Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 3 - Chapter SS3

Side Story: A Day Off in Gideon — Night 
 
Come eventide, the two of us were walking through the dimly-lit streets. 
The way we held hands might’ve made us look like sisters or mother and child, which was quite curious when I considered the fact that my avatar, Marie, was something akin to a daughter of my own. 
As we walked, I chose to take us through a relatively empty alleyway. There were two reasons for that. The first was the fact that it would get us to our destination, Count Gideon’s residence, about ten-odd minutes earlier, while the second was... 
“Stop,” I heard someone say, and I turned around. 
A moment later, I felt something pass through my neck. 
Then — after a momentary shiver — my head, separated from my body, fell to the ground. 
 
Leader of the professional assassin group “The Reaper’s Pinky,” Dead Hand, Roux Diene 
“Target secured,” I said. “The accompanying person is confirmed dead.” 
Within my vision, I could see the now-headless Master woman turn into particles of light and vanish. 
The target, the second princess, had fainted due to the sight before her. 
“Hmph,” I scoffed. “She’s a Master, you know? Not like she’ll die.” 
They were always like that. When driven to death’s door, they just vanished and came back three days later as if it was no big deal. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also had ridiculous powers, Embryos, in their arsenal. It was really bothersome for us that they had their own networks. 
To us, a group that murdered by the request of nobles and other rich people, hunting immortal targets wasn’t worth the trouble, causing us to ignore most such requests. However, in this situation, the fact that a Master was accompanying our target was actually convenient. 
“You have the ‘proof,’ right?” I asked. 
“We’ve recorded her walking through the town alongside the target,” answered one of my subordinates as he took out a crystal used for visual recording. “After we kill the princess, anonymously giving this ‘proof’ to the right people will get her accused of kidnapping and killing the princess. That will get her on every country’s wanted list.” 
Truth Discernment could reveal any fabricated evidence as fake, but what we had was completely legitimate, so there was no need for us to worry on that front. 
The woman had used Illusion to make the princess look different, but that was a skill that only worked on the minds of living things, having no effect on the inorganic. She had also changed her status display by using Disguise, but that was unrelated to our cameras. Not to mention that I — being a skilled Assassin — had high-level Mind’s Eye and Reveal skills, allowing me to see right through such tricks. Mind you, the fact that my low-rank job subordinates hadn’t been able to see through it meant that her skills were very high-level. 
It was a mystery why a mere Journalist had Illusion and Disguise at her disposal, but since those skills weren’t battle-related, it was entirely possible that she’d gotten them from a different job. 
“Killing royalty instantly gets you on all the wanted lists,” I said. “Even if she revives, she’ll be out in the gaol.” 
She’s as good as dead at that point, I thought. 
“This is going well,” said one of my subordinates. 
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We only have to deal with a powerless woman and a child, so this is far easier than anything we originally planned.” 
We’d expected having to fight the Royal Guard or infiltrating the residence to poison her. However, for some reason, she’d gone outside all on her own and even ended up finding us a nice scapegoat. This situation was a windfall if I ever saw one. 
“Marquis Borozel will enjoy this news,” I muttered. 
“Hmmm...? So it wasn’t Count Brittis,” replied someone who wasn’t my subordinate. 
A moment later, the subordinate holding the princess screamed as blood burst out of his limbs. 
First, I realized that his tendons had been severed. 
Then, I saw that the princess was no longer unconscious and that her eyes were wide open. 
Finally, I noticed that she was holding a dagger of a sinister design. 
Thus, I concluded that she wasn’t the princess, but an enemy. 
“Kill her!” I commanded my subordinates, who instantly and simultaneously threw poisoned knives at her. 
However, the enemy bearing the appearance of the princess jumped backwards, moved behind the subordinate who’d lost his tendons, and used him as a shield. All the knives sunk into him and didn’t even give him a moment to scream before he died. 
“What a terrible thing to do,” she said, still holding the corpse. “However, I say that such deaths are a given for fiends trying to kill an innocent child.” 
She then threw the body away and revealed herself, looking completely unlike the princess. 
No longer bright and blonde, her hair had become as black as midnight itself. She was now clad in one of the so-called “men’s suits,” sometimes used in places like Dryfe and Caldina. Despite it being sundown, she also wore a pair of sunglasses. Her stature was completely different, as well, for she was now an adult. 
The only things that were the same about her were the dagger in her hand and the fox mask she wore on the side of her face. 
“I must say, Art of Transformation sure takes a toll on SP when you take the shape of someone with a very different physique,” she said. 
She now had the visage of the Master that we’d beheaded mere moments ago, and the shining crest on the back of her left hand proved that she was the exact same person. 
“You...!” 
“Oh? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 
Why is she alive? I thought stunned. How did she transform? Isn’t she a Journalist? 
As such questions went through my head, I used Reveal to take a look at her stats.

Marie Adler 
Job: Journalist 
Level: 32 (Total Level: 33) 

Sure enough, I could see it. She was a mere Journalist who barely crossed level 30. 
“What is it? It’s rude to stare at people, you know?” she said. 
