Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 12 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue 
DIN’s Gideon Branch, rooftop 
The twins watched as the towers in Nex Plains vanished. 
This hadn’t gone according to their calculations. They expected Hannya to rampage throughout Gideon, rousing its Masters to fight her and potentially causing evolutions. 
The actual result couldn’t have been more different than that. 
The damage caused by Hannya was minimal. Figaro took care of the situation all by himself... and by means they never expected — a marriage proposal. 
In fact, they didn’t expect Figaro to participate in the battle at all, because they knew that he couldn’t do so in an environment with allies. They hadn’t expected him to appear in the Nex Plains, either — far away from anyone else. 
And most of all, they didn’t account for his own affection. 
With such critical flaws in the calculations, it was only natural that the result would be wrong. 
However, one of those miscalculations was no fault of their own. They were told that Figaro would log in inside Gideon. 
“I see,” said Tweedledum. 
“So that’s how it iiis...” said Tweedledee. The calculating control AI twins quickly reassessed the situation... 
“You gave us false variables, didn’t you, Alice?” 
...And simultaneously addressed the reason why they were wrong. 
Turning back to the rooftop’s door, they saw a particular person. 
She looked like a teenager, but there was a motherly air about her, making it impossible to tell how old she really was. 
Her name was Alison. She was a worker in DIN’s planning department, as well as the avatar of control AI No. 1 — Alice. 
“All right, that’s enough plotting for today,” she said with a smile on her face. “Get back to work, please. You have lots to do, don’t you?” 
“Very well,” said Tweedledum. “I must say, I did not expect this.” 
“We tried to use your plan, but you used us instead, huuh?” 
“I suppose the wisdom of age is hard to beat.” 
“Well, other than that, she’s the oldest of us all. We’ve been haaad.” 
“Ugh, don’t treat me like an old lady,” Alice said with a hand on her cheek and a mildly angry expression. 
The twins turned away from her and entered the building. 
They’d already switched their focus. Their plans had shown a lower than expected success rate, so instead of sticking to them, they prioritized their sub-job as the CEOs of DIN. 
That left only two people on the rooftop — Alice and Cheshire, whose avatar was still immobilized. 
“...Could you set me free already?” he asked. 
“Sure thing.” And just like that, the Tom Cat avatar was free. 
Cheshire opened and closed his hand, regaining the feel for his body before asking Alice, “You... you knew that Figaro would confess to Hannya, didn’t you?” 
“Yep,” she answered as if it was nothing. 
Cheshire had actually suspected that something wasn’t right the moment he’d learned that Alice was helping the twins with this plot. Alice always prioritized her values over her role... In fact, she held her role because of her values. 
She was what you could call a “Master Supremacist.” 
Alice valued Masters above all else and made it her overriding goal to protect them. 
That was why it was strange that she would be complicit in this plot. While she would take part in large-scale events like SUBM releases, this situation was just an idea the twins had dreamed up spontaneously, so it didn’t seem right for her to be involved. 
“Tweedle said something about trying to use you, but you used them instead...” 
“I had them set the stage for Figaro to properly open up.” 
The twins had the greatest calculation power among the control AIs, but as the supervisor of all avatars, Alice wasn’t far behind them. 
Though not as well as the twins, she could predict outcomes, and when it came to her field — Masters — her predictions could actually be more accurate than theirs. 
When the twins asked her for Figaro’s logout info and feelings, she lied to them so they would use their position as the CEOs of DIN to set the stage for this event. After all — she knew what calculations they would make and what kind of scheme they would weave. 
“...Why would you do something so roundabout?” Cheshire asked. He didn’t know whether Alice wanted Figaro to confess to Hannya because it aligned with her values or because of something else, but he couldn’t help but feel that things would’ve gone just as well between them if no one had gotten involved. Alice, however, rejected that idea. 
“I’m always monitoring the state of the avatars and the thoughts of the people using them, and it looked to me that Figaro might’ve not taken the step forward. So I gave him a little push. If he didn’t make his move, both of them might have ended up unhappy.” 
So she really was just meddling, huh? Cheshire thought to himself as he realized exactly what she was saying. He knew Figaro well, and the idea of him confessing his love seemed unnatural even now after he actually saw it happen. 
Perhaps Figaro himself had felt the same way, and it wasn’t unlikely that things might’ve gone badly if he didn’t get a push from someone. 
That answered one of Cheshire’s questions, but he still had more. 
“When Figaro confessed, Hannya’s Last Berserk basically went inactive. Did you do that?” Cheshire knew what Last Berserk did — in fact, it was actually used against him in the past. He thought Last Berserk would never let you stand still while the target was in front of you, but Hannya had done nothing long enough for Figaro to finish his proposal. Cheshire guessed that Alice had limited her movements, just as she had made Tom completely immobile. 
