Chapter Two: Catching up
Paladin, Ray Starling
“Gardranda and Gouz-Maise, huh?” said Shu. “Looks like you’ve been through some beary strange things, Ray.”
“You think so?” I asked.
At the familiar sweets parlor, my brother and I were having a little talk about what had happened so far. Since I was still full from the sandwiches from before, the only thing I ordered for this chat was tea.
Nemesis, on the other hand, was eating as she always did.
What the hell is up with your stomach? I thought.
“Encountering UBMs is rare, and even Epic ones are damn tough,” he said. “It’s not every day you get someone who fights and kills them not too long after entering Infinite Dendrogram.”
Shu put some honey-covered pancakes into his mouth. Of course, he didn’t neglect to use a fork. I was impressed that he could do it with those bear hands of his, but then I figured that it was probably easier than using a gatling gun.
Also, the overall image of a bear sitting on a chair and eating honey-covered pancakes was quite lavish. It seemed kinda cute, as well. At least, to anyone who didn’t know that the person inside the suit was a man in his late twenties.
“Well, I’m probably not the one to talk, considering I killed my first UBM when I was on my first low-rank job,” he continued.
“Huh?”
“It was also the time I met Figgy,” he said. “We happened to get lost in a certain field and had to fight two UBMs...”
“TWO?!”
I instantly began imagining myself fighting both Gardranda and Gouz-Maise at the same time.
Nope, it’d be hopeless, I thought. Even as I was now, they’d kill me easily.
“So you and Figaro went two-on-two against them?” I asked.
“Nope,” he answered.
“Oh, so Figaro wasn’t the only who helped, then.”
“Wrong again. We both went against them one-on-one.”
Excuse me?
“Separating them was a real pain, and I really had to use my head to beat mine...”
“Wait. You said you were still on your first low-rank job, right?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“What about Figaro?”
“He, too, was on his first job — Gladiator. Not even level 50, either.”
“...What about your Embryos?”
“Both were in their third forms. And no, neither of them had any giant-killing abilities like your Nemesis does.”
I was stunned into silence. I’m probably not in a position to think this, but how the hell did they do it? I mean, they didn’t even have the support I did. Also, he says it happened when he — one of the first players — was on his first job. Doesn’t that mean that they were among the first Masters to have beaten UBMs?
“Anyway, going any deeper into this would mean revealing Figgy’s Embryo’s abilities,” he said. “I’m beary averse to the idea of giving this info away myself, so I’ll only explain it to you after you more or less understand it yourself.”
“Well, then I guess I won’t push it,” I shrugged.
This duel city was Figaro’s hometown, and with him being the local king of the arenas, the people here had lots of info about him.
However, there was a decisive lack of knowledge about his Embryo. Its powers, shape, and even category were all a great mystery to everyone. The other two in the Kingdom of Altar’s Big Three weren’t like this in that regard. The King of Destruction’s Embryo was assumed to be a battleship, while the High Priestess’s was widely known to be the moonlit night. However, there was absolutely nothing known about the Embryo of the Over Gladiator.
I had seen Figaro fight the player killers in the video that Marie had shown me, but even then, I hadn’t seen a hint of his Embryo’s abilities.
If the event Shu was referring to was linked to the truth behind it, I could totally understand why he didn’t want to talk about it.
“But you do know it, huh, bro?” I asked.
“Figgy and I have been acquainted fur a long time, after all,” he answered. “A whole four years by Dendro standards.”
“I see. So I guess you also know why he’s so fixated on going solo?”
“I do, but going into that would mean compromising his privacy, so I won’t explain it,” he said.
“All right. I won’t push it, then.”
It was probably the core of the reason why Figaro had said he wasn’t “interested in sloppy battles” and refused to participate in the war. I wanted to know, but if it was something private, I couldn’t really delve any deeper.
“I must say, you seem to be quite well-connected, Brother Bear,” commented Nemesis.
“Well, it happens kinda naturally when you’ve been a long-time player,” he shrugged.
“This has been bothering me for a while... How many hours a day do you spend here, anyway?” I asked.
Being the unfairly rich neo-NEET that he was, Shu had all the time in the world, so I couldn’t help but wonder.
“I know what you’re thinking, but no, I’m leading a beary healthy life,” he said.
