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Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 4 - Chapter 8




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Bonus Short Stories 
A certain day of a certain month, a certain place in Tenchi 


“Hmm... What should I do about this?” 
That day, Marie was sitting at her table in her private quarters, very concerned about something. 
She had yet to acquire Death Shadow, the Superior Job of the onmitsu grouping. She was still just a high-rank job, Shadow. 
Marie currently lived in a ninja village and spent her days going through “training” quests. To get fully immersed into her role as Marie Adler, the protagonist of her work, she needed to acquire the necessary ninja-like skills. 
The thing that had her concerned was a particular skill. 
It wasn’t any of the onmitsu grouping’s job skills. What bothered her was the new skill she’d acquired on her Embryo, Arc-en-Ciel. 
She murmured, “‘Phantasmal Raingun — Arc-en-Ciel...’ what it does is very clear, but...” 
Arc-en-Ciel’s ultimate skill was an enhancement of its basic ability — the creation and firing of bullet creatures. With it, her shots could become significantly more powerful. 
That wasn’t all. Marie could also draw the bullets using any of her paints to control the abilities of the output bullet creatures, which made it a highly versatile skill, albeit a bit costly. 
“But... Hmm...” 
The skill itself wasn’t bad at all, but Marie was concerned that it didn’t suit Marie Adler. 
The Marie Adler that she’d portrayed in Into the Shadow was a so-called finesse-based professional killer who could match the abnormal killers with superpowers thanks to her wisdom and technique. 
However, having a skill like Phantasmal Raingun in her arsenal brought her into the same realm as the abnormal killers. She’d already thought that the gun firing standard bullet creatures was a bit iffy, but she’d been able to convince herself that it was a replacement for the gun Marie used in Into the Shadow. But alas, she couldn’t find any such excuses for the ultimate skill. 
“I can see that it’s strong, but I feel like using it will make the Marie within me less... clear.” 
Instead of using her role-playing tone, Marie spoke her worries as herself, Nagisa Ichimiya. 
“I’d never have to worry about something like this if I roleplayed Daisy.” 
Daisy, AKA “Daisy Scarlet the Explosion Murder,” was one of the characters in Into the Shadow. She was an abnormal killer that appeared early in the story and was basically a vampire that could transform into explosions instead of mist. 
Though Marie Adler had defeated her, Daisy had come back to life due to her vampiric nature, only to die again. This had repeated a few times until, eventually, she’d become Marie’s ally. After that, she had turned into somewhat of a joke character who almost always died to the new enemy they faced. 
Despite that treatment, Daisy still had a lot of popularity, and even Nagisa herself was quite fond of her. 
“If Daisy... Ah.” 
Upon remembering the character, Nagisa was hit with an idea and instantly began drawing using red and black paint. 
A few minutes later, her work was done, and she had a picture of the same “Daisy Scarlet the Explosion Murder” she’d just been thinking about. 
“...This is it!” 
Upon looking at the result, Nagisa... Marie put up a bright smile, as though her worries had all but vanished.


And so, Marie had figured how to use her ultimate skill, Phantasmal Raingun. It would be a power that “fired the abnormal killers Marie had become allied with in Into the Shadow,” which covered both its function as a skill and her roleplaying needs.