“Did you come back to life using an Embryo skill?” I demanded. 
It will all make sense if she did, I thought. 
“Why would I need to come back to life if I never died?” 
“Where’s the real princess?” I demanded. “When did you replace her?” 
“Replace her? But I’ve been here from the start, and—” Before she could finish her sentence, a subordinate positioned in one of the buildings to the side of the alley jumped out, got behind her and swung his blade at her neck. The moment it sunk into her body, she became particles of light and vanished. 
At the same time, however, the subordinate who’d attacked her fainted and fell to the ground. 
“And there was no one here but me,” her voice reached my ears. 
It came from the roof of the building the subordinate had jumped out of. 
Looking up, I saw that her appearance had changed yet again. Her body was now shrouded in a dark mist, giving her form a vagueness that made it hard for me to make her out. All I could be certain of was the fact that she wore the fox mask, held a dagger in her left hand, and held a strange pistol in her right. 
“...!” 
Shock filled me as my Reveal skill — still active — gave me completely different results than before.

 ????? 
Job: ????? ?????? 
Level: ??? (Total Level: ???) 

I could no longer see her name, her job, or even get a glimpse of her stats. 
I’d experienced this when I was training to be an Assassin. 
That was how the results looked when my Reveal had a lower skill level than the person’s Disguise. 
However, I was an experienced Dead Hand — a high-rank job from the assassin grouping — and my Reveal skill level had already reached the maximum of 10. 
Is her Disguise above that? I thought. 
“It can’t be,” I muttered, yet I was hardly able to deny what I was seeing. 
Another thing of note was the fact that my Reveal still got the right number of characters. 
“It can’t be,” I repeated to myself, for it just didn’t seem right to me. 
The main job level — not the total level — was in the triple digits. 
At the very least, it was obvious that it wasn’t Journalist, for that was a low-rank job with a maximum level of 50. 
The job and low stats I’d seen before were merely the result of Disguise or a similar skill, while this was her true form. The triple digits in her job could only mean two things — that she’d also reached the maximum on a high-rank job, or... 
“What... What are you?!” I howled. 
My question made her form a callous smile, making it seem as though she’d been waiting for it. 
“‘I am a shade,’” she spoke, each word thick with emotion. “‘I am the reflection of all the wrongs you’ve committed — the mortal phantasm sent to pull you into the darkness...’” 
Her tone didn’t have any of the ridicule from before. It was cold and theatrical in delivery. 
“‘Into the Shadow,’” she went on with emphasis and grandeur, spreading her arms to the sides as if she stood before an audience. 
“Credit for those words goes to Chapter 1 of Nagisa Ichimiya’s hit man superpower battle manga, Into the Shadow,” she added, making as little sense as before, as her tone did a complete turnaround and returned to normal. 
The fact that her stats were still Disguised and that she’d just killed my subordinates didn’t change. Me and the rest of the subordinates still standing were intently observing her every single move. 
“U-UWAAHHH!” screamed the new guy in our midst as he dashed towards her, unable to bear the pressure. It was a foolish thing to do, but if his sacrifice gave us an opening, then it would be worth it. 
Not saying a word, the woman moved only her hand. With a snap of the wrist, she emptied the chambers on her revolver-like gun and loaded it with white and black bullets before pulling the trigger. 
The muzzle was pointed in a completely irrelevant direction, but... 
“GERGHGHGHGHGHGHGH!” 
...what came out of it was a black and white, bullet-like creature that sounded a strange voice as it left the gun, changed its trajectory in an impossible manner. It sunk into the new guy’s body. 
Without as much as a groan, he collapsed to the ground and became unable to move a finger. 
It was as if he’d been completely paralyzed. 
Though alive, there was nothing he could do. 
The woman had done this with barely any effort — by merely moving her hand. 
“What’s wrong?” she asked while looking down on us. “Getting cold feet? Cold sweat? Heartbeat too fast? About to break?” Her eyes were hidden behind both the mist and the sunglasses. “Is that how you become when facing something other than ‘powerless women and children’?” 
I could tell that the light in her gaze was still cold. 
“I’m probably not one to talk, though,” she said as she sighed. “When attacked by the land-warship, all I could do was run away. It was scary, and even though I was still in Dendro, I felt as though I could actually be killed... Yes, even I’m afraid of strong enemies.” 
Even as she spoke of something that had scared her, her expression didn’t show a hint of fear. She was merely looking down on us, her gaze dense with coldness. 
“That’s why...” she continued. “...I’m only good at cleaning up ‘powerless assassins’ like you.” 
Following that proclamation, she made her move. 
We tried to stop whatever she was doing, but the mist shrouding her concealed all her actions. A few of my subordinates threw knives at her again, but they all got deflected. Then, from behind the mist, she threw something in our direction. 
It was an orb with a fuse on it — a bomb. 
We tried distancing ourselves from it, but the fuse burned up far too quickly, blowing up and covering a part of the alley with an intense burst of... smoke. 
It didn’t take long for me to realize that it wasn’t even a harmful kind. 
“Don’t panic! It’s just a Smokebomb!” 
