Chapter Two: Catching up

Chapter Two: Catching up

Paladin, Ray Starling

"Gardranda and Gouz-Maise, huh?" said Shu. "Looks like you've been through some beary strange things, Ray."

"Y ou think so?" I asked.

At the familiar sweets parlor, my brother and I were having a little talk about what had happened so far. Since I was still full from the sandwiches from before, the only thing I ordered for this chat was tea.

Nemesis, on the other hand, was eating as she always did.

What the hell is up with your stomach? I thought.

"Encountering UBMs is rare, and even Epic ones are damn tough," he said. "It's not every day you get someone who fights and kills them not too long after entering Infinite Dendrogram."

Shu put some honey-covered pancakes into his mouth. Of course, he didn't neglect to use a fork. I was impressed that he could do it with those bear hands of his, but then I figured that it was probably easier than using a gatling gun.

Also, the overall image of a bear sitting on a chair and eating honey-covered pancakes was quite lavish. It seemed kinda cute, as well. At least, to anyone who didn't know that the person inside the suit was a man in his late twenties.

"Well, I'm probably not the one to talk, considering I killed my first UBM when I was on my first low-rank job," he continued.

"Huh?"

"It was also the time I met Figgy," he said. "We happened to get lost in a certain field and had to fight two UBMs..."

"TWO?!"

I instantly began imagining myself fighting both Gardranda and Gouz-Maise at the same time.

Nope, it'd be hopeless, I thought. Even as I was now, they'd kill me easily.

"So you and Figaro went two-on-two against them?" I asked.

"Nope," he answered.

"Oh, so Figaro wasn't the only who helped, then."

"Wrong again. We both went against them one-on-one."

Excuse me?

"Separating them was a real pain, and I really had to use my head to beat mine..."

"Wait. Y ou said you were still on your first low-rank job, right?" I asked.

"Y eah."

"What about Figaro?"

"He, too, was on his first job — Gladiator. Not even level 50, either."

"...What about your Embryos?"

"Both were in their third forms. And no, neither of them had any giant-killing abilities like your Nemesis does."

I was stunned into silence. I'm probably not in a position to think this, but how the hell did they do it? I mean, they didn't even have

the support I did. Also, he says it happened when he — one of the first players — was on his first job. Doesn't that mean that they were among the first Masters to have beaten UBMs?

"Anyway, going any deeper into this would mean revealing Figgy's Embryo's abilities," he said. "I'm beary averse to the idea of giving this info away myself, so I'll only explain it to you after you more or less understand it yourself."

"Well, then I guess I won't push it," I shrugged.

This duel city was Figaro's hometown, and with him being the local king of the arenas, the people here had lots of info about him.

However, there was a decisive lack of knowledge about his Embryo. Its powers, shape, and even category were all a great mystery to everyone. The other two in the Kingdom of Altar's Big Three weren't like this in that regard. The King of Destruction's Embryo was assumed to be a battleship, while the High Priestess's was widely known to be the moonlit night. However, there was absolutely nothing known about the Embryo of the Over Gladiator.

I had seen Figaro fight the player killers in the video that Marie had shown me, but even then, I hadn't seen a hint of his Embryo's abilities.

If the event Shu was referring to was linked to the truth behind it, I could totally understand why he didn't want to talk about it.

"But you do know it, huh, bro?" I asked.

"Figgy and I have been acquainted fur a long time, after all," he answered. "A whole four years by Dendro standards."

"I see. So I guess you also know why he's so fixated on going solo?"

"I do, but going into that would mean compromising his privacy, so I won't explain it," he said.

"All right. I won't push it, then."

It was probably the core of the reason why Figaro had said he wasn't "interested in sloppy battles" and refused to participate in the war. I wanted to know, but if it was something private, I couldn't really delve any deeper.

"I must say, you seem to be quite well-connected, Brother Bear," commented Nemesis.

"Well, it happens kinda naturally when you've been a long-time player," he shrugged.

"This has been bothering me for a while... How many hours a day do you spend here, anyway?" I asked.

Being the unfairly rich neo-NEET that he was, Shu had all the time in the world, so I couldn't help but wonder.

"I know what you're thinking, but no, I'm leading a beary healthy life," he said.

"'Healthy,' as in...?" I prompted.

"I never neglect to have three meals a day, take a bath, go to the bathroom, and spend an hour training to keep myself muscular and aesthetic."

"Y ou're basically saying that you spend the rest of your time here!"

That's not too different from a basement-dwelling sweaty tryhard! I thought.

"Well, I don't really have anything I want to do outside of here, so whatever," he said.