“‘Healthy,’ as in...?” I prompted.
“I never neglect to have three meals a day, take a bath, go to the bathroom, and spend an hour training to keep myself muscular and aesthetic.”
“You’re basically saying that you spend the rest of your time here!”
That’s not too different from a basement-dwelling sweaty tryhard! I thought.
“Well, I don’t really have anything I want to do outside of here, so whatever,” he said.
“With the time and money you have, you could easily get into a relationship.”
Mom probably wants to become a grandmother by now, I thought. I was a high school student until recently, so it was too early for me. As for my elder sister... well... uhh... Anyway, Shu is the closest one to getting married... but from the looks of it, that won’t happen for a while.
An hour passed by as we were talking about this and that.
“Anyway, I have somewhere to go to, so I’ll be leaving now,” Shu said at last.
“Well, all right,” I replied. “See you at the show.”
“Yeah. I’m beary excited to meet your friends.”
And with that, he left.
On the table, there was a considerably large sum of money. Considering the huge reward I’d gotten, I’d planned to be the one to pay for us both, but he’d wanted to show off and had ended up doing it before I’d even gotten the chance. I gladly accepted his generosity.
Also, about 90% of the money we owed was due to Nemesis’s eating. It was quite troubling how the amount she ate seemed to gradually increase. For someone named after a goddess of divine punishment, she sure enjoyed indulging in the deadly sin of gluttony.
“Oh, but you’re wrong there, Ray,” she read my thoughts and said.
“How?” I asked.
“Gluttony refers to the wasting of food through reckless consumption. I, however, savor and enjoy every bite before it becomes a part of my flesh. Thus, I am not a glutton, but a gourmet!”
“All right, that’s fine, then,” I said. “However, let me ask you one thing.”
“Do go ahead.”
“Just how much weight would you gain if it all actually became part of your flesh?”
Talking to girls about their weight isn’t the nicest thing I can do, but seeing your eating habits is kinda troubling.
“Heh, there’s no need to worry,” she said. “I am an Embryo, remember? My shape and weight do not change easily.”
“Riiiight. Ain’t that greaaat.”
“What’s with the sarcasm?!”
Your shape and weight change a lot when you go into your other forms, though.
“So, wait, are all Embryos big eaters or what?” I asked.
“Wrong,” said a voice coming from my side. “Being an Embryo has nothing to do with being a big eater. I’m not one, after all. Nemesis being gluttonous is her own problem. Which is good, since I really wouldn’t like having such a monstrous stomach as part of my base stats.”
“I see,” I murmured. Now that I think about it, despite liking things ridiculously spicy, the Embryo Babi eats normal amounts of food. In all honesty, her blasphemous tastes seem a bit more normal than Nemesis’s big eating —
“...Wait, what?!” I burst out, startled.
“Hm?!” Nemesis added.
“Hellooo,” said the fully white girl now sitting at my side. She was Hugo’s Embryo, Cyco. “The number of plates stacked next to Nemesis is terrifying. I don’t think I could handle even 5% of it,” she said before biting into a pure white no-bake cheesecake.
Her tone was as monotonous and disinterested as the last time I’d heard her speak. It seemed as though she’d been in this establishment for a while now, but despite her appearance standing out so much, I hadn’t noticed her at all.
Was I really that preoccupied with my meal with Shu and Nemesis? I thought.
“You seem confused,” she said. “The secret to this is the fact that I have the Presence Manipulation skill. To a certain extent, I can prevent myself from standing out.”
“Why did you do that, though?” I asked.
“I surprised you, didn’t I?”
“Well, yeah.”
My answer made her put on the most smug and self-satisfied smile before she bit into her cake again.
...Huh? Did she really only want to surprise us?
“As hard to read as always, this girl,” commented Nemesis.
Seriously. Though she was a friend who’d helped in the elimination of the Gouz-Maise Gang, I still had little grasp of what kind of person she was.
“Cyco,” I addressed her. “Is Hugo not with you?”
“He should be here soon,” she answered. “We split up for the search, but I just telepathically told him where we are, so just wait.”
As I was about to ask what they were searching for, I heard the door open and the shop’s bell ring. The one who entered the establishment was a familiar man wearing a militaristic rider suit.
