Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 12 - Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Fuse 
Prism Rider, Ray Starling 
After that, Nemesis and I parted ways with Figaro and went around the festival. 
I’d expected her to redefine gluttony today, but she’d actually only bought one cotton candy-lookalike and that was it. 
“What’s wrong?” I asked. 
“I’m not hungry. Not sure why.” 
“Wh... WHAT...?!” 
This can’t be real...! This isn’t happening! I thought. 
“That is a reaction I’ve seen before,” she said. “I didn’t like it then and I do not like it now. Stop it.” 
“But, I mean, you— ‘Before’?” 
That reminded me that we’d already had an exchange like this. 
Back when we were in Torne, she... ah. 
“...Are you evolving?” That was it — the evening before she evolved, Nemesis had told me that she actually wasn’t hungry for once. 
“I’m not sure yet. Also, don’t link my appetite and my evolution like that. It makes it sound like the only time I’m not hungry is when I’m about to evolve.” 
“Well, but... you know... you’re Nemesis.” 
“You said that last time, too!” Nemesis was somewhat difficult today. 
Anyway, we went on to enjoy the festival with little food involved — a rarity for us — but eventually, I started to feel thirsty. 
“Wanna get a drink?” I asked Nemesis. 
“I do. I have no appetite, but my throat is a bit dry. How about some tea?” 
“Sure. Now, where can we get som— Oh?” 
As I looked around for stalls that sold drinks, I noticed a certain stall (or more like a small café) that really stood out from the rest. 
It was a building with a Japanese aesthetic. Perhaps “Tenchi” aesthetic was more apt here, but unlike the strange Japanese-style design philosophy I’d seen at the inn at Quartierlatin, this building here looked properly Japanese. This was the kind of place where you’d drink tea while sitting on cushions placed atop low wooden benches. It looked much like a dumpling shop you’d see in a historical Japanese drama. 
“This is a rare sight here in Altar. We should check it out,” I said. 
“Agreed.” We went in, bought some green tea, and sat at the benches. 
“I suppose I can handle this much,” Nemesis said as she also ordered a plate of dango despite her lack of appetite. 
I took a sip of the tea, and it was actually as good as the stuff my mom made, if not better. 
“These are some good leaves,” Nemesis said. “But I feel like I’ve had this tea before.” 
“Really?” I asked. 
“These are leaves from Tenchi. An adherent donated a small amount and we took a liking to them, so we asked Tsukuyo to import more through Granvaloa.” 
“I see,” nodded Nemesis. “This is indeed the same tea I tasted at The Lunar Society’s headquarters.” 
“I ate breakfast there too, but I don’t remember getting tea like this,” I said. 
“Nemesis had it with us while you were still unconscious.” 
“Ohh, that is true.” Nemesis agreed, thinking back. 
“I see. This tea really is goo— AH?!” 
I was so focused on the delicious tea that I didn’t even notice that I was talking to someone else besides Nemesis. I turned to see a third person sitting next to us. It was an unfamiliar woman with a tennyo raiment straight out of Japanese myth and hair akin to moonlight. 
“Kaguya?!” Nemesis exclaimed. 
“Indeed. It’s been a long time, Nemesis.” 
Kaguya?! That’s Miss Eldritch’s Superior Embryo! 
“Wh-What are you doing here?!” I asked in a panic. 
Kaguya smiled and pointed at a certain detail inside this establishment — a symbol of a crescent moon and a closed eye. 
“This place is owned by The Lunar Society,” she said. 
“I didn’t notice...!” Thinking on it now, Altar was the most western country in Dendro, and the only groups who used a Japanese aesthetic here were The Lunar Society and K&R. 
Damn it, Ray, why didn’t you notice?! I thought to myself. 
“Wait... If her Embryo is here, then...” 
“Indeed. Tsukuyo is in Gideon, as well,” Kaguya said. 
You can’t be serious, I thought. Of course this had to happen right when I thought that Hannya’s matter would be settled peacefully... 
...Then again, though Miss Eldritch was quite a troublemaker, she wasn’t the type to do anything bad here in a city, so maybe I didn’t have to worry all that much. 
“This is a festival, after all. There is nothing odd about Tsukuyo coming to enjoy it,” Kaguya said. “What was the name of that village, again? The one with all the pinwheels? She was there, as well.” 