"With the time and money you have, you could easily get into a relationship."

Mom probably wants to become a grandmother by now, I

thought. I was a high school student until recently, so it was too early for me. As for my elder sister... well... uhh... Anyway, Shu is the closest one to getting married... but from the looks of it, that won't happen for a while.

An hour passed by as we were talking about this and that.

"Anyway, I have somewhere to go to, so I'll be leaving now," Shu said at last.

"Well, all right," I replied. "See you at the show."

"Y eah. I'm beary excited to meet your friends."

And with that, he left.

On the table, there was a considerably large sum of money. Considering the huge reward I'd gotten, I'd planned to be the one to pay for us both, but he'd wanted to show off and had ended up doing it before I'd even gotten the chance. I gladly accepted his generosity.

Also, about 90% of the money we owed was due to Nemesis's eating. It was quite troubling how the amount she ate seemed to gradually increase. For someone named after a goddess of divine punishment, she sure enjoyed indulging in the deadly sin of gluttony.

"Oh, but you're wrong there, Ray," she read my thoughts and said.

"How?" I asked.

"Gluttony refers to the wasting of food through reckless consumption. I, however, savor and enjoy every bite before it becomes a part of my flesh. Thus, I am not a glutton, but a gourmet!"

"All right, that's fine, then," I said. "However, let me ask you one thing."

"Do go ahead."

"Just how much weight would you gain if it all actually became

part of your flesh?"

Talking to girls about their weight isn't the nicest thing I can do, but seeing your eating habits is kinda troubling.

"Heh, there's no need to worry," she said. "I am an Embryo, remember? My shape and weight do not change easily."

"Riiiight. Ain't that greaaat."

"What's with the sarcasm?!"

Your shape and weight change a lot when you go into your other forms, though.

"So, wait, are all Embryos big eaters or what?" I asked.

"Wrong," said a voice coming from my side. "Being an Embryo has nothing to do with being a big eater. I'm not one, after all. Nemesis being gluttonous is her own problem. Which is good, since I really wouldn't like having such a monstrous stomach as part of my base stats."

"I see," I murmured. Now that I think about it, despite liking things ridiculously spicy, the Embryo Babi eats normal amounts of food. In all honesty, her blasphemous tastes seem a bit more normal than Nemesis's big eating —

"...Wait, what?!" I burst out, startled.

"Hm?!" Nemesis added.

"Hellooo," said the fully white girl now sitting at my side. She was Hugo's Embryo, Cyco. "The number of plates stacked next to Nemesis is terrifying. I don't think I could handle even 5% of it," she said before biting into a pure white no-bake cheesecake.

Her tone was as monotonous and disinterested as the last time I'd heard her speak. It seemed as though she'd been in this establishment

for a while now, but despite her appearance standing out so much, I hadn't noticed her at all.

Was I really that preoccupied with my meal with Shu and Nemesis? I thought.

"Y ou seem confused," she said. "The secret to this is the fact that I have the Presence Manipulation skill. To a certain extent, I can prevent myself from standing out."

"Why did you do that, though?" I asked.

"I surprised you, didn't I?"

"Well, yeah."

My answer made her put on the most smug and self-satisfied smile before she bit into her cake again.

...Huh? Did she really only want to surprise us?

"As hard to read as always, this girl," commented Nemesis.

Seriously. Though she was a friend who'd helped in the elimination of the Gouz-Maise Gang, I still had little grasp of what kind of person she was.

"Cyco," I addressed her. "Is Hugo not with you?"

"He should be here soon," she answered. "We split up for the search, but I just telepathically told him where we are, so just wait."

As I was about to ask what they were searching for, I heard the door open and the shop's bell ring. The one who entered the establishment was a familiar man wearing a militaristic rider suit.

"Greetings, Ray," he said. "I believe I should thank God for meeting you again, safe and sound." It was Hugo, acting as exaggerated, affected, and pompous as always.

Man, I'm sure meeting a lot of familiar people today, I thought.

The shop had entered its peak hours, and the more packed it became, the more Masters and foreign-looking people I saw.

"It's delicious! The wiki was right! The sweets here are great!" a young girl squealed from behind me.

"...I-Io, y-you're too loud..." one of her friends said.

"Peach tart, 80 points. Shortcake, 76 points. No-bake cheesecake...

95 points."

Those young girls were getting noisy at the table behind me.

To the left of me, an Arabian-looking man, wearing a turban and everything, was noting something down. "Oh, there's take-out here. I believe I found my souvenirs for Y umeji and Carl. Though perishable, they will last just fine in an inventory with good preservation ability. As for Albert... I should get him something other than food."