A certain day of a certain month, Hugo Lesseps 


“So this is the world of Infinite Dendrogram...” 
That day marked Hugo Lesseps’s AKA Yuri Gautier’s first login to Infinite Dendrogram. She’d chosen the Dryfe Imperium as her starting point and appeared in the imperial capital, Vandelheim. 
“Wow... The smells and atmosphere is just like in real life... Hm?” 
Like many players, she started out overwhelmed by the game’s degree of reality, but then she noticed something off. 
The point of view is a bit high... Oh. 
Suddenly, it all came back to her. 
She was no longer the junior high school girl known as “Yuri Gautier.” She’d become Hugo Lesseps, the man representing her ideal. 
He was about 30cm taller than her, and the leg length that came with this height made it somewhat uncomfortable for her to walk. 
Not only that, but... 
“...They’re gone.” 
She touched her chest, which held, quite obviously, a masculine set of pectoral muscles. 
Yuri didn’t care about that all that much. She wasn’t exactly well-endowed, so the only real difference here was the softness or lack of it. 
However, she didn’t know what to make of the area below. 
“...It’s there.” 
Though she didn’t touch it by hand, she could feel something between her legs whenever she tried to walk, and it certainly wasn’t a sensation she had in real life. 
I’m not sure if this is how it actually is for men... but I feel it. 
She could hardly believe that the game could actually make her — a girl — get to know the feeling of having male genitals. Infinite Dendrogram’s technology impressed her to the point of making chills go down her spine. 
Yuri then remembered the words of the control AI that had guided her through the tutorial process. 
“Keep in mind that picking the gender opposite of yours in reality can make you feel really uncomfortable.” 
Yes, that’s what that “Duchess” control AI told me. 
And Yuri had already come to know this discomfort very well. 
“But I can’t let this stop me.” 
She had something she wanted to do in this world, and for that, she could easily overcome this slight problem. 
“Okay. I’ll start with tone. I have to sound more like a chivalric knight.” 
After saying that, she took a moment to practice. In real life, she often pretended to be a theater actress, so she had a far easier time getting used to a change of tone than the change of body. 
“This should be good enough. Anyway, I should go and meet up with her. If I recall correctly, I’m supposed to go to the capital’s adventurers’ guild,” she spoke with a tone she considered knightly and chuckled a little bit. “Heh. I reckon my appearance will really surprise her.” 
Anticipating the other person’s reaction, Yuri... Hugo made “his” way towards the place they were supposed to meet. 
Those were her first steps as Hugo Lesseps.


Due to the other person also looking completely unlike herself in real life, they needed several hours to finally meet up, but that was a story for another time.


A certain day of a certain month, Giga Professor, Mr. Franklin 


I felt like I was spending a lot of my recent time making plots to help the imperium annex the kingdom. 
It was all because the previous war hadn’t been enough to end it all. 
We’d defeated most of their main forces, but Caldina’s intervention had prevented us from finishing the job. Therefore, I was now making plots that would allow us to get it all done before Caldina could make their move. 
“To do that... I should kill someone,” I said. 
The target I had in mind was Liliana Grandria. 
She was a Paladin and the current vice commander — the de facto leader — of the Knights of the Royal Guard. 
In terms of battle ability, she was nothing for us to fear. Sure, her father had been the previous Celestial Knight, and she probably had much in the ways of talent, but it was highly unlikely that she could become a threat by the time the next war began. 
However, she was wildly popular. 
Liliana’s family had been close to the princesses since their parents’ generation, and the kingdom’s knights had unwavering trust in her. In addition to that, her bloodline had a little bit of something that could prove troublesome. 
The biggest problem of all, though, was the fact that she was popular not just among tians, but Masters, as well. 
In fact, the current no. 2 in the kingdom’s clan rankings was the merger of both her and the princesses’s fan clubs: the Altimia, Elizabeth, Theresia, and Liliana Union, AKA the “AETL Union.” 
As stupid as it sounded, without the kingdom’s Superiors or Tsukuyo Fuso’s Lunar Society taking part, these maniacs were the most powerful force on their side. 
...Well, they’d also had duel rankers like Masked Riser the “Kamen Rider” and Bishmal the “Raging Blaze,” but they were too few to be relevant. 
“I should get rid of as many of their forces as I can,” I decided. 
The AETL Union had caused us to use more of our armies than necessary and slowed down our invasion. So, I’d chosen to get rid of their reason to fight. 
Though some would turn vengeful and attack us with more ferocity, there would be just as many who’d just quit. After all, to about half of those there, Liliana was just “an NPC they liked.” 
“The most effective way to get rid of their battle potential would be killing the first princess, but that’s not exactly something the imperator would allow...” I murmured. 
And when the first princess’s future was considered, the other two princesses were off-limits, too. Even in our plans for Gideon, we’d only keep it at kidnapping. 
“Well, that plan is all the more reason to kill Liliana,” I decided. “Make sure she doesn’t get in the way and all.” 
I chose to start with the orthodox approach — poisoning. And if that didn’t work, I’d have her get overwhelmed by the Demi-Dragon Worms hiding in the kingdom. 
“I’m going to Gideon, anyway. Might as well pay a visit to the capital and set a trap for her.” 
After saying that, I put my plans in order, sealed Liliana’s fate, and went to log out.