Realizing that she might’ve used our reduced vision to kill us, we began to look around for her. I noticed her soon enough, but she instantly hid herself within the smoke. Thinking that she was using this smokescreen to get away from us, I got ready to do what I had to. However, a moment later, five silhouettes walked out of the smoke, all looking exactly like the woman. 
Naturally, I was overcome with shock. 
An Illusion...? No, this is above that! I thought. 
“Get rid of the fakes! Throw!” I shouted my orders to my subordinates. 
“Throw!” they said as they showered the five figures with throwing weapons. 
It didn’t matter if they aimed well. The knives would simply pass through the fakes, while the real one would block it. That would help us determine which one we had to focus on. 
However, the result was completely unlike what I’d expected. Each and every one of the five figures moved in different ways to deflect all the throwing weapons heading in their direction. 
“They... They’re all real?!” I couldn’t hold my surprise. 
“Sadly for you, my Shadow Clone Technique creates corporeal bodies,” she said. 
Shadow Clone Technique?! I thought, shocked yet again. That was the name of a skill used by a Tenchi-exclusive job — Ninja. 
So when she took the form of the princess, she... I see! So she’s...! 
“Ugaah...!” I heard my subordinates begin to panic, clearly because they couldn’t tell which one was real. 
The skill had created four clones that had the exact same presence as the original, making it difficult to tell which was the real one. Naturally, my subordinates were afraid of the person capable of this. 
However, I was the only one who knew that her level was in the triple digits. If they were to find that out, their fear would become so great, it would hamper their ability to act. If that were to happen, I’d no longer have any chance of winning. 
“Don’t falter!” I shouted. “We have the numbers! Go two-on-one!” 
“Understood!” they shouted as they charged at the clones. 
A pair for each of them. 
If logic applied, clones were weaker than the original. My subordinates should have a chance if they took advantage of their numbers. 
Also, having them occupied like this gave me more options. 
Or so I thought... 
“Their levels sure are low,” said one clone. 
“Truly,” agreed another. 
“They don’t require many of our tricks.” 
“Let’s refrain from using Arc-en-Ciel, then, shall we?” 
“Roger.” 
Even while fighting in pairs, they were still at a disadvantage against the clones. In fact, some had already lost their partner. Though supposedly weaker than the original, the clones were surpassing pairs of Assassins with a grasp of the trade’s techniques. 
Unlike me, they didn’t have the high-rank job of Dead Hand, but they were capable Assassins nonetheless. And yet, they were getting disposed of so easily... 
“Most people think that the biggest difference an Embryo makes are its unique skills,” a clone spoke up. “I believe that to be both right and wrong. After all, even tians can have special skills if they get a UBM special reward.” 
Another clone picked up from there. “If you ask me, the biggest difference is their bonus to stats... and growth in general.” 
The third clone said, “The Embryo bonuses are what make Masters level up quickly and give us better stats. We’re also immortal, so we can safely push limits tians can’t. That creates a world of difference between the efficiencies of our growths.” 
A fourth one added, “That difference is great enough to have my three years here surpass your whole decades.” 
Three years? She acquired these monstrous abilities in a mere three years? I thought in disbelief. 
“That’s like a sick joke,” I said. “If that’s true, then to you Masters, all our training is nothing but fool’s masonry!” 
“Fool’s masonry... that’s an Altarian proverb, isn’t it?” one of the clones responded. “It’s based on the story of a man who tried to build a sky-reaching tower by hand, and it ends with it collapsing on him.” 
“But there are people who can build towers by hand, right?” another added. “Just like there are tians who have Superior Jobs.” 
“However, following that example, we Masters are building towers with heavy machinery,” a third clone said. 
They had basically said that there was a world of difference between us. 
Many people equated Embryos with “talent” and “possibility,” and the unfairness of it all made me grit my teeth in frustration. I just couldn’t accept it. Ever since I was young, I’d been training with the organization to hone myself as an assassin, and it had taken me decades to become a Dead Hand. Due to that, I simply couldn’t accept just how unreasonable Masters were. 
A world where that woman was above me was a mistake. 
I reached into my inventory and took out my secret weapon: a “Gem — Crimson Sphere.” Just as it said in the name, it was a Gem which held the high-rank job of Pyromancer’s ultimate spell, Crimson Sphere. 
Its range wasn’t particularly great, but its power was immense. 
As things were, I would have no trouble having it hit that woman. 
After all, my subordinates — the fools who had been able to do nothing against the clones even while in pairs — had been able to somehow able to keep them in place. 
“Die,” I said as I threw the Gem. It exploded right in the middle of the battle between the clones and my subordinates, covering it all in crimson. 
There was no sound or explosion. There was only a crimson light and a heat that burned them all to nothing. 
The woman, her clones, the subordinates fighting them, and the ones who were no longer capable of fighting all got engulfed in the light. A moment after I saw the shock in those guys’ expressions, the skin on their faces became blackened ash, and their bones were soon to follow. 
“Look at that... You useless shits were able to be useful, after all,” I muttered. The crimson light also took out the woman and her four clones. 
