“Let’s see. Simply put, isn’t it just a deluxe, upgraded version of a player guild?”
“I see…”
In typical MMORPG player guilds, management and operations are handled automatically to some extent. It would be unrealistic to leave an entire nation to players, so perhaps practical internal affairs are handled by hired NPCs?
“But if player guilds aren’t even implemented yet, would they really have gone that far?”
“It’s not that they aren’t ‘yet’ implemented; it might just be that no one has noticed the feature.”
“Ah, so that’s it…”
If you file some kind of paperwork somewhere, maybe you can already create a player guild? They had enough leeway to intricately design an uninhabited island like mine, so things that ordinary players would want to do might actually be implemented already, and we just haven't noticed…
“Thank you for the meal! Brother, you’d better hurry now.”
“Oh, crap. I’ll do the dishes, you go ahead.”
“Indeed. I shall convey the matter.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
It’s really helpful to have a sharp-witted sister in times like these.
*
“Evening. Sorry I’m late.”
“Shou-kun.”
As I entered the [Virtual Club Room], Mion waved to greet me. It was 7:45 PM. Bell-buchou and Seth (Miki) would have to head into IRO soon.
“Ah, you’re here. Seth-chan already told me.”
“Ah, yes.”
I looked at Seth (Miki), who nodded, arms crossed, with an mm-hmm.
Yata-sensei was beside her.
“It’s very possible it’s already implemented, but no one’s noticed yet. Anyway, let’s focus on Bell-san’s live stream for now.”
Oh, right. The live stream was starting in less than 10 minutes.
“Okay. Well, I’m off then.”
“Until next time, Brother.”
“Yeah, good luck.”
“Have a good time.”
After seeing them off, I took my seat.
“Can I just watch the beginning?”
“Yes!”
Nearly 10,000 people were already waiting at the scheduled live stream location. I knew it, but thinking of them as people I knew, it was still astounding…
“10 seconds until showtime… 5, 4,…”
And just as it struck 8 PM, the broadcast began.
“Yay! Majo Bell’s IRO live stream is starting now!”
…
When you think of someone you know doing it, it really is incredible.
And the comments section scrolled by at an alarming speed… It was scary how often 1,000-yen super chats flashed past.
“Alright, today we’re challenging the Ancient Ruins tower I found the other day! For members, I’ve got my usual Gold Onee-sama, and Seth-chan joining us again!”
“Nice to meet ya~!”
“Pleasure to be here!”
Gold Onee-sama.
She’s been a core fan of Majo Bell from the beginning, a muscular, bald, cross-dressing old man, and the kind of person who’s so over-the-top that even he has fans. In IRO, she apparently plays a Priest Warrior, and her mace swings, delivered from arms as thick as logs, are said to crush goblins.
“I’ve been curious, is Gold-san someone you know in real life?”
“She’s Bell-san’s uncle in Okinawa. Oh, that reminds me, we’re going to a training camp at Gold-san’s inn this summer.”
What? Uncle? Okinawa? Training camp? Could they please stop dropping so many shocking things at once?
“When is the training camp?”
“Early August.”
If the date is already set, then they’re really doing a training camp. I thought only serious wind ensembles had liberal arts training camps…
…Wait. What am I supposed to do with Miki while I’m at the training camp? It would be fine if Mashiro-nee was back, but… that’s also a bit scary. I have a bad feeling the house would turn into a mess.
“We’ll recruit additional party members on-site. But before that…”
Bell-buchou, or rather, Majo Bell, headed to the Adventurer’s Guild. I thought she was going to take a quest, but then—
“Excuse me. I have a quick question, if you don’t mind.”
“Yes, how may I help you?”
I wondered what she would ask the available guild employee she'd stopped.
“I’m thinking of forming a guild, do you know how to do that?”
“Uh, please wait a moment… Since you have a good track record, I can explain. Would a brief explanation suffice?”
“Yes, it’s not for right away.”
Seriously? I didn’t expect her to drop that during a live stream. And Seth (Miki) had this smug look on her face.
And then, the comments section started flowing at an incredible speed again…
“To establish a guild, you first need 10 Platinum Coins—that’s 10 million Iris.”
“That’s quite a lot of money.”
10 million… Well, if there are 100 people, 100,000 each would be enough, right?
“Yes. You’ll need to purchase a magic tool to issue Guild Cards, just like the one you currently hold. In addition, you’ll need to pay 5 Platinum Coins to the Kingdom annually.”
Ugh, I thought the annual tribute was harsh, and the comments section was flooded with remarks like “They’re exploiting us too much!”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. To establish a guild in the Kingdom, you’ll also need a letter of recommendation from a noble. We wouldn’t want any trouble from unreliable individuals.”
The employee said this with a slightly intimidating smile. Bell-buchou looked a little taken aback. It's quite a high bar, though. I guess you'd have to make connections with a noble somewhere…
“Thank you. That was helpful.”
“You’re welcome. Please let us know when you’re ready to form a guild. I’d consider transferring if it’s an excellent guild with good pay.”
“Oh, really…”
So, it means we have to hire NPCs too? And each NPC has their own personality and self-promotes? How detailed is this game…