I had no means of knowing that this decision of mine would begin my unpleasant connection to a certain newbie.


To be continued in Episode One.


Chapter Semis: Brother Bear’s Welcoming Party Preparations 
2045, March 16th, 9:00 A.M. 


That day, Shuichi Mukudori was sitting in his living room and talking with his little brother while watching the morning news on his wall-sized monitor. 
“Oh, you’re finally starting Dendro?” he asked. 
“Yeah. I’ve finished moving, so no better time than now, I thought,” his brother answered. 
“Ha ha. That’s great and all, but make sure not to get too addicted. You don’t want to neglect the college you worked so hard to get into, right?” 
“Well, yeah. I know that much.” 
“Let’s meet up, all right? I’ll prepare a welcome party.” 
“All right.” 
“It’s decided, then. I’ll wait in the Kingdom of Altar’s capital.” 
“Kingd...? What?” 
“Find me at the fountain in the central plaza.” 
Shuichi might or might not have realized that the country name he wasn’t familiar with had confused his brother, but he just hung up on him regardless. 
“So, now he’ll buy the gear, then return home and go through the tutorial... That’ll be about two hours here and six hours there... All right, then.” 
Shuichi stood up from his sofa and stretched his body. 
He then looked towards the large monitor, which was now showing the entertainment news. The news anchor was talking about something over a video of a live performance of the worldwide rock star, Rachel Raymuse. 
“...As busy as ever, I see.” 
Shuichi swung his hand and turned off the monitor using its sensor function. 
“Well, guess I’ll go and prepare,” he said. 
He left his living room and went to his bedroom, where he kept the hardware for Infinite Dendrogram. 
 
On an unrelated note, Shuichi Mukudori had an extremely well-featured body. 
His height exceeded 180cm, and he’d kept an admirable balance even as he’d built up his muscles, making him look like a first-class martial artist. He was also paying daily visits to the gym in his apartment to keep himself in shape. 
He was quite handsome, as well. So much that his face wouldn’t be out of place in the acting industry. 
Despite being such a fine figure of a man, however... 
“HYAHAAH! The bear hungers! Time to forage for the party!” 
...he was now speaking borderline nonsense while clad in a bear suit. 
Not a single inch of his splendid body was in sight — even his visage was hidden by the face of the animal. 
Shuichi had his reasons for looking like that. 
He had to hide his avatar because it looked exactly the same as his real body. 
It had turned out that way because of some trouble during his tutorial, and he’d been playing the game in such suits ever since he’d started. 
Of course, even if it meant he had to hide his appearance, there was no need for him to talk in such a nonsensical manner. Thus, he used the weird tone and spoke with puns simply because he wanted to. 
Indeed — in the game, Shuichi Mukudori was the bear-suit-clad Shu Starling. 
“All right, so the time here is...” 
In real life, it was a bit past nine in the morning, while here, it was a little before dawn. The marketplace was about to open, so he was just in time to do his so-called “foraging.” 
“Hell yeah! Gonna get these paws full of the stuff!” 
 
First, Shu went to the wholesale produce market. 
“Let’s start with the capital’s favorite remberries. Gotta buy a load of those.” 
The remberries cultivated in the royal capital were popular in and out of the city. Their rich sweetness and pleasant sourness made them a highly sought-after product. 
Shu became worried about a highly unlikely event. 
"Hmm, I think I’d feel beary bad if he liked them a lot and wanted more of them, so... all right.” 
He let this worry guide him to a wholesaler... 
“Excuse me, sir. I’d like to buy all the remberries you have today.” 
“ALL?!” 
The seller seemed to be taken aback.