“Hmph,” I scoffed. “So, just like Masters, clones become light when they die.” With that, it was clear what had happened when we’d decapitated her the first time. 
I stood around and watched them completely disappear. All that was left was to leave, find the second princess, and eliminate her. 
“That woman sure was a pain,” I muttered. “Covering the unexpected losses here will cost me a lot. I guess I shouldn’t expect less from a Ninja — the eastern mystery high-rank job. Not like it matters now. She’s the princess killer and she’s going straight to the gaol. Hahahahah.” 
Entirely pleased with myself, I had my first laugh in a while as I played with the recording crystal containing the “proof.” 
A second later, I felt something cold sink into my back. 
“Ah, wha—?” I voiced my confusion as the crystal fell out of my hands, shattered, and rang out with a high pitch. Looking down, I saw the blade of a dagger piercing out of my chest. 
“Caught you off-guard, didn’t I?” 
I shifted my gaze forward, where I saw the very same five women that had vanished just a moment ago. 
“You seem to have been misinformed about Ninjas. Allow me to correct you on two things,” said one of them. 
“One — Ninja is a low-rank job,” a second one said. “The high-rank job would be Greater Ninja.” 
“First supplemental point: though ‘shinobi’ covers it all, there are different job groupings for different styles. Specifically, the ninja and onmitsu groupings.” 
“Second supplemental point: the ninja grouping’s Ninja and Greater Ninja are for those who use the flashy ninja arts, like the ones that foreigners imagine them using.” 
“Third supplemental point: my job is one that grew from the onmitsu grouping, which gets the job done through hiding, sneaking, and confusion.” 
“And two — I’m not using a high-rank job.” 
Those last words were whispered to me by a sixth clone. 
“Huh...? Gh...?” Bloody bubbles escaped my mouth as I turned around. There, I saw a mist-shrouded woman wearing sunglasses and a fox mask. 
“Yes,” she said. “I’m the real one. After making the smokescreen, I used Hidden Technique alongside Shadow Clone Technique to nullify my presence. Oh, and though you destroyed all my clones, I can easily make more by using the skill again, as you can clearly see.” 
She removed the dagger, causing me to fall to the ground. As I was lying there, the five clones and the woman all looked down at me. 
There was a very clear difference between the woman and her clones. I couldn’t feel her presence. Though she was right there before me, my five senses were denying her existence. 
She had created several clones that had a physical presence while simultaneously nullifying her own presence. 
How is that even possible...? I thought in disbelief. 
“I hold the onmitsu grouping’s Superior Job, ‘Death Shadow,’” she said. “But you can call me the Superior Killer. I’m not revealing this as a parting gift, but that’s what I am.” 
“A Superior Job... the Superior Killer...?!” 
Superior Jobs were the ones above high-rank — the greatest of jobs. And “Superior Killer” was the nickname of the contract killer who, despite not having a Superior Embryo himself, had killed the Superior infamous for being “the greatest tian murderer of all time.” It was the alias of the person who could kill Superiors — the ultimate hitman. 
“O-Ooaagh...” I groaned, and not because of the pain. This girl, while being far younger than me, had surpassed me and all my years of assassin training, going far ahead into a realm meant for only a select few. 
In terms of jobs and as a professional killer, she stood at a summit I couldn’t hope to reach. That realization filled me with shock and emotion far greater than before. 
“How... How can reality be so cruel...?” I muttered as the tears I’d thought had run dry began flowing out of my eyes. 
“‘Cruel,’ you say?” she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “You’re a Dead Hand, right? That’s a job you can only take after killing a certain number of people, isn’t it? You tried to murder Ellie, and even sacrificed your subordinates as if it was nothing. You’ve turned so many people into lifeless corpses, and yet you’re here crying after running into a little wall. That’s really low, if you ask me.” As she looked down at me, I looked up into her eyes. All I saw there was contempt. She wasn’t just looking down on me; she seemed to feel the same scorn she would when looking at the usual problematic city-dweller. 
I found that both humiliating and hard to stomach. 
But if she just kills me, those feelings will go away, and... 
“Anyway, I have to go pick up Ellie,” she said while turning around, showing no intention to finish me off. “I put her to sleep and hid her, after all. Can’t keep her like that.” 
“Ki—” 
“No, I won’t kill you. It would be a silly waste of effort.” She made the clones vanish and began walking away. 
At first, I didn’t understand what she said. 
A few moments had to pass until I completely processed her words, and their meaning made me burn with more rage than at any other moment in this encounter. 
I won’t let her get away. 
Carefully, to make sure she didn’t notice, I reached into my inventory and took out an item. It was a Gem — Crimson Sphere, just like the one I’d used before. 
I bet you weren’t expecting me to have two of these, I thought. 
I quickly activated the Gem and got ready to throw it, fully intent on reducing her to ash. Then I would search for the second princess and kill her, too, making sure to make her death was as gruesome as possible. That would take care of the request, but I could no longer care about that. 
The woman, so far above me, had looked at me with those contemptuous eyes. That made me want to reduce whatever she so wanted to protect to scrap. 