As likely as that seemed, however, Alice denied it. 
“That was simply her own willpower,” she said. “The avatars I made resist skill-based effects on the mind, but the reverse, well... that’s completely up to them.” 
Alice was basically saying that Hannya had held back her mad rampage out of love, like the protagonist of a story. 
A skill that influenced the mind could in turn be influenced by the mind. 
A part of Cheshire found it reasonable, but another part of him just couldn’t believe that Hannya had a will strong enough to overpower an ultimate job skill. 
Only Alice knew the real truth, but Cheshire realized that she wouldn’t say anything more about it. 
“This outcome itself was made possible by the strength of their wills,” Alice added. “We can set the stage, but we’re not powerful enough to decide how they feel.” 
“...That’s true.” She’d stopped Cheshire from interfering because she didn’t want him to get in the way of the confession. Alice was afraid that he could use his numbers to break out of Angeldeath Dominion and meet up with Figaro. The presence of an ally would hinder his fighting and maybe even lead to him being stomped by Sandalphon. 
Basically, she’d bound Cheshire for the sake of the happy ending. 
“...But didn’t this plot have a chance of seriously damaging Gideon?” If this outcome was truly the result of their willpower, then there was a chance that things could’ve gone differently. The casualties could’ve been as high as the twins had predicted. 
“What of it?” Alice asked as she tilted her head. 
“...Well, I guess that’s the kind of Embryo you are.” She only cared about Masters. Tians were outside the range of her affection, which was exactly why she had no trouble fighting the war against the pre-ancient civilization as the fearsome Incarnation of Blasphemy. 
Cheshire felt that he had to be wary of this particular colleague in a different way than Bandersnatch or the twins. 
“Well, they got together, so all’s fine and dandy, isn’t it?” said Alice. 
“Yeah. Though... This is more of a comedy than a love story. Everyone besides those two and you were just aimlessly running around in circles.” 
Ray’s group had been worried about Figaro and Hannya for nothing, the twins and F had woven a plot that in the end only led to a proposal, the citizens of Gideon had been thrown into a labyrinth before they even knew what was happening, and the unfortunate newspaper company released the leaked photo as a scoop, only to endanger the entire city. 
It all seemed so serious, and the fact that it ended with a kiss scene right out of a fairytale or romance manga made it seem like the height of absurdity. 
It really was a comedy. 
“...Oh. I just realized.” As the control AI in charge of spreading culture, Cheshire remembered a certain well-known comic opera titled The Marriage of Figaro. 
 
Prism Rider, Ray Starling 
The day after the Love-Duel Festival, I, Nemesis, Rook, and Babi gathered at the usual café with the open terrace and talked about what happened yesterday. 
After the battle against King of Light, I’d burned for thirty seconds because of the side effect from Miasmaflame Princess, but it wasn’t enough to give me the death penalty. So here I was, alive and well. 
Shu was busy with something today, Marie had DIN work to take care of, and B3 had business of her own. 
“I must say,” Rook spoke up. “I’m really glad that no tians died in the incident.” 
“You and me both.” Despite the scale of the incident, Sandalphon hadn’t actually killed anyone, directly or otherwise. 
The shuffled space had caused some falls, crashes, and broken bones, but nothing had been fatal. This was probably because Hannya and Sandalphon had been considerate of the surrounding people until Figaro showed up. It also helped that Figaro had been outside the city, all by himself. 
“Oh, right.” Rook said as he remembered something. “Bishmal was trying hard to stop her before she went out of control, but when Figaro appeared, she instantly crushed him and gave him the death penalty.” 
Bishmal... RIP. 
“But that’s actually the only death penalty.” 
“The injured were healed by Miss El... Tsukuyo Fuso and the priests of her Lunar Society.” She’d logged in after things had calmed down and was very surprised by the state of the city. 
I recalled her saying, “Ugh, who did this? The second day of the Love-Duel Festival is a golden day for business. I dunno who’s responsible, but they sure are a nuisance.” 
Shu instantly shot her with his gatling gun. I couldn’t blame him. Anyone would be annoyed hearing one of the main culprits saying something like that. 
In fact, you could say that Shu was still being very rational, seeing as he used the weakest attack he had. 
After finding out what had happened, Miss Eldritch immediately tried to run away, but B3 was there, and she stopped her with a gravity field. 
Then Azurite arrived, told her to take responsibility, and had her go around healing the injured. 