Thus, Shu ended up with an obscene amount of remberries. 
Though they’d told him they couldn’t sell all of them because they had to give them out to the shops, Shu was able to buy every single remberry that was meant to be sold that day. 
After buying a number of other fruits and vegetables, Shu left the produce market with a satisfied smile on his face.



On an unrelated note, a certain bespectacled man that arrived there an hour later was heard panicking and saying, “Sold out?! What the hell do you mean?!”


 
Then Shu went to a meat shop he was highly familiar with. 
“Hey, my guy,” he said. “I’m here to get these paws on some meats.” 
“Well, ain’t that a voice I know. So today you’re a bear, eh?” 
“More or less every day now.” 
The meat shop dealt primarily in food items dropped from stock-farmed, edible monsters. 
Strangely enough, the taste of these drops could differ by specimen, rather than just by monster. The ones looked after by diligent cattle farmers actually produced tastier, better-quality meat. And as always, quality had a direct link to price. Gourmet meat was a luxury, and it wasn’t uncommon for a mere 100g to cost 10,000 lir. 
Also, monster drops could increase in quantity if the one handling them had high Dismantling. Due to that, the owners of meat shops often raised the level of this skill, raising their own level and getting respectable muscles in the process. 
The shopkeeper Shu was acquainted with was no exception. Even though he was fully-clothed, it was easy to tell he had a muscular build. 
“Today, I’d like you to give me all the beary high-quality beast, avian, and dragon meat,” Shu said. Just like with the remberries, Shu was requesting all the gourmet ingredients the man had for sale. However, the price was significantly greater than before. 
“Whoa there, sonny,” the man said in a worried manner. “I don’t mind selling it all, but that’ll cost ya 30,000,000 lir.” 
“The hungry bear cares not. Today, money is of no matter to me.” 
Shu didn’t hesitate to do away with an amount of money equivalent to 300,000,000 yen. 
Though he thought he was merely being considerate of his brother’s welcome party, most would agree that he was buying far too much.


And so, after putting the various meats into his inventory, Shu left the meat shop. 
 
“Hm, hm-hmm. Where to next... Nh?” 
Whilst whimsically walking to get the other ingredients, Shu noticed something strange. 
A single ruined building was facing the street. It was surrounded by a fence, and a sign nearby warned against trespassing and said that the building would soon be demolished. Despite that, however, Shu could hear the laughter of children coming from inside. 
Since a part of the fence was missing and because they seemed to be having lots of fun, he assumed that they’d sneaked in to play. However, the building was very aged, and even while standing outside, he could very clearly hear the building creak under their steps. 
For now, he chose to merely warn them. 
“That’s beary dangerous! Play outside, you cubs!” 
“Okaaay!” 
“Kyaahhh!” 
“Hiiide!” 
“Meow!” 
The children responded in various ways, but it was very clear they’d heard him. 
Shu scratched his face, muttered, “I’ll check on them later,” and went shopping again. 
 
The third shop he went to dealt in fresh fish. 
Though it was questionable whether it was really “fresh.” After all, the royal capital was a fair distance away from seas, lakes, or rivers, making it impossible for its inhabitants to fish locally. Most of the city’s water resources came from its plentiful underground water veins. 
Despite what most would expect, however, the fish in the capital was edible. This was because it was brought here from the port city in the west using time-stopping inventories. The fish and other seafood was still as fresh as they come, so the distance from water sources was of no issue. 
This applied to many other products, as well, which made such inventories a crucial part of the economy. 
Anyway, Shu was now staring at a fish tank before the shop. 
It was only there to showcase the goods, and the actual products sold would come from the shop’s inventories. This method helped chefs and the like get a good look at the fish they would get here. 
“Hmmm...” 
As serious as one could be about such things, Shu was thinking about what fish to get for the welcoming party. However, all the onlookers only saw a bear, poised to strike at a fish at any given moment. 
Feeling great suspense, they actually expected him to throw his paw into the tank and grab one.


