Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 6 - Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The Bad Dog and the Owner 
Paladin, Ray Starling 
Our counterattack landed right on Rosa’s Gashadokuro, breaking it into too many pieces to count. 
With the Embryo’s destruction, the exoskeleton forged by its ultimate skill also crumbled away. However, that was where the damage ended. 
“This woman sure is tenacious,” commented Nemesis. 
“Can’t argue with that,” I agreed. 
Indeed, the Nobushi Princess herself was completely unharmed. 
There had been a small window of time between the moment Vengeance connected and the moment the damage left over from Gashadokuro’s destruction reached her. She had used this opening to discard her Embryo, remove the exoskeleton, and distance herself from us, likely to avoid B3’s gravity skill. 
That escape had been nothing short of spectacular, but it meant little against the fact that the tables had turned. 
Sure, I only had one more Counter Absorption use in stock, but B3 already had a new shield at the ready, and she still upheld the gravity skill. Without her exoskeleton, Rosa would be unable to resist its effects. 
“Hhaah... Hhaah,” she panted. “You’re pretty good, Unbreakable.” 
Not even losing Gashadokuro could wipe that ferocious grin from her face. A broken Embryo wasn’t lost forever, but they still took quite a while to regenerate. 
“Heh heh heh,” Rosa chuckled. “So I used up my ambushes and lost Gashadokuro... So what? The fight’s just getting started!” 
Despite her dire situation, her fighting spirit was completely unbent, and I found it highly reminiscent of the duel rankers I knew. 
She was fixated on continuing this battle, and though we had the upper hand, that was still pretty bad for us. 
If this went on for too long, other K&R members might come to her aid and turn the tides against us again. The battle so far had left us drained, meaning that something like that would further endanger not only us, but Louie as well. 
If B3 hadn’t been there to protect the carriage, the boy could’ve already been a goner, and prolonging this fight would only up the chances of it happening again. 
...Hold on a second, I thought. Rosa’s not in a state to immediately hurt him, so maybe it’s safe to tell her about him now? 
I glanced over at B3, who replied with a light nod. 
“Hey, Nobushi Princess!” I called out to her aloud. 
“That’s ‘Rosa’ or ‘Bone-Eater’ to you, Unbreakable!” she roared in response. “I don’t like being called a ‘princess’!” 
“That so?! All right then, Rosa, listen to this! We’re in the middle of escorting a tian child to Torne! I hear you at K&R don’t hurt tians! What the hell will happen to him if we’re gone?!” 
I readied myself just in case she tried to take Louie as a hostage. 
“Don’t you worry!” she replied with a chuckle. “I’ll take him to Torne right after I’m done with you two!” 
Well, that’s... considerate, I thought. 
The woman had no intention of harming the tian boy. Cool. Great. It would’ve been better if she’d also said that she’d back down, but she hadn’t, so we had no choice but to fight her, win, and escape the area before the other K&R members got here. 
“All right, I lost my ambush and my follow-up, but I’m not letting go of this fight yet! I’ll turn this around!” Rosa reached into her inventory and took out some spare weaponry: a set of equippable claws and fangs. 
I responded by brandishing Nemesis, while B3 readied her new shield for another skill. 
It would all be decided by the next exchange of blows. 
I prepared to charge... 
“Please stop, all three of you. There’s no need for this.” 
A strange person came between us and Rosa. 
It appeared as though he’d teleported here, but no, his spontaneous entry had been due to nothing but pure speed. 
He wasn’t using stealth skills such as Marie’s Art of Hiding or those on Shu’s Kim-un-Kamuy, nor had he activated some Xunyu-like teleportation. My experience from fighting the speedster rankers made me absolutely certain of this. Also, unless my eyes were deceiving me... he was actually faster than both Figaro and Xunyu.  

“Please don’t move,” he said. “Just a few more steps and you’ll be in my range.” 
The first word that came to mind upon seeing him was “fluffy,” for he was wearing a coat that seemed to be made from pure, unprocessed wool. 
“Anyone who enters my range will lose their head.” 