“Greetings, Ray,” he said. “I believe I should thank God for meeting you again, safe and sound.” It was Hugo, acting as exaggerated, affected, and pompous as always.
Man, I’m sure meeting a lot of familiar people today, I thought.
The shop had entered its peak hours, and the more packed it became, the more Masters and foreign-looking people I saw.
“It’s delicious! The wiki was right! The sweets here are great!” a young girl squealed from behind me.
“...I-Io, y-you’re too loud...” one of her friends said.
“Peach tart, 80 points. Shortcake, 76 points. No-bake cheesecake... 95 points.”
Those young girls were getting noisy at the table behind me.
To the left of me, an Arabian-looking man, wearing a turban and everything, was noting something down. “Oh, there’s take-out here. I believe I found my souvenirs for Yumeji and Carl. Though perishable, they will last just fine in an inventory with good preservation ability. As for Albert... I should get him something other than food.”
Then there was a crude-looking group with beastly leather armor and a bunch of macho men in bandanas surrounding a girl in a pirate hat. Clearly, the customers were far more varied today than they had been yesterday. I could only assume that they’d all gathered to watch tonight’s event. And with this shop being in the same city as the arena, even those who didn’t fit in among its usual customers had come to enjoy some sweets.
“This is a pretty popular place, isn’t it?” I said.
“Indeed it is,” nodded Hugo. “Tians and Masters alike recognize it as a great sweets shop.”
“No-bake cheesecake, yogurt mousse, soft serve ice cream... Delicious,” agreed Cyco.
They both seemed quite satisfied with this establishment. Even though it looks like Cyco is only eating white things, for some reason.
Anyway, since Hugo and I had happened to meet up again, I told him about the reward.
“I never would’ve expected the bounty to be that great,” he said. “Truly surprising.”
His reaction was only natural. 80,000,000 was an astonishing amount of money.
“Now, about the split...” I said.
“Like I wrote in my letter, I intend to refuse it... but it doesn’t seem like you will agree to that, will you?”
“Hell no,” I said. Keeping such vast riches for myself was too much for me to handle. “Let’s split it in half.”
“No, I’ll be fine with just a quarter,” Hugo said. “I already refused it once, after all. And even then, it feels too much for me.”
“Really?” I asked. When it came to the Gouz-Maise Gang bounty, all I really deserved was the part for Maise, so I really wanted him to take more.
“You’re selfless and honest to a fault, aren’t you?” said Hugo. “You could’ve chosen to not inform me and keep the money for yourself.”
“Why would I lie to a friend like that?” I asked.
For some reason, my question made Hugo avert his gaze.
What’s wrong? I thought.
“Oh, also, this is something that happened at the knight offices...” I told him that I’d asked the knights to use the treasures the gang had left behind for charity.
“That’s fine by me,” he said. “I would’ve probably done the same.”
Well, that’s a relief, I thought. Just as I figured, he and I share a way of thinking.
“Indeed,” agreed Nemesis. “You two are quite alike.”
We’re both Maiden’s Masters, after all.
With that, the conversation about the bounty was over, and I gave Hugo his share of money.
Good thing none of it got stolen by a Thief or something... I really hope there are none of them in the shop... I thought.
“There, I now have my part of the bounty,” said Hugo. “Thank you. It will make up for the destroyed Marshall II.”
“Oh...? How much are those things, anyway?” I asked.
“10,000,000 lir.”
“T-TEN?!” I yelped.
I had no idea it was so luxurious!
“With special tuning and extras, it can easily go over 20,000,000 lir,” Hugo added. He pointed at the inventory where he’d just put the 20,000,000 lir I’d given him, his eyes still insisting that the Magingear’s destruction wasn’t going into the necessary expenses and that he didn’t actually need any more of the bounty.
“Still, it’s quite an expensive piece of equipment,” said Hugo. “Also, that is the original pricing, exclusive to us clan members of the Triangle of Wisdom. On Dryfe’s standard marketplace, their price is twice as great. That number is doubled or tripled yet again when we’re talking about the machines that have gotten leaked to Caldina.” I had no idea whether I should be more surprised by the immense original pricing or by just how much greater it could grow.