Then there was a crude-looking group with beastly leather armor and a bunch of macho men in bandanas surrounding a girl in a pirate hat. Clearly, the customers were far more varied today than they had been yesterday. I could only assume that they'd all gathered to watch tonight's event. And with this shop being in the same city as the arena, even those who didn't fit in among its usual customers had come to enjoy some sweets.

"This is a pretty popular place, isn't it?" I said.

"Indeed it is," nodded Hugo. "Tians and Masters alike recognize it as a great sweets shop."

"No-bake cheesecake, yogurt mousse, soft serve ice cream...

Delicious," agreed Cyco.

They both seemed quite satisfied with this establishment. Even though it looks like Cyco is only eating white things, for some reason.

Anyway, since Hugo and I had happened to meet up again, I told him about the reward.

"I never would've expected the bounty to be that great," he said. "Truly surprising."

His reaction was only natural. 80,000,000 was an astonishing amount of money.

"Now, about the split..." I said.

"Like I wrote in my letter, I intend to refuse it... but it doesn't seem like you will agree to that, will you?"

"Hell no," I said. Keeping such vast riches for myself was too much for me to handle. "Let's split it in half."

"No, I'll be fine with just a quarter," Hugo said. "I already refused it once, after all. And even then, it feels too much for me."

"Really?" I asked. When it came to the Gouz-Maise Gang bounty, all I really deserved was the part for Maise, so I really wanted him to take more.

"Y ou're selfless and honest to a fault, aren't you?" said Hugo. "Y ou could've chosen to not inform me and keep the money for yourself."

"Why would I lie to a friend like that?" I asked.

For some reason, my question made Hugo avert his gaze.

What's wrong? I thought.

"Oh, also, this is something that happened at the knight offices..." I told him that I'd asked the knights to use the treasures the gang had left behind for charity.

"That's fine by me," he said. "I would've probably done the same."

Well, that's a relief, I thought. Just as I figured, he and I share a way of thinking.

"Indeed," agreed Nemesis. "Y ou two are quite alike."

We're both Maiden's Masters, after all.

With that, the conversation about the bounty was over, and I gave Hugo his share of money.

Good thing none of it got stolen by a Thief or something... I really

hope there are none of them in the shop... I thought.

"There, I now have my part of the bounty," said Hugo. "Thank you. It will make up for the destroyed Marshall II."

"Oh...? How much are those things, anyway?" I asked.

"10,000,000 lir."

"T-TEN?!" I yelped.

I had no idea it was so luxurious!

"With special tuning and extras, it can easily go over 20,000,000 lir," Hugo added. He pointed at the inventory where he'd just put the 20,000,000 lir I'd given him, his eyes still insisting that the Magingear's destruction wasn't going into the necessary expenses and that he didn't actually need any more of the bounty.

"Still, it's quite an expensive piece of equipment," said Hugo. "Also, that is the original pricing, exclusive to us clan members of the Triangle of Wisdom. On Dryfe's standard marketplace, their price is twice as great. That number is doubled or tripled yet again when we're talking about the machines that have gotten leaked to Caldina."

I had no idea whether I should be more surprised by the immense original pricing or by just how much greater it could grow.

"The pricing is the biggest problem with a Marshall II, and humanoid Magingears in general," he added. "The machines are generally as strong as Demi-Dragons, yet actual tamed Demi-Dragon monsters cost only about 3,000,000. A striking difference."

So that's how much Demi-Dragons cost, eh? I thought. Maybe I should buy one along with a carriage? Then again, I have Silver, so maybe I don't need it.

"Still, Magingears are not without their advantages," said Hugo. "For example, they don't use any minion capacity and can be mass-produced as long as there are materials and funds."

Anything "Demi-Dragon" was considered to be equivalent to a full party of people with low-rank jobs. Being able to create such things was quite a big deal. I could totally see why they were so costly.

"Y eah," I nodded. "Monsters are living creatures, and you sure as hell can't produce them just by having the materials and money."

"...True," he nodded.

"Also, you said something about Caldina selling them, as well. Can you elaborate?"

"Sure," he said. "Caldina imports and sells special items from all countries, even if they aren't actually exporting them. Dryfe's Magingears, Granvaloa's ships, Altar's Tomb Labyrinth drops, Tenchi's weaponry, Huang He's and Legendaria's magic items, etc. Caldina's main selling point is that, as long as you have the money, you can buy goods from every country. Even your social standing is dependent on how much you're offering."