The second word was “katana,” because, at his sides, he had two odachi unbefitting his small frame, both of which were linked to him with chain hooks bearing the semblance of rabbit skulls. Eerily enough, all the rings in the chain looked like shark heads, while the rabbit eye sockets had faint red lights burning inside. 
“You too, Rosa,” he continued. “Don’t move, please. The hunt is over, so put your weapons away.” 
At that point, I finally realized that this small-framed person was an actual child. He looked even younger than Xunyu, and he was delivering his warnings with a soprano unique to young boys. 
“D-Darling?!” exclaimed Rosa. “You can go online?!” 
...Did she just call him “darling”? I asked myself, as if denying reality. Again, did this tall, muscular beast of a woman just call this short, young boy “darling”? 
That question weighed heavy upon my mind, and yet, it was still blown away by the words I heard next. 
“And so you show yourself,” said B3. “The Guillotine... The Unsheath, Kashimiya.” 
“Eh?” I voiced my shock. Her words made me doubt what I was hearing. 
That was the Guillotine? The one and only Kashimiya? 
...Well, I already knew Xunyu, so it wasn’t too weird that he was a child, but I still had my share of comments and questions. 
Why was he wearing wool while bearing the Japanese name for cashmere goats? Where had he appeared from? Could he even unsheath those odachi? His arms certainly didn’t seem long enough for them. 
Shu had once told me that weapon-focused Superior Jobs from the “The One” series required great mastery over the relevant techniques, so I also found it odd that The Unsheath had ended up in the hands of a child. 
However, my prolonged exposure to skilled fighters made me certain of one thing: despite appearances, Kashimiya was probably on the same tier as Figaro and Xunyu. 
That aside, I had to focus on what he’d just said. 
“The hunt is over?” I asked. “Does that mean K&R’s withdrawing?” 
“Yes.” The boy nodded. “The other groups have already left.” 
Honestly, I couldn’t be more thankful for that. Being ganked by the members of the kingdom’s strongest PK clan wasn’t my idea of a good time. 
“Darling! Sorry, but I can’t have that!” Rosa protested. “This is the start of our revenge!” 
Apparently, there was some sort of disagreement between her and Kashimiya, but she’d just said one word I couldn’t ignore. 
“Revenge?” I raised an eyebrow. 
Whatever does she mean? Why is it just the “start,” too? I don’t recall ever getting on K&R’s bad side. Is this about B3? She said she’d fought them before, so... maybe? 
“They’re teaming up with the damn cultists from The Lunar Society!” Rosa continued. “We’ll crush them and their plans! It’ll be the signal before we attack the lunatics at their HQ!” 
Her words instantly made it all clear, and there was only one way B3 and I could respond to that. 
“We’re not teaming up with them,” we said, completely in-sync. 
“...What?” Rosa became puzzled. 
“Their leaders are acquaintances from college, but we don’t really cooperate in-game,” B3 explained. 
“Hell, they kidnapped me just yesterday and I barely escaped,” I added. “Also, Figaro just destroyed their base, so I’m not sure if you even have to do anything to it.” 
“...?” Rosa tilted her head in confusion. “Wait, but Tomika said you were having a nice chat with that hanger-on KoA and that you got something from him...” 
“We’re college acquaintances. Chats between us are nothing special.” 
“Yeah, and all he gave us was the payment for his tea.” 
“...” It looked like she finally understood. 
Seriously, though... us? Scheming alongside the aberration? What kind of sick joke was that? By whose design would you ever come to that conclusion? 
“Rosa,” said Kashimiya, causing the confused woman to freeze solid. “If it’s really as they say, it means you started a self-centered hunt based on nothing but a terrible misunderstanding. You not only inconvenienced them, but also went against the clan’s principles.” 
Well, I won’t lie. This was a real bother, I thought. 
“In fact, I don’t think I can allow this revenge of yours,” he added. 
“Eh? But the cultists started it...” Rosa argued. 
“Oh? And who, exactly, accepted a suspicious beginner hunt job for nothing but profit?” His words were razor-sharp and almost murderous in tone. 