In the end, Shu bought lots of ten or so types of fish and several types of crustaceans. Goods imported from the seaside were costly, but again, he spared no expense. 
“Will Mr. Bear chew on the salmon?” a young tian asked while pointing at Shu, all stocked up and ready to go. 
“Shh! Don’t look at it!” the mother scolded the child, concluding the bear man’s peculiar shopping trip. 
 
“Vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood... Now, for wheat.” 
With that in mind, he arrived at the wholesale wheat store. 
When it came to grain-based foods, he already had rice, since it was sold as a vegetable. However, the Kingdom of Altar’s cuisine was primarily Western, so wheat was a necessity. 
“Heyoo, give me your best wheat fur bread and pas...ta?” 
Right upon entering, Shu realized that the situation in the store was abnormal. 
He saw a masked man point his sword towards an old tian — most likely the owner of the place. There were three other masked men, and they, too, were using their weapons to threaten the employees, customers... and Shu. 
“Don’t you dare move, or I’ll shove this right through your suit!” one of them shouted. 
“Come on, you old fart! Bring inventories full of money and food or else!” 
The situation and their words made it obvious that they were burglars. 
“...Fur real? An incident? Now, of all times?” Beneath his suit, Shu made a troubled... no, an annoyed expression. 
By wasting his time here, he could end up being late to meet up with his brother, and might not be able to gather enough ingredients. 
With that in mind, he acted fast. 
“Hey, you suit freak! I told you not to m—” 
First, he made one burglar faint with a backhanded blow to the chin, making sure to not blow away half of his face. 
Next, instead of going for the one closest to him, Shu went to the side of the one who turned towards him first. Lowering his power so that he wouldn’t make the burglar’s insides blow up, he launched a straight thrust into his abdomen. 
Then, he faced the closest guy next to him and made him trip with a kick. It broke his legs, but — thanks to Shu holding back again — didn’t tear them off. 
Finally, he went for the one threatening the old man. Before he could turn around, Shu grabbed him into a sleeper hold, making sure not to snap his neck. 
“And so, you won’t have to bear these losers now,” he told the old man. 
All four of the burglars were on the ground in a span of only 30 seconds. Only the one with broken legs was conscious, and, naturally, he was screaming. 
Anyway, with the little problem gone... 
“Your best wheat fur bread and pasta, please.” 
...Shu returned to his original goal and asked the old man to sell him wheat.


The old man and the employees thanked him by selling the wheat for cheap. 
After leaving the burglar handling to them, Shu, satisfied with his deal, went on his way in an exuberant mood. 
 
“I still have some alcohol among the drops I’ve gathered, and it’s not like he’ll drink anyway, so we don’t really need it. What we do need, though, is...” 
After getting the wheat, Shu thought he more or less had everything, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. 
He took a moment to think, humming in a strangely bear-like manner, until it finally came to him. 
“We need some good ol’ H2O.” 
He still hadn’t gotten the water. With the capital’s supply being primarily underground, it could vary heavily in terms of quality. The best water in the city was the one in the noble area — specifically, the royal palace. 
“...Guess I’ll pay a visit,” he said. 
And thus, for the sake of his brother’s welcome party, Shu decided to sneak into the most important building in the country.