“The pricing is the biggest problem with a Marshall II, and humanoid Magingears in general,” he added. “The machines are generally as strong as Demi-Dragons, yet actual tamed Demi-Dragon monsters cost only about 3,000,000. A striking difference.”
So that’s how much Demi-Dragons cost, eh? I thought. Maybe I should buy one along with a carriage? Then again, I have Silver, so maybe I don’t need it.
“Still, Magingears are not without their advantages,” said Hugo. “For example, they don’t use any minion capacity and can be mass-produced as long as there are materials and funds.”
Anything “Demi-Dragon” was considered to be equivalent to a full party of people with low-rank jobs. Being able to create such things was quite a big deal. I could totally see why they were so costly.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Monsters are living creatures, and you sure as hell can’t produce them just by having the materials and money.”
“...True,” he nodded.
“Also, you said something about Caldina selling them, as well. Can you elaborate?”
“Sure,” he said. “Caldina imports and sells special items from all countries, even if they aren’t actually exporting them. Dryfe’s Magingears, Granvaloa’s ships, Altar’s Tomb Labyrinth drops, Tenchi’s weaponry, Huang He’s and Legendaria’s magic items, etc. Caldina’s main selling point is that, as long as you have the money, you can buy goods from every country. Even your social standing is dependent on how much you’re offering.”
“Money is Everything: the Country,” huh? I thought.
“Due to that, many high-end players with fat wallets move over there... which has resulted in them having the most Superiors out of any country,” Hugo muttered, clearly troubled by what he’d just said.
“‘Most,’ as in...?” I prompted.
“Nine Superiors,” he answered. “The strongest force at any country’s disposal.”
“...Damn, that’s a lot.” The Kingdom of Altar had four, and nine was more than double that number. Thinking about that, I added, “Oh yeah, in the war, Dryfe—”
“Overwhelmed Altar, but was soon invaded by Caldina,” he cut me off and explained. “Dryfe’s Superiors had to leave the front lines to defend against those attacks, allowing Altar to prevail.”
And that was why the kingdom had continued to exist even after a war in which none of its Superiors had participated. Sure, Altar didn’t have enough power to retake the land taken by Dryfe, but still.
“Before the war, there was a large feast in Dryfe to celebrate the inevitable victory, yet the result was so inadequate that the one in charge of the country’s domestic affairs — Prime Minister Vigoma — was at his wits’ end,” said Hugo. “Oh, by the way, Dryfe only has enough funds to buy the help of Masters just one more time. Anything beyond that would cause the economy to crash.”
“You sure you can say that to me?” I asked.
“That’s inside info that’s readily available to Masters as lowly as myself. You see it quite often on online message boards, too. Me revealing it to you doesn’t mean much.”
“Oh, I see...”
“Anyway, to win this war, Dryfe has to either occupy the Kingdom of Altar before Caldina intervenes or merge with the country through peaceful methods.”
Well, the latter case isn’t impossible, considering that the kingdom has been weakened and is certainly not in a good shape to participate in a long-lasting war, I thought.
For better or for worse, Caldina had acted as a stopping force to prevent Dryfe from doing whatever they wanted.
...Still, I wasn’t too fond of them, considering their involvement with the Gouz-Maise Gang.
“Oh, by the way,” Hugo spoke up again. “Caldina was also the reason why Legendaria — Altar’s ally — didn’t participate in the war. Being south of Altar, the country is far from Dryfe while being extremely close to Caldina, which covers the entire desert area in the center of the continent. If Legendaria had sent its Superiors or tians with Superior Jobs to help in the war, Caldina would’ve used the opportunity to take it over. The reason why Caldina interfered in the war was to prevent Dryfe from merging with Altar, thereby stopping our country from gaining the momentum it needed to conquer the entire continent. However, Caldina itself is planning the exact same thing.”
So there are two countries vying for world domination? These sure are turbulent times.
After that, Hugo and I continued exchanging information or just chatting pointlessly for awhile.
“Oh, it’s time,” I said. Before I’d realized it, barely over an hour was left until the event began. I no longer had the time to go shopping at Alejandro’s, so I rescheduled to tomorrow.
“Is something happening?” asked Hugo.
“Yeah, I got my hands on a ticket for the event,” I said. “In the central arena, there’s gonna be a match between Figaro and Huang He’s Xunyu — two Superiors. Do you know about it?”