I can’t wait to see her face when she revives and realizes that the princess is dead, I thought, picturing the most amusing future as I threw the gem, and... 
I threw it, and... 
“...!” 
Shock overcame me as I realized that I couldn’t move. 
“...?! ...” I tried to talk, but not even my tongue functioned. 
How? I wasn’t shot like the new guy, I thought. 
“Oh, I forgot to say,” the woman said calmly without turning around. “Like you saw before, one of the bullet types for my Arc-en-Ciel are paralyzing bullets, but I can actually do a similar thing with this.” 
Still facing away, she pulled out a dagger and held it so I could see it. That was the very same item that’d pierced me. 
“A skill on this dagger allows me to cover the blade with slow-acting paralysis poison,” she explained. “This thing is called ‘Palsy Stingblade, Belspan.’ That skill you’ve been hit with is actually from an Epic special reward, so — even though you’re a high-rank job — its effects might be hard for you to resist.” 
Wh... What? 
“I did say that killing you would be a waste of effort, but that didn’t mean that I could let you act as you pleased. If you hadn’t done anything stupid, you would’ve just stayed there for a day or two until the authorities found and took you away.” She suddenly changed her tone. “I repeat — if you hadn’t done anything stupid.” 
In my hand, I held an already-activated Gem. 
“H-hhhhh...!” I tried to scream, but only a whisper leaked from my mouth. 
As I watched the woman casually wave goodbye to me — not even bothering to turn around — I was engulfed by my point-blank Crimson Sphere. 
 

Second princess of the Kingdom of Altar, Elizabeth S. Altar 
When I came to, Marie was giving me a piggyback ride. A moment ago, it had been evening, but now, the sun had completely sunk. 
“Oh, are you awake?” asked Marie. 
“Yes,” I nodded. “Why am I being carried like this?” 
“You got tired and fell asleep. It was a hectic day, after all.” 
She was probably right. This was the first time I’d ever played this much. 
“We’re almost at Count Gideon’s residence,” she said. 
“Let me walk on my own feet, then,” I said. “Piggyback rides don’t befit a princess.” 
“Very well.” 
Though I’d enjoyed the ride, I didn’t hesitate to get off her back and stand by myself. Count Gideon’s residence was already in sight. 
“This is far enough,” I told her. “I can walk the rest of the way by myself.” 
“That’s good,” Marie smiled. “The guards would probably interrogate me if I got any closer.” 
“Marie,” I said while gathering my resolve. “Thank you.” 
My memory told me that this was the first time I’d ever used those words. During my life, I had never been given a chance to express such simple gratitude to anyone. 
“You’re welcome.” Marie gave me a smile as she took off the fox mask — that she was wearing herself, for reasons unknown — and put it on me. “This day will be one of my good memories in this world. Let’s meet again someday, shall we?” 
“Certainly! We... We shall meet again someday!” 
And so, my day off in Gideon — a day I will never forget — finally reached its end. 
Once I returned to the Count’s residence, I got yelled at by a very, very angry Liliana. However, when I saw the tears in her eyes, the person I was now could easily tell that she was very worried about me. 
“I’m sorry,” I said, which made her look strangely surprised. 
If today had made me different, that was surely thanks to Marie. I now had a very clear goal — to walk the streets of Gideon alongside my sisters Altimia and Theresia. 
To achieve that, I first had to take care of the mountains of duties I’d neglected. 
 
Kingdom of Altar’s Count, Alzar Brittis 
In the dead of night, I was doing work in the royal palace’s archives. 
I’ve been doing nothing but putting documents and numbers in order ever since I’d relinquished my territory after the war half a year ago. That was my job these days. 
Compared to running a territory, the tasks I’d been given were by no means difficult, so despite not having any experience, I had little trouble doing them. However, this day in particular, I seemed to have overworked myself. 
The light helping me work so late was made by a magic item that didn’t use any fuel, but even if it wasn’t a waste to keep it on, it was a good time to end it for the day. 
As that thought went through my mind... 
“Count Alzar Brittis.” 
...someone addressed me. 
I looked to where the voice came from and saw a woman. She was wearing a black suit and — despite us being indoors — had sunglasses on her face, making her look questionable. Most would’ve assumed her to be an assassin sent to kill me, but I didn’t believe that to be the case. 
“I want to talk about Ellie... Her Highness Elizabeth... and what happened in duel city Gideon,” she said. 
“I’m listening, dear guest,” I replied. 
Thus, she began telling me about the day’s events. 
The second princess had run away from where she was staying. She’d encountered street ruffians and then met the woman before me. Together, they’d walked around enjoying whatever Gideon had to offer. And finally, the woman had fought assassins that had been hired by another noble, one who’d probably wanted the rights to Gideon and the surrounding lands. 
“So that’s what happened...” I said. 
What a curious turn of events, I thought. 
“At first, I thought that you were the one behind it all,” said the woman. “Everything from her escape to the assassins.” 
“Why did you come to such a conclusion?” I asked. 