And so, in less than 20 minutes, he was in the deepest reaches of the royal palace. 
This didn’t mean that the security here was weak. 
It was all due to an extremely powerful sneak effect on one of Shu’s items. 
However, the security around the water source was particularly strong. There were many magical items in place to prevent anyone from poisoning it, and not even Shu’s equipment could let him pass by unnoticed. 
That’s why Shu didn’t go to the source. 
“Now, bear can I find...?” 
He started walking around, looking for a person who could share some of the palace’s water with him. After all, he was here to “get” some water, not “steal” it. 
Of course, no one reasonable would give something to some bear suit that’d sneaked in here. 
That was why he was looking for one of his acquaintances, when suddenly... 
“Mister suit?” 
...someone saw through his sneak ability and called out to him. 
He turned around and saw a strange girl. 
She wore fancy nightclothes, had fluffy hair, and looked about the age of an early student in elementary school. None of that was particularly strange. It was her posture that made her curious. 
She was riding a strange animal — a hamster the size of a large dog. Though its closed eyes made it look asleep, it had no trouble walking over to Shu. 
“Oh, hello, Theresia,” Shu said. 
He wasn’t surprised by their appearance. Though the girl and the hamster weren’t the people he was looking for, Shu still knew them well enough. 
“Why are you here today?” asked Theresia. 
“I came to get some water, but I’m having a beary hard time finding the grand chamberlain.” 
“Oh, he’s talking about something with my sister... but if it’s just water you want... very well, I’ll try asking for some. Will one barrel be enough?” 
“It should be.” 
“Very well. Leave it to me. They won’t find it strange if I tell them it’s for Dor,” said Theresia as she petted the hamster’s head. 
The furry creature, its eyes still closed, replied by shaking its whiskers, as if to say, “I do not mind.” 
“Well thanks,” said Shu. “I owe you one fur this.” 
“I’ll keep that in mind.” 
Suddenly, he heard footsteps at another part of the hallway and instantly hid himself. 
“...Hm?” he murmured. 
For reasons unknown, Theresia and the hamster were hiding with him, too. 
Soon enough, a maid passed by them, and when she was gone, he turned to the girl. 
“Why did you hide with me?” he asked. 
“We’re taking a walk while I’m supposed to be in bed,” she replied with a guilty expression. 
“...You’re not the healthiest girl, so just bear in mind not to leave the palace.” 
“I know. I’m about to go back, anyway. Oh, and I’ll have Dor throw the barrel through the window, so make sure you catch it.” 
“Got it,” Shu replied and turned away from her. 
He knew where to find her room, so he made his way outside to wait under her window. 
“Make sure they do not see you,” said someone behind him in a refined, manly voice. “If you kick up a fuss, they will up the security and make it harder for us to go on walks.” 
Shu showed little care for who had said it. He responded by simply raising his right hand and continued walking. 
Thus, he parted ways with the girl living at the palace and the mysterious creature at her side.


A short while later, Shu safely got his water barrel and left the royal palace without being discovered once. 
 
“Phew. Now I’m pawsitively ready.” 
Fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, grain, and water. Though it had taken him nearly four hours, Shu had collected all the foods he deemed necessary. They were all fit for a royal banquet, and their total cost exceeded 50,000,000 lir. 
That amount of money was certainly heavy on the wallet, even for a veteran player and ranker like Shu. However, he found it a price worth paying. After all, the little brother he’d been impatiently waiting for would finally start Infinite Dendrogram, and if that wasn’t a reason to party hard — nothing was. 
“...Ah, I almost forgot to reserve a restaurant. I hope Darshan’s place is open today.” 
Due to him being a Master, the place run by the Star Chef — the cook grouping Superior Job for Western food — had irregular opening times. Nevertheless, it was immensely popular due to his food being significantly better than any of his competitors, and because he was open to using the ingredients brought by the customers. 
“Ah, looks like he’s online,” Shu said after he opened his friends list. “Time fur a visit, then.” 
And thus, he went straight to the Star Chef’s place.


On a related note, Infinite Dendrogram had no built-in long-distance chat function between friends. Such communication requires relevant spells or magic items meant for this purpose. 
Many players complained that it was inconvenient and had asked the developers to implement it, but it doesn’t seem like they intended to do so anytime soon. 
Due to this and many other cases where the developers didn’t seem to consider game-like convenience and logic, some players called them neglectful.


