＜Infinite Dendrogram＞

□ Dueling city Gideon [Saint Knight] Ray Sterling

Me and Nemesis, Hugo were set to challenge [Rescue - Roddy Lankers], a sudden quest for Difficulty: Eight.

This quest will be as much a battle against time as it was with previous Migliane quests.

But there are two problems in accomplishing this quest and rescuing your child.

One is the difficulty of the quest.

I didn't know how difficult: Eight was, so I asked Hugo...

"I wonder how difficult it would be for Tian to fail first even if he reached 500 levels of canst if he challenged himself, etc. If it's just Tian, it's suspicious at the party."

and the answer came back.

As he added, "There are not many Tians who have only had the most raw once who reach the 500 level themselves because of the risks to nature and level increase when compared to the Master".

But the difficulty of failing even at 500 levels kanst......

Even though there is a difference between Tian and < Master >, it is too high a wall for me to challenge even if I have not reached the 50 level.

But I'm not going to abandon rescue on that grounds.

Worst case scenario, even if I become Despena, the kidnapped child will be rescued.

And the other problem is......

"It wasn't a good idea to let those guys get away."

Five bad guys we were dealing with the other day.

One stayed stretched since I hit him, so now he's tied with the wire Hugo had so he can't get away with it.

To hand it over to the guards, the woman we helped - apparently named Rebecca - is now on her way to the guard's jar.

But that's not the problem, the other four.

They are getting away with the throwaway dialogue.

Rebecca tells me that their organization is the Gods Maze Bandits, but we don't know who they are.

If they go back to Ajito first, they'll know about the upside down here, and her brother could be harmed.

"I should have let you smoke even poison gas"

If I had blown it from [Flaming Armor], I wouldn't have been able to move...

"I wonder if it would be terrorism if we did it all over the city."

... Indeed.

No, then don't let the left flamethrower burn your legs and walk...

"You seem to be thinking of something less serene, Ray. But don't worry about them."

Hugo points to the alley ahead where they fled.

The aisle bends to a letter along the way, and the bent end cannot be seen from here.

But the cheats and the sound of dragging something heavy came from the end of the bend.

"What?"

The Lord of its sounds approached one by one and eventually appeared from beyond the corner.

"Oh, hey, hey."

It was one girl who showed up.

Back length would be as good as nemesis, except for the white Russian hat worn on his head.

Yes, her first impression was white,

White hair, white cheeks, white hat

Additionally, he wears a long coat made of white felt and a white muffler even though it is not cold.

For some reason, he has a white mandarin in his mouth.

Only eyes were blue.

"Huh. Good luck, Cuco"

"Very much. It's a pain in the ass, but it's a trick."

Seeing, she was dragging humans - the chimps who escaped earlier - with both hands.

I grab that collar neck, two in one hand, and drag a total of four by myself.

An unsightly force, but if carefully observed, there was a crest on the back of her left hand indicating that it was a master.

Wouldn't that surprise you?

... By the way, that's an awesome bar read from earlier. Either it's that kind of roleplay or the way it was originally spoken.

…………

"Mm?"

And you noticed my gaze, she's looking at me and Nemesis jizzily.

She glanced at me and Nemesis in turn and said:

"Hmm, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

"Who's Loricon!

"Who's Lori!

You've been treated like an abnormal sexuality in the first voice we met!

"I don't care if it sucks, I don't care. And if you're ripping off a roller, it's a real roller."

I'm innocent.

Nemesis is a no-count because he's my kind too.

"No! Beautiful shaping! This form and design of mine is the ultimate shaping beauty!

"... of the so-called Sokaites, is, seriously, Rorikon."

"Ouch! Let me tell you something!

"Coming."

Nemesis jumped at her and she also relative with another faceless bar reading.

And fights, rather than kittens twitching each other, the two are fighting.

... It's rare that Nemesis hasn't hesitated so far besides me.