In fact, she was still doing that, and B3 was making sure of that. Miss Eldritch had also healed my wounds, so I was in top shape despite the intense battle yesterday. 

“It’s also looking like they’ll have no trouble fixing the city,” I said. 
“It’s just roads that suffered the most, and all key facilities are still standing,” Rook commented. The damage could be undone relatively easily using earth magic and Embryo skills. Even standard crafting jobs could do it. 
“And the damages will all be paid by Fuso, Figaro, Hannya, and the newspaper company.” 
“Though, the kingdom covered for the first three.” As the main culprit, Hannya was supposed to pay half of the total damages, while the others split the rest evenly. Miss Eldritch couldn’t pay because of various circumstances, while Hannya didn’t have any money to begin with, so the kingdom... that is, Azurite, paid in their stead. 
This event was actually the end of the newspaper company. They’d tried to claim that they couldn’t be held responsible over a mere article, but their involvement was undeniable. 
Perhaps it might’ve gone differently in modern Japan, but this was The Kingdom of Altar. 
Their guilt became even more obvious when the officials used Truth Discernment on them to find out that the article was just sensationalist nonsense they’d written to stir reader curiosity and passion. 
“And F will just get away with it, huh...?” He was the one who’d taken the photo that caused the incident, but that was just him answering the newspaper’s call, and for some reason the credit on the photograph sent to the newspaper wasn’t even his. 
Also, getting in Figaro’s way didn’t exactly count as a crime. 
Master-on-Master violence was just PK, which was outside the boundaries of Dendro law. It might’ve been different if his interference led to Hannya causing more destruction, but even with his involvement there were no casualties, so he was considered innocent. Knowing how he operated, he probably had committed crimes, but they were unknown. 
“What a disagreeable wretch he was,” said Nemesis. 
“I hope we don’t run into him again...” 
In all honesty, the King of Light was way more powerful than me. If I didn’t have Monochrome — his hard counter — I would’ve barely stood a chance against him. 
Even so, I didn’t even think of giving up, and I felt like I would be compelled to stop him once more if he attempted something like this again. 
The central person in all of this — Hannya — had left behind an envelope before logging out. 
The paper inside read, “I am sorry for the trouble caused. I will pay for the damage done through public service.” 
Azurite chose to believe it and didn’t put her on the wanted list, so now Hannya owed the country money. 
Figaro’s share of the payment would be discussed once he returned, so for now, Count Gideon covered for him. According to Azurite, he’d said, “Figaro is always a great help, and he’s the one who actually stopped this incident, so I can do this much for him.” 
...Though, all the damage to his city seemed to be killing him inside. Do your best, Count, I thought. 
Apparently, Miss Eldritch had tried to worm her way out of her share by saying, “Th-The meathead is gonna pay me 5,000,000,000...” but Shu shot her down with: “Like hell he is! Forget it or I’ll trash your place again with my bear hands!” 
And that was just about it for the results and responsibility splitting. 
Figaro’s death penalty hadn’t expired yet, and Hannya hadn’t come online again since that moment. 
“...I wonder how they’re doing now,” I said. 
“Well, they just got engaged...” Nemesis commented. Shu said that he couldn’t contact Figaro in reality, so for all we knew, they might’ve been discussing their future in real life. (I later went on to learn that Figaro was hospitalized and that Hannya had gone to the UK to visit him.) 
“Man, this kind of thing just had to happen on a festival day, huh?” And for all the trouble we’d gone through, it seemed like we were just running around in circles... That we had absolutely nothing to do with all that happened. Knowing how long Shu had been worried about it, he might’ve suffered the most mental trauma from the way everything had worked out. 
“Though, once it all ended, the festival just continued like nothing had happened,” I said. 
“Gideoners are a sturdy bunch.” The Love-Duel Festival resumed soon after Hannya logged out. Not even that level of emergency was enough to stop the festivities. 
Looking back at it, it had been the same with Franklin’s Game. 
Even Rook went on to continue his date with Kasumi, and when I saw them in the evening, Kasumi was all flushed and happy-looking, so I could only assume it went well. 
“Seeing how it worked out, the incident might’ve actually been a net positive for the kingdom,” said Rook, and I couldn’t help but nod. 
The most obvious good outcome was Figaro and Hannya getting together, but there was so much more when you looked at the fallout. 
“Because of Figaro, Miss Hannya will definitely join the kingdom,” Rook continued. As long as Figaro continued playing Dendro, she would keep on logging in with him, and she would obviously stay in the country where her dear husband was. 
Basically, Altar would have its fifth Superior. 
In terms of numbers alone, the kingdom would finally be a match for Dryfe. 