The restaurant Shu was aiming for was open, so he quickly made a reservation. 
Upon accepting the many ingredients Shu prepared, the owner laughed and expressed his excitement over working on them. 
And with that, the preparations were done. 
 
Now, to wait for Reiji to finally log in, Shu thought as he made his way towards the fountain they’d agreed to meet at. 
“...Wait, I gave him the place and all, but how will we confirm that we’re each other?” 
Reiji and Shuichi didn’t know each other’s avatars, which would make it impossible for them to meet. 
“Should I sing? He could tell it’s me by my voice,” he said. 
Shu’s idea was sub-optimal, since the sight of a singing bear might make his brother ignore him even if he did realize it was him. 
“All right, let’s start the vocal exercise... hm?” 
Suddenly, Shu noticed something at the side of the street — the ruined building from before. 
He’d purposely taken the path going through it just to see if something was wrong, and apparently, there was. Several children were looking at the building from outside the fence, and they all looked very worried. 
“A grizzly situation, I assume?” Shu asked, surprising the children. 
Some looked scared of him, while others seemed relieved. 
“U-Umm...” 
“Th-The house is gonna fall, and Thomas is stuck there.” 
Those words and the state of the building gave Shu all the information he needed. 
The structure was even more tilted than before, and the creaking had turned even louder. 
The building reached its limit while the children were playing inside, and while most of them escaped, one was still there. 
“All right, then.” 
Shu acted fast. 
He pulverized the fence, jumped inside the grounds and charged towards the building, ready to save the child. However, the boy he was going to save came out at about the same time, wailing loudly and holding a cat in his hands. He sped towards the exit, but before he could make it to safety, the building began to collapse. 
Losing all that remained of its structural integrity, the roof fell towards the boy and was about to crush him when...


“First form.” 
“Ready.” 
...an artillery shell made of light completely blew it away.


The destruction was instant and absolute. 
The roof was a roof no longer. It didn’t even leave any fragments. It was reduced to such a state that its molecules could never bond again. 
Indeed, it was destroyed so thoroughly that it was no longer able to have any integrity as physical material. 
The shell that had made it happen had been fired by the cannon that’d suddenly appeared on Shu’s left arm. 
Much like some device made by the cat robot from that world-famous anime, the cannon replaced his left hand. 
“...Safe,” he said in satisfaction. “But man, nothing beats this one. At least when it comes to pure firepower, anyway.” 
It was the first form of Baldr, Shu’s Embryo. 
He’d realized that the boy wouldn’t make it in time, so he saved him by destroying the roof. Of course, a normal artillery shell would’ve made the damage even worse. But Shu had known he’d save the boy if he’d combined his Baldr with a particular job skill. 
“Good thing I didn’t switch it off. My heart’s beating so fast I can hardly bear it...” 
At least, he’d assumed he’d be able to save the boy, and it had simply happened that he’d been successful. 
“Eh? Huh...?” 
“Meow...? 
The boy and the cat in his hands looked like they had no idea what had just happened. 
Covered in dust raised by the building’s collapse, they both had expressions thick with astonishment. 
The same applied to the worried children outside. 
“Did you learn your lesson, cubs?” said Shu. “No more playing in places you’re not allowed to.”


After Shu scolded the boys and girls, they finally took in the situation and started crying out loud, either due to relief, fear, or both. 
 
After that predicament, Shu comforted the children while making his way towards the fountain where he was supposed to wait for his brother. 
As he carried or let them climb on him, the children quickly stopped crying and began laughing cheerfully. They were on him even when he sat down at the edge of the fountain. The sight soon attracted even more children, and he was soon treated as a bear-shaped playground. 
Shu let them do as they pleased and began making something. 
In his hand, he held some wooden remains he’d took from the ruined building. 
After linking a rod with a board, he wrote something on the latter.


“Welcome little brother”


Shu believed this would be more than enough for his brother to recognize him. He got the idea when he was looking at the sign telling people to keep away from the ruined building. 
And thus Shu, swarmed by children, held the sign and waited for his little brother for about an hour.


End 
 





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