"Money is Everything: the Country," huh? I thought.

"Due to that, many high-end players with fat wallets move over there... which has resulted in them having the most Superiors out of any country," Hugo muttered, clearly troubled by what he'd just said.

"'Most,' as in...?" I prompted.

"Nine Superiors," he answered. "The strongest force at any country's disposal."

"...Damn, that's a lot." The Kingdom of Altar had four, and nine was more than double that number. Thinking about that, I added, "Oh yeah, in the war, Dryfe—"

"Overwhelmed Altar, but was soon invaded by Caldina," he cut me off and explained. "Dryfe's Superiors had to leave the front lines to defend against those attacks, allowing Altar to prevail."

And that was why the kingdom had continued to exist even after a war in which none of its Superiors had participated. Sure, Altar didn't have enough power to retake the land taken by Dryfe, but still.

"Before the war, there was a large feast in Dryfe to celebrate the inevitable victory, yet the result was so inadequate that the one in charge of the country's domestic affairs — Prime Minister Vigoma — was at his wits' end," said Hugo. "Oh, by the way, Dryfe only has enough funds to buy the help of Masters just one more time. Anything beyond that would cause the economy to crash."

"Y ou sure you can say that to me?" I asked.

"That's inside info that's readily available to Masters as lowly as myself. Y ou see it quite often on online message boards, too. Me revealing it to you doesn't mean much."

"Oh, I see..."

"Anyway, to win this war, Dryfe has to either occupy the Kingdom of Altar before Caldina intervenes or merge with the country through peaceful methods."

Well, the latter case isn't impossible, considering that the kingdom has been weakened and is certainly not in a good shape to participate in a long-lasting war, I thought.

For better or for worse, Caldina had acted as a stopping force to prevent Dryfe from doing whatever they wanted.

...Still, I wasn't too fond of them, considering their involvement with the Gouz-Maise Gang.

"Oh, by the way," Hugo spoke up again. "Caldina was also the reason why Legendaria — Altar's ally — didn't participate in the war. Being south of Altar, the country is far from Dryfe while being extremely close to Caldina, which covers the entire desert area in the center of the continent. If Legendaria had sent its Superiors or tians with Superior Jobs to help in the war, Caldina would've used the

opportunity to take it over. The reason why Caldina interfered in the war was to prevent Dryfe from merging with Altar, thereby stopping our country from gaining the momentum it needed to conquer the entire continent. However, Caldina itself is planning the exact same thing."

So there are two countries vying for world domination? These sure are turbulent times.

"The reason why Caldina only invades countries that show an opening is because it's in the middle of the continent," said Hugo.

Basic geopolitics. Besides Granvaloa, which was on the ocean, the countries of the world could be vertically split into three parts, like a French or an Italian flag. To the left were the three western countries: the Dryfe Imperium in the north, the Kingdom of Altar to the south of it, and Legendaria even further down. In the middle, there was the City-State Union of Caldina. And off to the right, there was the Huang He Empire and Tenchi — the island nation that was relatively close to the continent.

The central country, Caldina, shared a border with every nation except the far-east land of Tenchi.

"Dryfe, Altar, and Legendaria to the west and Huang He to the east, not to mention the sea-based nation of Granvaloa," said Hugo. "It's surrounded. If Caldina focused on attacking something, the other countries would use the opportunity to take its land. They have plenty reasons to do so, after all."

"A bit of a deadlock there, huh?" I said. And the only real way for the situation to move out of this stalemate would be the war between Altar and Dryfe.

"...This might be a bit belated, but why are you so casual about looking like that?" I added.

"Like what?" Hugo asked.

"Isn't that Dryfe's military uniform or something?" I asked.

Hugo was wearing the exact same clothing as yesterday — the ones that looked like a military uniform mixed with a rider suit. Considering Hugo's affiliations, it needn't be said what military the uniform belonged to. Thus, wearing it in this country didn't seem like a good idea.

"No, this isn't Dryfe's official equipment," he said. "It's the suit from GodFrame Grand Marshall."

"GodFrame Gra... what?"

"GodFrame Grand Marshall."

Well, if that doesn't sound like a name for a mecha show...

"When did this anime air?" I asked. Assuming that Hugo was French, it might've been a western cartoon...

"It's not an anime," he answered. "It's a manga drawn by a Painter belonging to the Triangle of Wisdom."

"Drawn... here?"

"In this world, yes."

Hugo began explaining how the manga had come to be.

After troubles too many to count, the Triangle of Wisdom had finally finished its first battle-ready robot Magingear, the Marshall II. Being a group of people who'd gathered for the very purpose of creating a robot straight out of a mecha anime, they'd gone absolutely nuts about it.