“You were the ruler of the Brittis County, and it’s well-known that you had a bad relationship with the previous Count Gideon — whose territory is right next to Brittis.” she explained. “Also... in the war half a year ago, you lost your heir — your one and only son.” Correct. All of that was nothing but the truth. 
“Your son was fifteen years old at the time. Being of age, he was sent to the war as one of the kingdom’s nobles,” she went on. 
Indeed. My son had participated in the war and lost his life. 
“What went through your mind back then?” she asked. Though she was wearing sunglasses, I could feel her staring directly at me. “Unlike your son, the son of the current Count Gideon didn’t participate in the war because he wasn’t of age. As a result, the one that died was just the military officer that represented him. And thus, while Count Brittis lost both his heir and territory, Count Gideon continued into the next generation, ruling the most prosperous region in the kingdom. What did you make of this situation?” 
She stopped for a moment, then took a breath before continuing. 
“‘Count Gideon is blessed with a prosperous territory and has a son he can bequeath its future to. I also gave my all for the sake of the kingdom. Why, then? Why am I the only one who lost everything?!’” 
As if standing before a theater audience, she spoke those highly familiar words that I had said many times. 
“Not many people could blame you for thinking that,” she added. 
“You talk as though you’ve seen me say that,” I said. “We haven’t even met before.” 
“That phrase is merely the result of the personality picture I’ve formed based on the information at my disposal.” 
I see. That’s some impressive imagination, I thought. 
The words she had spoken were more or less the same as mine. Indeed, there was a time when I’d thought those things and lamented in a similar manner while closed in my personal quarters. 
It all made sense. That line of thought was more than enough to conclude that I had been the one behind the plot. 
“That’s correct,” I admitted. “I was angry with everyone. The royal family, especially that foolish king, started the war that took away my dear son. The Royal Guard, despite being right next to him, failed to protect anything. And even though I went through such loss, Gideon still had everything... That made them all targets of my rage.” 
That was why I had begun plotting revenge, which consisted of... 
“However,” said the woman, “you were aware that those feelings of yours were unreasonable. A part of you thought that it was a mistake to direct your grudge at them.” 
Oh, so you can see that much? I thought. 
“Am I wrong?” she asked in confirmation. 
Out of all the ways I could’ve responded, I chose to be direct about how I felt. 
“I was considering revenge against the royal family, the Royal Guard, and Count Gideon,” I admitted. “However, just as you say, I knew that my grudge was misplaced.” 
Still, I had felt that I had to do something. My chagrin was far too great to let me stop. 
“Thus, I chose to leave it all to the hand of fate,” I continued. 
“I can tell. That was why your plot had those intentional holes,” she said as she put up three fingers. “Three main points. First, there was the question if telling Ellie about the greatness of Gideon would really get her to escape and abandon her duties. Second, it was a test to see if the Royal Guard was really incapable of doing what they had to when faced with such incidents. And third, there was the question of whether Count Gideon’s city was safe enough for a girl like Ellie to walk around in all by herself. If they behaved in a way that cleared at least one of these three, they — just like you — would merely have been doing their duties to the best of their ability, which would mean that all the misfortunes you’ve faced were only your own fault. That’s what you were thinking, correct?” 
Correct. 
I had talked to Her Highness Elizabeth, the most brazen of the three princesses, and given her an idealized image of Gideon. 
Then I had intentionally provided the Royal Guard with the wrong documents — ones that would get in the way of their protection duties. 
Those two acts had increased the chances of the princess escaping the residence, and that was the extent of what I had done. 
“The only problems would’ve occurred if there were failures on all three points,” said the woman. “If Ellie — a part of the royal family — got hurt, it would’ve been the responsibility of both the Royal Guard and Count Gideon, and your revenge would’ve been complete.” 
I had let fate show me whether my grudge was misplaced or if there was anything more to it. 
“It’s hard to call this a plan, and I don’t quite believe that it would’ve been their fault even if it went through... still, it was quite close,” she said. 
“But it didn’t happen, yes?” I asked. 
“Indeed. To the royal family, the Royal Guard, Count Gideon... and to Ellie herself, this is merely a case of ‘the whimsical princess ran away and enjoyed a day in Gideon.’ That’s it.” 
“Thank you,” I said in gratitude before I even realized it. 
“For what?” she asked. 
I had said the words without even thinking, so even I didn’t know how to answer that. However, after a bit of consideration, I decided that words of thanks really were the most appropriate here. 
“Thanks to you fortunately being there to save Her Highness’s life, I have finally reached a conclusion.” The things that had happened during this incident had given me the ultimate answer. “I... I was merely unlucky.” 
The death of my son, the poor state of my lands... it all boiled down to that word. 
No one in the kingdom was at fault. The cause of it all didn’t lie with anyone else. I had merely been unlucky. 
“I can’t resent anyone for these results. My son went to war and was merely unlucky enough to die, while my lands unfortunately caught a plague. No one is at fault here... and yet, unable to see that, I went and did something truly unjust.” 
“Indeed,” said the woman. “I also have a thing or two to say about you using Ellie’s life as a pair of dice.” 