“I do. In fact, it’s probably what every Master in this city is here for.”
“Are you gonna see it, too?” I asked.
“...You could say that, yes.”
“Oh, we might meet in the arena, then.”
Hugo said nothing. He seemed to be pondering something.
Did I say something strange? I wondered.
“Ray, there’s something I want you to keep in the corner of your mind,” he said before taking a deep breath and continuing. “It’s west.”
“‘It,’ as in...?” I raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant.
“It’s nothing important,” he said. “You know how the fighters in the great arena’s matches enter from the east and west? Well, today’s main deal, the Over Gladiator, Figaro, will go in from the west side.”
“Is that how it works? I’ve never watched a match before, so I didn’t know,” I said, unable to shake the feeling that Hugo was hiding something. “Anyway, I’m going to the arena now.”
“I see,” said Hugo. “Cyco and I will wait a bit longer.”
“All right, then. Guess this is goodbye for now. Oh, should we add each other to our friends lists?” I asked. If we ever had business with each other, knowing whether the other person was online or not could be a great help.
“Not now,” he answered. “Let’s do it next time we meet... or the time after that.”
“Hmm. Well, that’s fine by me.” We seemed to have some sort of bond, so I didn’t doubt that we would meet again.
“Until then, Ray,” he said.
“See you again, Nemesis,” Cyco added.
“Yeah, later, Hugo,” I said.
“Until our paths cross once more, Cyco,” Nemesis added.
“Hey, Hugo. Was it really okay to tell him that?” Cyco asked.
I said nothing.
“Isn’t that what they call ‘leaking information’?” she prodded.
“It might be,” I admitted.
“You don’t want the plan?” she asked.
“...Maybe, maybe not,” I said. “In all honesty, I’m not sure myself.”
“You’re not?”
I shook my head. “I certainly want to help fulfill his desires. If I didn’t, my very existence as Hugo would be meaningless. However, I also cannot ignore women in distress.”
“What an antinomy.”
“Antinomy... that’s a good word for it. I gave Ray the information, but that’s the whole extent of what I did. Whether he acts on it or processes it as idle chatter is of no matter to me. As a piece in the plan, I will only do what I must.”
“Then I will help you do whatever it is you do,” Cyco said.
“Thank you.” I nodded.
Interlude: Before the Festival
Royal capital Altea, State Guest House
In a certain part of the royal capital’s noble district, there was a building meant to accommodate honored guests from foreign lands. One of its rooms currently had three people in it.
The first of them was a bedridden young boy with a mask covering the lower part of his face. The ice pack on his forehead and the occasional coughing made it obvious that he had a condition similar to a cold or flu.
The second person was a young woman standing by the boy’s bed, looking obviously worried. Her thick glasses implied that she was nearsighted, and they made her appear like a fainthearted kind of person.
The third person was abnormally tall, to the point of making someone question whether that individual was actually a person.
The bedroom’s ceiling was high — perhaps surpassing four metels — and yet the creature’s head was almost touching it. Naturally, it was a weird sight, but the other two people didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
The first person was Canglong, third prince of the Huang He Empire. The second was Lan Meihai, Huang He Ambassador. And the third was Master Jiangshi Xunyu, one of Huang He’s Superiors.
Canglong coughed and coughed. “I’m sorry, Master Xunyu,” he managed at last. “I wanted to watch the match and cheer for you, but I’m clearly not in the state for it...”
“It’s fiNe. You just rest till you’re healthy aGain,” said Xunyu in response. “But man, seeing you bedriddEn is just...” The jiangshi heaved a sigh so heavy that the talisman covering the face did nothing to hide it.
“Yes. I find it quite curious, as well...” murmured the prince. “But at the very least, I can be glad that you didn’t get ill, as well.”
Soon after the long trip from Huang He to the Kingdom’s royal capital, Canglong had become part of an Epidemic.
“Epidemic” was a term used to describe any sudden diseases that spread among the weak and strong alike. Masters saw it as an unpatterned, irregular, widespread Infinite Dendrogram event. There were many various Epidemics that covered many large areas, creating sufferers among both Masters and tians. Though some went away with the passage of time, some required special healing methods such as vaccines or healing magic available only to Superior Jobs.