Oh, right, she’d been to Torne’s Windstar Festival because of her ties to Mr. Shijima. Even if that wasn’t the reason, she seemed like the kind of person who’d enjoy festivals. Otherworldly creatures generally had a fondness for such events. 
“...You are quite harsh with her,” Nemesis said telepathically. 
You know that she’s the woman who kidnapped me and locked me up without as much as an introduction, right? 
“Fair point...” As we had our silent exchange, Kaguya watched us with a smile on her face, as though amused. While Miss Eldritch seemed to have a grin much like that of a malicious fox, Kaguya’s smile was as gentle as moonlight. 
“What is it?” Nemesis asked her. 
“Heheheh. Have you two made some progress since then?” 
“WHAPH...?!” 
...Whaph? 
“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Whatever are you talking about...?!” 
“You are spending the Love-Duel Festival together, after all. We suppose our advice was helpful?” 
“Th-That’s not what this is about!” 
Why is Nemesis so perplexed? I wondered. 
“It is quite cute that a gluttonous girl like yourself loses her appetite on a date.” 
“I-I just happened to lose my appetite at this particular moment! There’s nothing more to it than that!” 
“My my. Heheheh...” 
Interesting, I thought. Kaguya was only the second Maiden Nemesis had met, but I couldn’t help but notice how the vibe between them was completely unlike the one between her and Cyco. While Cyco was like a friend her age, Kaguya was more like an older sister. Well, she was definitely the more experienced Maiden, at any rate. 
Ohh... so Nemesis and I were both juniors to Miss Eldritch’s duo. “Well, it’s good to make new friends, I guess,” I said. 
Kaguya seems like a better person(?) than her Master, at least, I thought as I watched her gently tease Nemesis and sipped my tea. 
“...It’s really nice.” Because of The Love-Duel Festival, we were surrounded by a very cheerful atmosphere. 
It really felt peaceful here. 
I knew that there was a war coming, but this moment was so calm that it seemed far away. I wasn’t even caught up in some kind of trouble like usual. 
“If only we could just keep having days like this,” I muttered as I took another sip. 
“An omen of a coming disturbance.” 
Hm? Am I jinxing it? 
“Hey, not every hopeful statement ends up being a jinx,” I said. “Things may very well stay peaceful.” 
“What awaits the Hero Clad in Violet and Crimson is a tempest of trials?” 
“Yeah, I know I often end up at the center of all kinds of problems, but you were also involved in the recent dragon king thing, weren’t you? And stop using that nickname.” 
“Strife is the fate to which the living are perpetually bound.” 
“Well, that’s true. Dendro is an eventful place for everyone. Not just us.” 
“...Hey,” Nemesis stopped talking to Kaguya and called out. “What should I be surprised by first: the sudden appearance of Juliet at the bench on the other side, or the fact that you can converse with her so easily?” 
She looked at us as if something was wrong. 
Like Nemesis said, Juliet had joined us without us realizing and spoke to me while enjoying some black sweet bean jelly. I didn’t know what was so weird about it, though. After all... 
“We’re just chatting,” I said as I shrugged. 
“...The shackles on my tongue are light tonight,” Juliet added. 
“What do you mean, you ‘aren’t using difficult words this time’? You always speak normally.” 
“First your fashion sense... then your grasp of Juliet’s edgy nonsense lexicon... I suppose you really are a...” 
A what? I don’t really see what you’re getting at. 
“By the way, it’s rare for you to eat sweets by yourself. Where’s Chelsea?” I asked. 
Chelsea was a good candidate for the duel ranker with the greatest sweet tooth, and she often invited Juliet or other rankers to eat with her. 
However, this time, Juliet was all alone... and actually seemed to be in low spirits. 
“My soul-sister is facing a trial, and I cannot interfere. It is a matter of depravity within the horde bearing the golden flag.” 
Mhm... 
So there was some relationship trouble within Golden Pirates — Chelsea’s own clan. It was a matter just between the guys and girls there, so Juliet couldn’t get involved. She was probably bothered by the fact that she couldn’t help her friend while she was dealing with some problems. 
“That seems like something you should just wait out,” I said. “And... you’ll help her if she asks, right? 