And she was right to feel that way, for — though indirectly — I had tried to hurt Her Highness Elizabeth. Brazen as she was, the second princess was a very gentle young lady. 
I can’t believe I used her as a touchstone, I thought in self-disgust. 
“However, again, this incident is nothing but ‘the princess ran away,’” said the woman. 
Thus, no one would be blamed for this. Her Highness Elizabeth would get scolded, but that was the extent of it. 
“But then...” I began. 
“If you feel guilty,” she cut my words short, “work hard enough to make it up to her. Starting with this.” 
Saying that, the woman gave me three bundles of documents. 
“What is this?” I asked. 
“I’ve gathered the proof and records of the injustices committed by Marquis Borozel — the one who sent assassins after Ellie,” she answered. “Just say that you found it while organizing your documents or something and get him the punishment he deserves.” 
Naturally, I was surprised, for the files she’d given me were like the ones found in a noble’s most secretive safe. Apparently, after protecting the princess, she had gone straight into Marquis Borozel’s territory, taken these documents, and then returned here to the capital. 
“Anyway, my job here is done, so I’ll take my leave,” she said. 
“Wait,” I called out. “Just who are you?” 
My question made her form a smile. 
“I’m just a passing Journalist,” she answered as she disappeared like mist in the wind or shadow in sunlight. 
 
Journalist/Death Shadow, Marie Adler 
The day after the one I’d spent with Ellie, I was sitting in a terrace seat at one of the more popular cafés here in Gideon. 
“...I’m sooo tired,” I muttered. 
The reason for that was obvious — I was still drained from all that I’d done yesterday. 
Ticket acquisition, the date with Ellie, taking care of the assassins sent after her, getting dirt on the main offender, Marquis Borozel, and then talking to Count Brittis... all of that had happened in a single day. The latter three had been after sundown, too. 
Sure, I had a Superior Job, and yes, my total level was above 500. Though my stats didn’t match those of Superior Jobs focused purely on fighting, they were extremely high nonetheless. My AGI was in the quintuple digits, and I could move at the speed of sound, making me a particularly super woman, if you’ll pardon the joke. 
However, HP and energy were different things, plus MP and SP had no connection to mental fatigue. I was so sleepy. 
However, I couldn’t let the Sandman take me, for it was the day of the long-awaited event known only as “The Clash of the Superiors.” I had to wait for Ray and Rook, too, which was all the more reason why I couldn’t sleep. 
“Ray, huh...?” I murmured. 
That was the name of the young man I’d met at Noz Forest, where I had been doing my work as a professional killer. 
I was a roleplayer taking the role of Marie — the protagonist of my hitman superpower battle manga. To get properly immersed in her as a character, I simply couldn’t do without the act of murdering people as a professional killer. 
However, tians — just like living people — were intelligent beings. Due to that, I was wholly averse to the idea of killing them. Although ones like the assassins from yesterday were exceptions. 
Anyway, that was why I’d chosen to become a professional killer focused solely on Masters — who didn’t die even if they were killed. Unlike tians, they revived, and their lives would never be in any real danger. I had no problems killing them for my roleplaying purposes. 
With that in mind, I’d spent my time in Tenchi taking and training in jobs from the onmitsu grouping, such as Onmitsu and Shadow. Eventually, I’d gotten the Superior Job of Death Shadow, and become a professional killer focused solely on PK. 
I had chosen the onmitsu grouping’s jobs because my manga’s Marie had a similar fighting style to them, often using transformation and clones in her battles. 
My success rate was very high, and the processes I went through to get my targets helped me learn to draw methods of assassination I had never thought of before. Being a professional killer was a valuable experience for both Dendro and my real life. 
Once, my target had been the King of Plagues — a Superior who’d gotten on all wanted lists for indiscriminately killing tens of thousands of tians. The battle had been so grueling that I’d thought I was gonna die for real, but I had somehow been able to defeat him and send him to the gaol. 
My most recent job had been the newbie PK hunt at Noz Forest. 
I didn’t know who’d requested it, but I’d been presented with a sizable sum of money for it. Though I’d been averse to the idea of indiscriminately killing almost nothing but newbies, the fact that I hadn’t done such assassinations before had greatly intrigued me. Also, I had recalled that Into the Shadow had an event where apprentice assassins of a certain organization were one-sidedly massacred, which had made me think that this might help me revitalize the Marie that was lying dormant inside me. 
Thus, I’d accepted the job, entered Noz Forest, and started killing all the Masters there, among which was Ray. 
I found him to be quite interesting. Despite being a newbie, he’d been able to survive the first of my Embryo’s attacks. Then he’d gone on to block the second one, and had still had the willpower to deflect the third. 
In the end, I’d used bullet creatures made from a mix of Black Pursuit and Blue Dispersion to finally give him the death penalty, but what mattered weren’t the results. 
The important thing here was the expressions and emotions he’d displayed. 
While struggling against the death penalty, he was alive. 
Well, of course he was. That applied to me, as well, but that wasn’t a big deal. 
What I meant by that was the fact that he was giving his all to survive here in Infinite Dendrogram. 