Over yesterday and today, I’d been exposed to bloodlust from Figaro, Tsukuyo Fuso, B3, and Rosa, but Kashimiya’s was unlike any of them. It was keen. Honed to perfection. And it made me feel like my head could fall at any moment. 
Okay, how the hell is an elementary schooler capable of such strong murderous intent? I thought. 
“On my way here, I heard all about the blockade incident that happened while I was away.” 
“I-I had to take it to pay for our HQ expansion...” Rosa argued. “And we still protected the rules of the hunt.” 
“That might be fair for bandit clans like Goblin Street, villain role-players like Mad Castle, or hitmen like the Superior Killer, but K&R is a hunting clan. Tell me, did we establish rules so we could hunt beginners that are less than rabbits to us?” 
“Ghh...” Rosa groaned and fell silent. 
So, Rosa had decided to join the newbie hunt without the leader’s permission? 
Now that’s a bad move, I reflected. 
“Do you think that was a good thing to do?” Kashimiya pressed her again. 
“N-No! I don’t!” Rosa meekly replied. 
She was no longer the ferocious wolf she had been in the battle. Now, she was more like a cat outside its territory... or a naughty dog with a strict owner. 
Honestly, the difference in physique and apparent age between them made the scene all kinds of confusing. Rosa was significantly larger than the average adult, and she looked at least 20 years older than Kashimiya. 
Just what kind of relationship did they have? Was Rosa actually a child, too? Were they siblings or something? Or was it the other way around and Kashimiya was actually an adult? 
Overwhelmed by curiosity, I silently asked B3 to tell me more about them. 
“Kashimiya started out in Tenchi, as a solo player killer,” she said. “But instead of PKing indiscriminately, he simply did it because he wanted serious duels where the loser got the penalty. ‘Consensual PK,’ so to speak. Players with this stance aren’t uncommon in Tenchi, and it’s one of the reasons why he also participated in actual duels.” 
I see, I thought. And he continued dueling even after moving here, eventually becoming third in the rankings. 
“Rosa, on the other hand, led a bandit-like PK clan. One day, they all fought against Kashimiya and suffered a staggering defeat. They tried attacking him many times after that, and, well...” B3 fell silent and heaved a long, tired sigh, as if she just couldn’t find the words for this. “Apparently, Rosa eventually fell in love with Kashimiya...” 
“B3,” I interjected. “Kashimiya is...” 
“...about as old as his avatar.” 
“And Rosa is...” 
“...about as old as her avatar.” 
That’s a crime! 
“And just so you’re aware, most of the clan’s members feel the same way as her.” 
It’s a goddamn fan club! An actual hive of little boy enthusiasts! 

“Anyway, Kashimiya eventually had to move out of Tenchi, and Rosa and her clan followed and asked him to become their leader.” 
“...And?” 
“Kashimiya accepted in exchange for having the clan adopt a set of rules, which brings us to the present.” 
Oh, so Kashimiya was mad at Rosa for breaking those rules. 
“This is partially my fault for being away for so long,” Kashimiya continued. “I went on a short homestay in America, had to visit my grandmother in Hokkaido, and then had to do the homework that had piled up. I’m really sorry that focusing on that made me unable to visit the clan.” 
Hey, no one can fault you for that, I thought. Real life’s important, too. 
“But still, PKing beginners for money is a very bad thing to do. If you’re defeated by The Lunar Society because you did it, you’re only getting what you deserve.” 
“B-But darling, the offer was just too delicious to pass up...” 
“No matter how tasty, there are some things you shouldn’t eat! That’s what it means to be a moral person!” 
“I-I’m sorry!” 
I was actually watching an elementary school boy scold a woman in her twenties and teach her about morality. 
“Rosa is a... simple person who doesn’t think things through and rarely considers the after-effects of her actions,” commented B3. “Kashimiya, on the other hand, is a bit... no, a lot more developed as a person than his age would have you expect, so scenes like this aren’t too uncommon.” 
Well, I could definitely see what she’d meant when she’d called Rosa “not the sharpest tool in the shed.” 