“Yeah! I mean... Indeed I shall,” Juliet replied. 
“Then everything’s fine. I’m sure she’ll count on you if she really needs someone.” 
“...Yeah.” Juliet’s expression lightened up a bit. 
But man, there’s relationship troubles in Chelsea’s clan, too? I thought. First Hannya, then Elizabeth... I know it’s a love festival and all, but does it really have to come with so much romantic drama? 
“Aren’t you in similar trouble, as well?” Nemesis asked telepathically. “Does nothing come to mind?” 
...Boy, I sure do hope I don’t get snatched up to be some amazon’s groom. 
“...Huh? That’s where your mind went first?” 
...Boy, I sure do hope I don’t run into an amazon queen that fights as well as my sister. 
“Your brain is replaying scenes that do not seem to belong in that world. Are you sure this wasn’t a dream?” 
Oh, how many times have I hoped that it was. 
“I now feel that most of my hardship that isn’t related to combat has its roots in your childhood trauma...” 
“Do you really have it that hard?” 
Oh. She looked away. Did I upset her somehow? 
Anyway, the day ended without anything happening, and after enjoying the festival with Nemesis, I went to sleep at the inn. 
 
A Certain Location at Gideon the City of Duels 
It was late in the evening as Figaro left a particular plant shop. 
As you’d expect, there were various sorts of flowers in there, but being a plant shop, it sold far more than just flowers. There were flora and herbs used in potion brewing, as well as plants and seeds that had an effect when ingested raw, so the shop had quite a wide customer base. 
Whatever he’d bought there, it had put a smile on his face. However, that smile vanished the moment someone called out to him. 
“I finally found you, you sickly prince.” That someone was a person he didn’t actually want to know, but unfortunately did, quite well. 
“...Fuso Tsukuyo,” he said. 
“You just scowled, didn’t you?” she said. “I can tell even through your costume.” 
Figaro had always found Tsukuyo Fuso to be a fundamentally unpleasant character. As a person, he didn’t like how she brought her cult and so many other things from real life into Infinite Dendrogram. In addition to that, her Embryo — particularly her ultimate skill — was such a hard counter to Figaro that he wanted to avoid it at all costs. It had even given him the death penalty once. 
Anyway, despite being the one to point out Figaro’s “scowl,” Tsukuyo herself seemed quite upset. 
“I walked around town lookin’ for you, and I sure didn’t expect to find you here, of all places,” Tsukuyo said. “What did you want in that shop? Are you poisoning someone?” 
“...It has nothing to do with you,” Figaro replied as he realized his mistake. 
If he had felt her presence as he left the shop, he might’ve avoided meeting her. He’d been so happy thinking about tomorrow that it had dulled his senses. 
Then again, she’d apparently been searching for him, so he figured that this encounter would’ve happened eventually. 
“Well, not like it matters to me. I have some business with you. Look here!” 
Tsukuyo reached to take something from her side, making Figaro jump back and switch his equipment with Instant Wear. His costume was now gone and he was naked to the waist. It was the AGI-focused set he’d used at The Clash of the Superiors, showing just how wary he was of whatever Tsukuyo was doing. 
“Hm...?” He was ready for battle, but Tsukuyo wasn’t actually doing anything that looked like an attack. She just held something out to him — something that seemed to be a piece of paper. 
Figaro took a look at what was written on it and tilted his head in confusion. 
“...What is this?” he asked. 
“Exactly what it says,” Tsukuyo replied, pouting. 
However, it was the very contents of the paper that were confusing to Figaro. 
After all... 
“I want you to pay.” 

...It was a bill. 
“...For what?” 
What is she even saying? Figaro wondered. After all, he had never bought anything from her. 
In fact, he wouldn’t even think of buying anything from her, no matter how good a deal she offered. 
“You don’t know?” Tsukuyo asked with a blatantly displeased expression. 
“I seriously haven’t the slightest clue. I can’t think of a single reason why I would have to pay you anything.” 
“You’re saying that after making such a huge mess for me?!” Even Figaro couldn’t hide his surprise at that sentence. Seriously, what is she even saying? 
“Just what are you talking about...?” 
“What do you mean, ‘what’?! You destroyed my base, didn’t you?!” Upon hearing that, Figaro finally understood. 