I didn’t know whether he was aware of it or not, but he was actually doing his best to stay alive in this game. 
Some players who had played as long as me became like that due to spending lots of time here. There were also people — like the cultists — who didn’t think it was a game from the moment they entered here. 
However, he was neither. Despite being a beginner — a rookie — he was more serious about living here than most of the countless players I’d encountered. 
That fact had greatly intrigued me, making me believe that watching him would help me discover what I was missing and perhaps even revitalize the Marie sleeping within me. Eventually, after I figured he’d most likely revived, I had started looking for him. 
In the process, I had gone through a ridiculous encounter with a battleship-riding furball — the King of Destruction — which had resulted in the complete immolation of Noz Forest. 
I had survived that predicament, and I’d soon found Ray and his Embryo, Nemesis, talking to another newbie, Rook. Not missing the opportunity, I had pretended to be a passerby and ended up becoming a member of their party. 
By the way, my job back then had always been Death Shadow. 
The onmitsu grouping had a passive skill known as “Onmitsu Conceal.” While having an onmitsu grouping job as my main one, it made the job display remove all the onmitsu grouping jobs and replaced the main job with the non-onmitsu job that had the highest level. 
That was why the only jobs that showed up for others were Journalist and one other, while the stats appeared lowered, as well. I could choose to turn it off for my party members, but since I was kinda infiltrating Ray’s party, I didn’t do it. 
Due to that, the Journalist passive skill “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword” gave me a bit of a problem. 
Normally, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, for it would’ve activated the moment I switched to being a Journalist. However, switching my job to one outside the onmitsu grouping would’ve disabled the effect hiding my total level, which was something I definitely didn’t want. Thus, I’d stayed a Death Shadow and opted to fake the skill’s effect by secretly using items that increased EXP gain for a certain amount of time. 
It was hard on my wallet, though — 100,000 lir for every 30 minutes. Still, I believed that I had to bite the bullet and just bear having to make these expenses. 
...After all, I’d made quite a lot of money from the newbie hunt. 
Looking back, though I felt quite guilty about it and thought that I shouldn’t have done it, the fact that I wouldn’t have found Ray if I hadn’t made it a bit complicated. 
As our party had gathered and traveled to Gideon, we’d gotten involved in the battle against the goblin horde and their leader — The Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda. 
Gardranda had been a very strong UBM. 
UBMs all had something talent-like to them. While Gardranda had a lower level than the two UBMs I’d defeated, I had felt that its latent abilities were not to be trifled with. 
Its level might’ve been low, but it was still a far stronger creature than the newbies Ray and Rook. 
Normally, even Epic-tier UBMs required Masters with high-rank Embryos at their disposal, and even then, their chances of victory would be only about 50%. When facing such creatures, incomplete parties of Masters with low-rank Embryos simply had no chance — no possibility. 
Victory could’ve been ours if I’d taken off my disguises and gone all-out, but I’d chosen not to do that. Sure, doing so would’ve revealed who I was, but that definitely wasn’t the primary reason for that. I had wanted to see... to observe how Ray acted in a situation similar to the one in the forest — when faced with a being far stronger than himself. 
Thus, I had limited myself only to things that didn’t go beyond the capabilities of a Journalist, making sure not to sully the purity of the actions he took. 
He had ended up breaking all my predictions and expectations. 
He hadn’t run away. 
He hadn’t abandoned people — even if they were tians. 
Even when beaten by a power far greater than himself and even when his plans had fallen apart, he had never given up. 
Until the very end, he had searched for possibilities and seized the one leading to victory against Gardranda. 
Sure, I’d helped him out at the very end, but that was a triviality. Having given his all and used everything at his disposal, Ray had won against Gardranda. The instant I’d seen him stand victorious had actually made my heart throb. 
He was as alive in Infinite Dendrogram as he was in the real world. 
At that moment, I’d concluded that I wanted to see more of him. As a Journalist, as a manga artist, as Marie, and as myself, I wanted to observe him. 
“I’m using the word ‘observe,’ but it’s more that I merely grew fond of him,” I said to myself. In all honesty, I wanted to reveal what I was and apologize for killing him. I wished for us to become friends. 
However... 
“...Ray and Nemesis’s current goal is to find and defeat me.” 
On the way to Gideon and during the party we’d held once we’d arrived, he’d told us of his first death penalty and his intention to win against the one responsible — me. Listening to him had made beads of cold sweat form on my back. 
“Revealing myself would probably hamper their determination... and I really don’t want their motivation to go down...” Nemesis’s reaction when she’d believed that I’d been defeated by the King of Destruction made it obvious that they were quite fired up about the prospect of revenge against me. Also, more importantly, I found that Ray was coolest when he gave his all to break through whatever was happening right before his eyes. 
Thus, I chose not to interfere with their immediate goal and decided to wait until they became stronger. Then I would appear before them as a mysterious PK, and — just as they desired — face them with all I had. 
As such thoughts raced through my mind, I saw the two I was thinking of approaching. 
I waved my hand at the now-familiar Master and his Embryo — the people that had me so enchanted. 
[MARIE STORY, END.]