“Not only that, but...” Kashimiya said as he looked Louie, who was fearfully peeking out of the carriage. “You also involved a tian child in your grudge match.” 
He then placed his hand on his head, as if to lighten a headache, and heaved a long sigh. 
For someone so young, he sure doesn’t seem to have it easy. 
“Th-That’s ’cause Tomika didn’t say anything about him...” Rosa argued. 
“I’M SOOOO SORRYYYYY!” cried someone hiding a short distance away from us. 
I looked and saw a girl Master — likely another K&R member — secretly observing what was happening here. 
“Tomika! You little...” 
“Please leave it for later,” Kashimiya cut Rosa’s words short. “More importantly, about the moment Mister Unbreakable told you about the tian child...” 
“Twitch...” Rosa said. 
“‘I’ll take him to Torne right after I’m done with you two’? That’s not how it goes, is it? We have a rule against attacking Masters protecting tians, don’t we?” 
“Twitch, twitch!” 
...Is she vocalizing that sound effect on purpose? 
“Rosa, please apologize.” 
“I-I’m sorry, darling!” 
“No. Not to me.” 
Rosa reluctantly turned towards us... 
“S-Sawree.” It was one of the most awkward apologies I’d ever heard. 
Her poor delivery aside, no one had died in this encounter, so I was entirely willing to forgive her as long as she didn’t try to attack us again. 
However, B3 seemed to have other ideas. 
“No, that doesn’t seem sincere,” she said. 
“...B3?” I raised an eyebrow and turned to her. 
She adjusted her glasses, reached into her inventory, took out some paper, and began writing something. “I am willing to forgive the attack itself with just that sloppy apology, but it doesn’t make up for the actual damage done. We both lost our Lifesaving Brooches, and I had to sacrifice a number of shields.” 
“Ah.” 
She had a point there. Somebody had to pay for all the shields Rosa had broken, and there was no better person for that than Rosa herself. 
“With that in mind, this is the Contract for our damages. Please send the set amount of money to my account before the deadline provided.” Contracts were a type of item used for setting and enforcing contracts, and B3 gave it to Rosa to sign. 
“Tch, all right, all right,” the woman grumbled. “...Wait, what’s with this amount?! It’s clearly above the market price! Hell, it’s almost double!” 
“Oh? Is that too much for you?” asked B3. “Didn’t you make a killing from the newbie hunt?” 
“You’re damn right it’s too much! This isn’t just more than my share from the newbie hunt! It’s more than my entire savings!” 
“...‘My share?’” Kashimiya overheard, repeated Rosa’s words and emanated another wave of bloodlust. 
“Ah!” Rosa gasped, realizing her mistake. She closed her mouth with her hand. 
I looked to B3, who was adjusting her glasses as if proud of a job well done. 
You made her walk into that one, didn’t you? I thought. 
“Rosa, you said it was to expand our HQ, didn’t you?” Kashimiya asked in a menacing manner. “Did you actually pocket some of the money?” 
“Well, I... That’s...” 
“Please pay for their equipment, okay?” 
“...Okay.” 
And thus, Rosa reluctantly signed the Contract. When she did so, I noticed that B3 lightly, yet triumphantly, pumped the hand she was hiding behind her back. 
Then she came close to my ear and whispered, “I’ll give you half of the extra money we get.” 
Well, then, I thought. For someone so gentle, B3 sure bargains hard. 
Anyway, the contract was sealed, and we were set to receive both the damages and reparations. 
And from what I was hearing, K&R also planned to pay compensation to the victims of their newbie hunt. 
Rather than using Rosa’s money or the clan’s funds, Kashimiya would take managerial responsibility and pay them money from his own savings. 
There was a thing or two to be said about having an elementary schooler pay for your failure, but Rosa seemed to be fully aware of this. She was on her knees and palms, looking thoroughly dejected. 
“The beginner hunt didn’t fit K&R’s policy at all,” said Kashimiya. “Hunting beginners before they can grow is definitely not good PK.” 