Some days ago, he’d destroyed The Lunar Society base to save Ray after he’d been kidnapped. He’d broken the main gate, leveled the buildings, and shattered many of the installations to drag Tsukuyo out. 
“It took us this long to estimate the damages! It’s over 10,000,000,000 in total! That’s more than ten times what I expected! It’s all because you destroyed not just buildings, but expensive furniture, too!” The Lunar Society’s HQ was a Japanese-style mansion constructed of high-quality wood, which made it quite a luxurious location. With Noz Forest — the capital’s primary source of lumber — having been burnt to ash, wood had become a lot more expensive. 
Figaro had also destroyed most of the placeable magic items they had imported from Caldina, and with the country’s recent revisions of their trade regulations, the price of those items had gone up even more than wood had. The art that had been destroyed was quite expensive, as well, and the overall sum was far above what Tsukuyo had expected. The Lunar Society was making a lot of money through donations, but paying for repairs would put a serious dent even in their coffers. 
“Yeah, I know it all happened because I kidnapped Ray, but you didn’t have to destroy so much! You went crazy! I want you to pay at least half of the costs!” Tsukuyo had become emotional to the point of actually crying, then grabbed Figaro — still shirtless, by the way — by the shoulders and began shaking him. 
Is that really my fault? he wondered. He dug through his memory, thinking of how to deal with it. 
“Talk to my lawyer about i—” 
“The law doesn’t exist between Masters! You know that!” 
“...Right.” Unlike in reality, he couldn’t rely on legal advisors here. 
However, he was still unsure of how to handle this. 
Do I really have to pay her in this situation? Isn’t this her own fault? he wondered, remembering his rampage through The Lunar Society’s headquarters. 
In this situation, Shu would likely say “Huh? The law says I didn’t commit any crimes, so I don’t have to pay, right? It ain’t my pawroblem,” but Figaro was too pure for that. 
The fact that Tsukuyo demanded payment despite being aware of that showed that she was a cunning fox, even while she was weeping. 
Figaro went on to tell her that he couldn’t make a decision right away and didn’t have the money anyway for one reason or another, and Tsukuyo reluctantly backed off. 
However, neither of them realized that someone had witnessed... and recorded them. 
 
DIN Gideon Branch 
On the night of the first day of the Love-Duel Festival, Tom Cat... control AI no. 13, Cheshire... paid a visit to DIN’s Gideon branch. 
While Elizabeth had been staying here, this place was protected by Marie, Liliana, and Gideon’s ninjas, but now that she had returned to the guest house, it was back to business as usual. 
Cheshire walked up the stairs and opened the door leading to the rooftop. 
However, what he saw wasn’t the roof or the scenery of the city around the building, but a bizarre space where you couldn’t tell which way was up, full of countless information windows. 
It was a control AI workspace — just like the one Cheshire himself used. 
“Pardon the intrusiooon.” When he called out, the two people who had been standing in the middle of the space and doing something with the windows turned to him. 
They were twins of different genders, and their faces were nearly identical. 
They both had small frames and wore suits like the one worn by Marie, making them look like children pretending to be working adults — which was, in a way, adorable. The boy wore silver-rimmed glasses, while the girl sported large headphones. 
“I have not seen you in 2689 hours, 58 minutes, and 14 seconds in this world’s time, No. 13.” 
“It’s been too long, Cheshiiire! Congrats on falling to third plaaace! Yaay! Clap clap!” 
The boy greeted Cheshire with extreme formality, while the girl was nothing if not casual. 
“Is that something to congratulate me for?” Cheshire asked. 
“It is quite a welcome event,” the boy said as he adjusted his glasses. 
“Your Tom Kitty’s there to be beaten! It’s fine, it’s fiiine! Don’t worry! It’s okay to looose!” the girl said as she rolled around in midair. 
An overly formal older brother and a sister who was far too casual. They haven’t changed at all, Cheshire thought. 
These two were the founders of DIN, as well as the current heads of the company. They were also the ones organizing all the information DIN had access to. It was an impossible task for just two people, but that only made sense. 
These two weren’t human, after all. 
The boy was Tweedledum, and the girl was Tweedledee. 
Having borrowed those names from the twins in Alice in Wonderland, they were the avatars of control AI No. 11. 