While most had gotten fired up to continue improving their robots, some had become motivated to do other things. One of the clan members had used the skills from his Painter job to draw a cool-looking Marshall II design.

From that, another member began had begun drawing a manga.

Those who couldn't draw had begun writing novels or creating models, while some had gone as far as composing opening themes and soundtracks.

With the ever-growing number of clan members, this chain reaction had continued until it had become a considerably large production.

The Triangle of Wisdom was pretty much a gathering of mecha anime fans. Having a Marshall II as reference had strengthened their inner fires and urged them to create various creative works. It had gotten to the point where they now dedicated an entire area of their headquarters just for such production. And among the things they produced was the clothing based on the suit of a pilot from the manga — the very same thing Hugo was wearing right now.

"So you're constantly cosplaying, huh?" I asked.

"It was actually made by a skilled crafter, so the stats are good, too," he said. "It's considered to be the uniform of Pilots belonging to the Triangle of Wisdom. Still, that's not well-known outside of our inner circle, so I can wear it in this country with no problem."

"The stats are good?" I asked.

"Not nearly as good as those on special rewards, but it's no doubt among the best things I can wear at my level."

I could only imagine the amount of passion that had gone into the costume. Nothing could really stop a person when they got absorbed in something they liked.

"What about you?" I asked. "Did you join the Triangle of Wisdom because you're a mecha fan?"

"No." He shook his head. "I joined the clan because I know the leader. In fact, I started Infinite Dendrogram because he invited me."

Well now, doesn't that sound familiar? I thought. I started in the Kingdom of Altar because my brother told me to.

"All right, I have some things I want to know, as well," said Hugo. "I'm especially curious about the details of the Gouz-Maise fight."

"Sure, I'll tell you," I nodded. "After you and Cyco escaped with the children, Nemesis and I..."

After that, Hugo and I continued exchanging information or just chatting pointlessly for awhile.

"Oh, it's time," I said. Before I'd realized it, barely over an hour was left until the event began. I no longer had the time to go shopping at Alejandro's, so I rescheduled to tomorrow.

"Is something happening?" asked Hugo.

"Y eah, I got my hands on a ticket for the event," I said. "In the central arena, there's gonna be a match between Figaro and Huang He's Xunyu — two Superiors. Do you know about it?"

"I do. In fact, it's probably what every Master in this city is here for."

"Are you gonna see it, too?" I asked.

"...Y ou could say that, yes."

"Oh, we might meet in the arena, then."

Hugo said nothing. He seemed to be pondering something.

Did I say something strange? I wondered.

"Ray, there's something I want you to keep in the corner of your mind," he said before taking a deep breath and continuing. "It's west."

"'It,' as in...?" I raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he

meant.

"It's nothing important," he said. "Y ou know how the fighters in the great arena's matches enter from the east and west? Well, today's main deal, the Over Gladiator, Figaro, will go in from the west side."

"Is that how it works? I've never watched a match before, so I didn't know," I said, unable to shake the feeling that Hugo was hiding something. "Anyway, I'm going to the arena now."

"I see," said Hugo. "Cyco and I will wait a bit longer."

"All right, then. Guess this is goodbye for now. Oh, should we add each other to our friends lists?" I asked. If we ever had business with each other, knowing whether the other person was online or not could be a great help.

"Not now," he answered. "Let's do it next time we meet... or the time after that."

"Hmm. Well, that's fine by me." We seemed to have some sort of bond, so I didn't doubt that we would meet again.

"Until then, Ray," he said.

"See you again, Nemesis," Cyco added.

"Y eah, later, Hugo," I said.

"Until our paths cross once more, Cyco," Nemesis added.

◇◆◇

"Hey, Hugo. Was it really okay to tell him that?" Cyco asked.

I said nothing.

"Isn't that what they call 'leaking information'?" she prodded.

"It might be," I admitted.

"Y ou don't want the plan?" she asked.

"...Maybe, maybe not," I said. "In all honesty, I'm not sure myself."

"Y ou're not?"

I shook my head. "I certainly want to help fulfill his desires. If I didn't, my very existence as Hugo would be meaningless. However, I also cannot ignore women in distress."

"What an antinomy."

"Antinomy... that's a good word for it. I gave Ray the information, but that's the whole extent of what I did. Whether he acts on it or processes it as idle chatter is of no matter to me. As a piece in the plan, I will only do what I must."

"Then I will help you do whatever it is you do," Cyco said.

"Thank you." I nodded.