“And because of what happened, both Miss Fuso and Miss Hannya are now indebted to the country.” They couldn’t pay their share of the damages, so they were literally in debt now. 
Miss Eldritch had put Altar under a contract that forbade them from limiting The Lunar Society, but since this was a personal debt, it didn’t help her at all. 
Azurite was pretty happy that she, in her words, “finally got back at that parasite.” 
She was obviously thinking of using this to make The Lunar Society participate in the war without having to “change the national religion” or fulfilling whatever other extreme demands Miss Eldritch had. 
“These debts will be used against Miss Fuso and Miss Hannya to force them to participate in the war, won’t they?” said Rook. 
“Most likely,” I nodded. 
“That means that both countries have an equal number of Superiors, which are also more or less equal in power. That alone changes the outlook.” 
Of course, there were Masters besides Superiors, as well as tians such as Mario, who surpassed even some of the most skilled Masters, but even so, it didn’t seem hopeless anymore. 
“As things are, even if Dryfe attacks, their victory wouldn’t be guaranteed. Even if they won, it would likely be a Pyrrhic victory. And if we consider what Her Highness the First Princess told you about third parties like Caldina...” Rook said before pausing for a good moment. “The war might not happen at all.” 
That was a guess that could very well become reality. 
 
Sacred Princess, Altimia Azurite Altar 
I finally dealt with the paperwork related to the incident caused by King of Berserk, Hannya. 
It had drained quite a lot from the kingdom’s coffers, but it was settled relatively peacefully. 
I talked to Ray after the event, and he said that, for a Superior, Hannya was actually a very mild person as long as there were no problems with the Over Gladiator, Figaro. 
He and the parasite were the main driving forces behind this incident, but looking at how it all ended, it was unlikely that anything similar would happen again. 
I was quite satisfied with the fact that I finally got to put a leash on that parasite, at least. 
“I suppose it’s all settled for now...” I’d also taken care of the other problem... Elizabeth’s marriage. 
The night before Hannya started her rampage, I had reconciled with Elizabeth. 
As Ray had told me, I’d apologized in my own words and talked to her as honestly as possible. 
Apparently, she herself had also thought a lot about her marriage to Third Prince Canglong. 
For now, we decided to put everything on hold until the day before Third Prince Canglong returned to Huang He. 
I, Elizabeth, and Canglong still needed time to process how we felt. 
“CooO, CoOo!” I was pulled from my thoughts by the cry of a creature in the corner of my makeshift office. 
It was a grotesque little thing that was basically a large eye with wings... and its name was “Broadcast Eye.” 
Count Gideon had acquired a number of them after Franklin’s Game, and some of them had ended up here with me. Since they were made by the detestable Franklin and had a disagreeable appearance, I honestly wasn’t fond of them. However, I could not deny their usefulness in long-distance communications, so I used them regardless. 
They normally made no sound. If they were, it could be only because someone was trying to contact my Broadcast Eye. 
“Connect.” Upon saying that, I saw a room in the royal castle as well as a man — Marquis Findle. 
I’d put him in charge of intelligence, so I had a bad feeling about this. 
“I apologize for contacting you like this, Your Highness,” he said. 
“I do not mind,” I said. “More importantly, did something happen?” 
He wiped his face with a handkerchief, looking like he was hesitant to say what he had to. If he was acting like this after contacting me first, it could only be something major. 
“Is anything the matter?” I asked. 
“...We received a message from the imperium.” That was surprising, but not unexpected. Seeing as the war would resume, I knew Dryfe would contact us with a final warning. I had been preparing for that, as well. 
However, his reaction was a bit extreme for one who received something that was “expected,” which could only mean that the content of the message was nothing like what we imagined. 
“Marquis Findle, did you already open the message?” 
“No. The seal is still intact. However... the messenger who brought it gave us a summary.” 
“What did he say about it?” In response... 
“That it’s a peace offer, Your Highness.” 
...He gave me a truly unexpected answer. 
“...Very well. I will return to Altea as soon as possible. Make sure no one hears of this, especially not information brokers like DIN.” 
“Understood.” With that, the Broadcast Eye connection ended. 
I closed my eyes and looked up at the ceiling of my makeshift office. 
It was thoroughly unexpected. A recommendation to surrender would’ve been significantly easier to understand. 
“Claudiah... Your brother just can’t stop doing unexpected things.” 
Was it an honest peace offer? Or a start of some new plot? 
To know even that much, I would have to return to Altea and see the message for myself. 
“But... I suppose the time has finally come.” I didn’t know if the message would mark the end or a new beginning, but I could feel that the machine of war, which had ground to a halt when my father died, had begun to move once more. 
To be continued