“Allow us to inquire something of you, as well,” the boy said. 
“Why’d ya come here?” the girl asked. 
Cheshire stated his reason for being here outright. “King of Beasts just up and left Gideon, didn’t she? I was wondering why. Was there some sort of incident that happened without me knowing?” 
“Certainly not.” 
“No no nooo! There’s nothin’ like what you dealt with in Quartierlatin!” 
“Really?” 
“Affirmative. The first day of the Love-Duel Festival...” 
“...Went by without anythin’ happenin’!” 
“King of Destruction and King of Beasts nearly clashed...” 
“...But they’re puttin’ it off for later! It’s gotta be the main event of the war! Kyaa! That’s so lewd!” 
They’d begun talking strangely, with one starting and the other finishing every sentence. 
They really are the same as ever, Cheshire thought. 
“I seee.” he said. “So there they passed each other by, huh? What a relieeef.” 
“A relief, eh?” 
“But that ain’t good for us, is iiit?” While Cheshire was glad that nothing happened, the twins didn’t share his sentiment. 
“...Ain’t good?” 
“War is something we desire.” 
“The chance of an Embryo evolving into a Superior during a war is 86.95669%!” 
“That is slightly above...” 
“...Even SUBM releases!” A war was a major clash between Masters, tians, and countries. Just like the release of SUBMs, it could be a trigger for evolution. 
In a way, conflict was something that control AIs would naturally want more of. It was particularly likely that Embryos in sixth form and below would evolve while facing a raging Superior Embryo, especially if it was happening in a city the Masters would want to protect. The twins were actually somewhat disappointed that King of Beasts hadn’t picked this place for the battle. 
“Fortunately, we have more gunpowder,” said Tweedledum. 
“We’ll light it up and boom, boom, BOOM!” his sister added. 
“If all values in our calculations are accounted for...” 
“...We might get some more things before the waaar!” Albeit with completely different expressions on their faces, the twins were predicting the exact same thing. Cheshire had a bad feeling about this. 
“...What are you planning?” 
“An event,” they said in unison. 
The two were control AI No. 11 — the ones in charge of quests and events. When it came to plotting, they had no equal. 
“It is not an official event, however. We will merely assist in spurring on a certain player.” 
“We’re just pushing down the first dominooo!” 
“Do not worry. We are not acting as control AI. This is all within the rights of this avatar.” 
“We’re the big cheese and all thaat!” 
“And to be clear, we are designing a romantic tragedy...” 
“...That perfectly fits a festival of looove! So Shakespearean! Let’s goo!” 
The twins were clearly planning... no, had already finished planning something. 
Suddenly, tons of visual data appeared in the workspace. 
“We received the material, but DIN is not the optimal channel for it. Using it would negatively affect our activities further down the line.” 
“Wanna leak it to The Kingdom People Times? They’ll eat this scoop right up! And they’re already stealin’ the ideaa!” 
“That is a newspaper with little support but good exposure. It will suffice.” 
“Heh heh heh! It’ll be heaven and hell tomorrow!” Cheshire didn’t know what the two were doing, and he couldn’t stop them. 
After all, they were working towards the common goal of the control AIs, and they weren’t doing anything that required the use of their original body. In fact, they were putting in a lot of diligent effort into what the control AIs all truly wanted. 
Because of this, Cheshire couldn’t say anything, just as he couldn’t argue against Jabberwock’s releases of SUBMs. 
Seeing the twins work made him feel uneasy... and he would soon know that it wasn’t unwarranted. 
 
Gideon the City of Duels 
The second day of the Love-Duel Festival had arrived. Rook, Babi, and Kasumi were walking through Gideon. It was still before nine in the morning, but the streets were already full of people. 
With Kasumi on his right and Babi on his left, Rook looked like an absolute winner and attracted stares everywhere he went. Babi’s nonchalant suggestions had put them in this position. All the people looking at them started to make Kasumi blush, and she began to tear up behind her long bangs. 
“What great weather! Perfect for a festivaal!” said Babi casually. 
“Yes. It sure is,” Rook replied, looking the same as ever. Kasumi alone was extremely tense. 