Epidemics completely ignored all stats and resistances. Even high-level Masters would become bedridden or simply log out until the disease went away. They were considered to be natural disasters above human knowledge.
Needless to say, it was quite fortuitous that the current Epidemic was more like the common cold or flu than anything else. However, it was an illness nonetheless. Originally, Canglong had been meant to accompany Xunyu to the Clash of the Superiors and observe the battle, but it was clear that he was in no state to do that. The same applied to the first princess of the kingdom, who’d also succumbed to the Epidemic.
“Oh dear... umm... Your Highness, should I change the ice pack?” asked the woman fretfully. “Or would you like an apple?”
Meihai’s worry about her country’s prince’s condition was needlessly excessive.
“Ambassador, you’ve changed the ice pack five times in the past hour. And I just peeled an apPle for him,” said Xunyu. “Oh yeAh, this country’s queen is sick, too, rigHt? That’s the reason why Cang’s business got postpoNed, isn’t it?”
“M-Master Xunyu!” the ambassador protested. “She’s not the queen, but the first princess!”
“...Whatever. She’s acting as a queen, anYway.”
“She isn’t! There are many differences in a diplomatic setting! First of all...!” Meihai began arguing with — or merely lecturing — Xunyu. Though it made her seem quite childish, she was a member a distinguished family and had a lot of diplomatic skill that made her stand out as an ambassador.
Some might have argued that such behavior didn’t belong in the presence of her country’s prince; however...
“Hee hee. You never change, Mei,” said Canglong before coughing again, clearly not minding her inappropriate behavior.
Though he spoke to her in a highly casual manner, Meihai definitely wasn’t in a respectable enough position to have the prince treat her like that. The reason he did was because Meihai’s mother was Cang’s foster mother, making them foster siblings. That meant that the only ones in the room were those who were close to Cang. The other chamberlains and officials were in a different part of the guest house.
“Master Xunyu,” said Cang and coughed. “Shouldn’t you go to Gideon now...?”
He was looking at the clock hanging in the room. The event would begin in about three hours. Normally, that amount of time was far too small to cover the distance to Gideon, which usually took a whole day and night. However, everyone in the room knew that it wouldn’t be a problem.
“You gonna be saFe?” asked Xunyu.
“You’ve no need to worry,” said Cang. “It’s true that I’m not at my best, but I’m sure I can manage.”
“Don’t be stuPid. You’d be overdoiNg it... Give me your hAnd.”
Cang did as he was told and Xunyu gave him a gem — a Jewel, to be precise.
“Master Xunyu?” he asked.
“It’s a spare Jewel. One of the ones I don’t plan to use in this match.”
“Are you sure you won’t?” the prince asked.
“Duels only allow you to use ones that don’t exceed your caPacity. Take iT,” said Xunyu and made Cang close his hand around the Jewel. Though it was done by the jiangshi’s blade-like claws, the action was strangely gentle, and didn’t put a single scratch on the prince.
“Then I shall take it, Master Xunyu,” said Cang.
“GoOd,” the eccentric nodded in response.
Following that exchange, Xunyu went to the window. After skillfully opening it with those blade-like claws, the jiangshi made them clash.
The resulting high-pitched, metallic sound made one of Cang’s chamberlains hastily run into the room.
“Your Highness! Master Xunyu! What is the matter?!” asked one of them.
“After we leaVe, close the winDow.”
“Excuse me?”
Ignoring the puzzled chamberlain, Xunyu extended one arm to the side — making it reach more than five metels in length — and made the metallic claw wrap around Meihai.
“Eh?” she sounded a voice of confusion.
“Well, ambassAdor, we’re goiNg to Gideon,” said the jiangshi. “Don’t bite your tongue on thE way.”
Then, Xunyu’s body bent...
“Umm, Master Xunyu! I-I’m not quite ready yet, so— AAAAAAaaaaahhhh!”
...and they both disappeared beyond the window, leaving behind only the echo of Meihai’s scream.
A few seconds later, they were on the walls of the noble district, so far from Cang’s room that they looked like ants.
“Goodbye, Master Xunyu and Mei,” the boy said as he raised up his upper body from the bed and waved at them.
The chamberlain had no words for what had just happened, so she did as she was told and simply closed the window.