“‘Good PK’? What?” I raised an eyebrow. 
“That would be PK where you hunt people you told you would PK, and they accepted the challenge.” 
Well, that’s certainly “good,” but I’m not even sure if that counts as “PK” anymore. 
“But even if you tell them, you only give ten minutes to escape, right?” I asked. “Unless you’re close to the edges, that’s not enough to leave the area.” 
“Rosa...” he said with an ice-cold tone thick with murderous intent. Apparently, he’d found some problem with what I said. 
The likely culprit, Rosa, was still on her knees and palms, but she was now several meters away from us. 
What an impressive backwards crawl. She truly was the Nobushi Princess. 
“The time we give depends on the size of the area, but it’s never less than an hour, right?” Kashimiya asked icily. 
“W-Well... the hunt doesn’t go as well when we give that much time...” Rosa meekly argued. 
“It’s supposed to be like that. The rule is there so we don’t hunt just anybody.” 
So, while he was away, Rosa had gone and changed the rules he’d set. It seemed like a generic scenario about a malicious substitute leader misusing his power, but in this case, all of it was simply because Rosa wasn’t the smartest individual. 
I could only hope she wasn’t so prone to messing up in real life. 
“I’ll ask more about what happened over the last two months from the other members,” said Kashimiya. “While I do that, you’ll stand in the hallway with buckets in each hand.” 
“EEHH?!” Rosa exclaimed. 
That was a very... elementary school-like punishment to give, but it was made far worse by the fact that the receiver was a woman in her twenties. 
“Why not just, you know... do away with her?” asked B3. I couldn’t tell whether she was suggesting he kill her or just kick her out of the clan. 
“No, this is partially my own fault, so I won’t fire her,” he replied. “And if you mean giving her the death penalty... the problem with that is that she enjoys being cut...” 
I see. I see. She enjoys it. All right, then. 
“However, if there are many incidents like this one, I’m thinking of abandoning the leader’s seat and leaving the cla—” 
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I’ll never do stuff like this again! So please, don’t leave, darling!” 
“NOOOOO! NOT THE CLAN! ANYTHING BUT THAT!” 
Rosa and the hiding K&R Master both went into panic mode and implored him to reconsider. 
Yep, this really is an idol fan club, I thought. I wonder if anyone reacted this way when Shu left show biz. 
“That thought made me picture Brother Bear say ‘I’m going back to being a normal boy!’ before taking off his costume and revealing his muscles,” Nemesis said telepathically. 
“PFFT!” 
The comment made me burst out laughing, but thankfully, the K&R clan drama kept everyone from noticing. 
Anyway, everything was settled, and we were about to resume heading to Torne. K&R made preparations to return to their HQ in the capital. 
“Sorry for all the trouble today,” said Kashimiya. “I’ll make it up to you when I get the chance. Feel free to call me whenever you need me.” 
“Oh. Okay,” I replied. “I guess I’ll hold you to that.” 
In all honesty, I hadn’t the slightest idea of what I’d have him do. 
“Then this is goodbye. Tomika, please ready the car.” 
“Okay! Oboroguruma!” The other K&R member on the scene, who was apparently named Tomika, raised her left hand and made an armored vehicle-like object pop out of her crest. 
From the name “Oboroguruma,” I could only assume that it was her Embryo, and that Kashimiya had ridden it all the way from the capital to here. 
Tomika sat in the driver’s seat, while Kashimiya went to the back. Only Rosa was left. 
“Unbreakable and B3... sorry about what I did today,” she said, giving another awkward apology while facing away from us. 
“No need for that,” said B3. “I just want the reparations.” 
“Gnh, all right, all right! I’ll send the money over to you before next week!” 
Rosa spun around and walked towards Oboroguruma. Then, as though remembering something, she looked back and said her goodbyes. 
“See ya later, B3! We were enemies today, but if you ever find the time, let’s go PKing again!” 
The words she used were nothing to some, and a real bombshell to others. 
As though thoroughly oblivious to what she’d just said, Rosa sat down in Oboroguruma with a carefree expression on her face.