Th-This isn’t a dream, is it...? she thought. I keep checking, but it’s not just a fever dream, right? Some days ago, Kasumi had helped Rook find a certain criminal, and he went on to invite her on a Love-Duel Festival date as thanks. 
While we were going through the Tomb Labyrinth recently, I told the girls that I liked the idea of a “Love-Duel Festival date” that I saw a walkthrough blogger talk about... but I never would’ve thought that Rook would remember it... Indeed, she was attracted to this idea. Being the high school girl that she was, Kasumi thought that walking around a love-themed festival with your lover was the height of romance. However, since Kasumi never actually had a lover — or had even attempted to obtain one — it was only something she could imagine. 
But then came Rook with his date invitation. Kasumi literally felt like a Typical Village Girl who’d been invited to the ball by the prince. The tension and helplessness were shaking her to the core. 
This was only compounded by the fact that Io and Fujinon had caught Kasumi’s illness and couldn’t log in to watch over her date like they’d originally planned. 
Ohhh... I was perfectly fine with just my daydreams of princes making out with other princes... AHHH! What am I thinking at a time like this?! Embarrassed and perplexed by all the thoughts racing through her head, Kasumi flushed bright red. 
Rook noticed all of this and talked to her with consideration in his voice, “Kasumi, are you sure you aren’t still sick? Even your avatar looks flushed.” 
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine! Perfectly fine!” 
“Let me know if something’s wrong. I’ll do anything I can to help.” 
“A-Anything?!” His choice of words made various images swirl inside Kasumi’s head, bringing her close to the boiling point. 
Wh-Wh-Wh-What?! R-Rook is so forward! Way too forward! What do I do?! Io! Fujino! Help! As a person with observation abilities that more or less let him read minds, Rook had a good idea of what was going on in Kasumi’s head. 
However, he didn’t hold the girl’s tendency to use him in her shipping fantasies against her. 
As someone who’d been studying human psychology and examining criminal cases from a very young age, he knew Kasumi just shipped men with other men as a kind of intrusive thought, and it didn’t bother him at all.. 
In fact, the way Kasumi’s own thoughts made her red and flustered was rather cute to him. 
Kasumi is also quite heartwarming to watch, though in a different way than Ray, Rook thought. 
“You mean that she has that hamster-like cuteness?” Babi asked telepathically. 
...Babi, please don’t use rodents for your comparisons. “Small animal” works perfectly fine. 
Rook remembered a particular animal closely related to the hamster and trembled a little. 
“U-Umm, are you okay?” Kasumi asked. 
“...Yes. I just had some... recollection shivers.” 
Recollection shivers?! Is that even a thing?! Kasumi wondered in her mind, but didn’t say it. 
“By the way, is there anywhere you want to go today?” Rook asked her. 
“U-Umm, there’s a large clothing store in the fourth district that has couples-exclusive photoshoots.” This was a special event where couples could try on new clothes made by clothing-related jobs and take commemorative photos wearing them. Photo data could be extracted, and Kasumi wanted those polished pictures to use as reference. 
Nhh... I’m nervous, but this is a chance to get photos of a wonderful model in wonderful fashion... If I don’t go through with this, I won’t be able to face Io and Fujino... They even got sick because they visited me... 
It was quite a challenge for her, but Kasumi gathered her resolve and decided to go to the aforementioned store for the event. 
“All right. Where is it supposed to be?” Rook asked. 
“Ah. G-Give me a moment! I’ll check right now...” Instead of using the map window like most players, Kasumi used her Embryo — Taijitu. 
Like always, she took a look at what was displayed... and saw something incredibly strange. 
“...Eh? What is this...?” The map displayed by Taijitu was in pieces. 
Gideon on the map was split into many even squares that were scattered about randomly, like a sliding block puzzle. It was as though a mischievous god had shattered the whole city with little rhyme or reason. 
“The city is...?! Huh?” Kasumi exclaimed, looking up in shock — only to see Gideon the same as it ever was. It wasn’t scattered or broken, and only one thing had changed. 
“...Eh?” 
And what a major change it was. 
At the center of Gideon, close to the central arena, there was something enormous. 
It was something you could see from any place in the whole city. 
Two inverted towers were standing tall as if to pierce the heavens... or stab straight through the earth. 
It was the Superior Embryo known as Sandalphon.