Thus, the Master Jiangshi Xunyu left the capital and went towards Gideon.
Gideon, City of Duels, ???
The city of Gideon was full of excitement.
With it being the most prosperous town in the Kingdom of Altar, such a mood wasn’t a new thing here. However, the enthusiasm that had enveloped it this evening was on a different level than usual.
The reason for that was the fact that the event happening in the central arena was simply that big.
It was a duel between Superiors — something that had never happened in any duel city anywhere.
People gathered from in and outside of the city and even other countries, and everyone was full of enthusiasm and expectations for the event. It seemed as though all of Gideon was lapsing into delirium with excitement.
However, the town also included someone who shared none of that sentiment.
That person was looking down at Gideon with cold eyes, and that was no exaggeration. After all, he was wearing an Adélie penguin suit. Those cold, man-made eyes made it hard to guess what the person inside was thinking.
However, from the way the person was groaning and holding his head in his right hand, it was clear that he wasn’t in an optimal state of mind.
“Ohh boy... Ohhh man... Ohhhhhhhhh crap...”
After a moment of writhing, he used the Portable Communication Magic Device in his other hand to contact someone.
Two or so minutes passed before that someone answered.
“Ayy there, Your Excellency,” the penguin idly complained to the person on the other side. “There’s been a change of plans. One of my boys in the royal capital contacted me and, well... he said that the first princess won’t be coming.”
The information he was nonchalantly complaining about was a secret that was supposedly only available to a select few officials.
“And when I told it to His Majesty’s people... well, just her, actually, since she’s his contact and all... she actually went, ‘Then we will simply enjoy the fight and the sights here,’” he went on. “Ohhhh man...”
The penguin and the person who’d answered the call had a certain plan. That plan was based on the participation of the first princess and the help of another person.
“Well, yeah, with her being the Imperium’s strongest, her presence changes a lot. Now we’re left without a joker.”
The penguin spoke his complaints in a blatantly sad manner. Sad as his tone was, however, he was still smiling.
“Well, it won’t be a problem. She was a bit too much for this plan, anyway. Even if I don’t have all five of my cards, the other four are more than enough for the job.”
He went on:
“From my clan, there’s me, Veldorbell, and my favorite. Then there are the betrayers... Yes, the ones that want to switch sides to Dryfe. Sure, they don’t want to go to the gaol, so they’ll probably fight only Masters, but that’s more than enough, honestly. Tians without Superior Jobs aren’t a threat... Oh no, I’m definitely not belittling the Imperium’s forces. Still, what we have is good enough for a 90% chance of success.”
The person on the other side seemed to agree with the penguin’s words. However...
“You want the chances of success if there’s a Superior that’s aware of the plan? 50%.” The penguin answered the person’s question without a moment of hesitation.
“Ha ha ha! ‘Won’t it become lower?’ you ask?” The person inside the suit then put on a faint smile...
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”
He spoke with a menacing voice thick with madness and even bloodlust.
“So yeah, the plan’s target will have to be changed, and I’ll have to do some other tweaks, but I’m still going through with it. You just sit there and pray for my success.”
With that, he ended the call.
“No stops from our sponsor, then. Guess the financial situation ain’t the best, so he probably wants it to be over quickly. This means that the plan’s failure would likely lead to us doing it the field marshal’s way...” The man inside the penguin suit chuckled. “Come what may, I say. Though I have no idea how things would proceed if someone tough showed up. What should I try then? How far should I go?”
As he imagined what would happen next, the suited man’s expression changed. It was reminiscent of both an innocent child pouring water or inserting firecrackers into an ant colony, and a cool-headed, calculating adult considering how things could unfold. However, he soon remembered something and reassessed the situation.
Oh, but anyone tough would probably lose to him before I even got the chance to intervene. The penguin remembered the Master he’d brought to the city. It was a person that he knew very well, and a rookie who’d started Infinite Dendrogram no more than a month ago. Though being a Maiden’s Master made him quite special, he was still far from a veteran.
His Embryo is a joker card in its own right. Anyone who’s tough and has a relevant history is at a disadvantage. Honestly, if the situation is right...
“...I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed every Master in Gideon all by himself,” the penguin said.
Despite that Master being a rookie, the penguin had unwavering trust in his powers, and in the results he would bring.
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