"So Hugo, who was that kid who treated people like Loricon with that bar reading?

"Cuco. It's my... it's a party member. I was contacting you earlier, and you were holding back the people who ran away. I have a bad mouth, but as you can see, I can count on you. Oh, let me just say one word and today's statement is still lukewarm"

"... are you warm"

"Compared to the poisonous tongue that beat up the owner of our clan."

... What the hell kind of words did you slap?

But, well, whatever it is, now there are three of them.

I bet you've got more eyes for a successful quest.

"So, Cuco, give me the information."

"Aye."

Cuco starts talking with only his neck pointed at Hugo, remaining in a position where he made a combined push between Nemesis and the fingers of both hands - a lockup that he calls prowless.

"I shut them up, and I talked to them. Beyond the hiccups, there is an aura." Come on, let's go. "

Cuco cleverly pulled a round map from his nose with his mouth and threw it to Hugo with only his neck.

"< Cruella Mountains >?

It's a map I haven't been to yet.

"It's about the mountains east of this city. Also beyond the mountains is the Valeira Desert. That's Cardina territory."

So it's also a border with a neighboring country.

"It's a good place for bandits to root castle. If the Army of the Kingdom of Alter acts in the Cruella Mountains, it will stimulate Cardina in response."

"Aren't you going to cooperate or something to eradicate bandits?

If there were bandits in the border zone, it would be out of the way.

Wouldn't the two countries join forces in an eradication campaign or something?

"Oh, I can't do that. That country basically only makes it gold, and I'd do anything to make it gold."

"Saying?

"If you can get the money, even the bandits will treat you as a guest."

... you mean Guru?

"Probably high returns and passive cooperation. If there are any signs of movement in the kingdom's army, let it react. Still, the kingdom will be hard to reach."

Hugo says so and opens the map he received from Cuco.

The map shows Gideon on the left and the desert on the right, with several mountains overlapping in the middle.

There is a round mark on one point in the second mountain from the east gate of Gideon.

"Here."

"It seems so. We need to hurry up a little bit."

"Oh. Let's run"

"... Huh?

When I said that, Hugo looked strange for some reason.

"What's going on?

"Ray, you must be the [Holy Knight], right? You're not gonna ride a horseback?

"... I have horses, but I can't ride them because I don't have 'horseback riding' skills"

"............ yes it is"

".................. oh"

The air is heavy!

"Huh. This is the first time I've seen a knight lineage that doesn't have 'horseback riding' skills"

"Do you normally have it?

"'I'm a swimmer! But you can't crawl, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly!' Close to being told."

So much!?

"I mean, if you pull out that four-water swimming method, what else do you have? Swimming!?"

"Isn't that dog scratching or old-fashioned swimming?

That's not like swimming.

"But I know what's going on. I'll take care of it. I'll take care of their legs until they get to Ajito."

"... helpful"

For the record, Nemesis and Cuco used to shake hands hard at some point.

They sprouted friendship at the end of the battle.

Well, it's good to have more friends.

The colors are black and white, and it's like a leading combination of cartoons for girls from decades ago.

◇

Our party - me (Nemesis swept), Hugo, Cuco - stood at the entrance to the < Cruella Mountains > through the East Gate on Gideon's 3rd Avenue.

There are cut mountain roads in the direction of heading into the mountains, and carriages and other passes.

From here on out, Hugo's “leg” should aim for their Ajito...

"So Hugo, what do you call that“ foot ”?

"I can't get it out here yet. Unless it's a little more invisible."

Can't you get it out in public?

"You mean too conspicuous?

"I could say so."

That's how I kept walking for about fifteen minutes.

It's not a mountain road either, it's been moving in and out of the woods.

…………

That's crazy.

I can't even pass a carriage on a roadless road like this.

I don't care what you think if you're going on a ride, you should go down the mountain road just now.

Even if it's somewhat noticeable.

"Can we get around here?"

Hugo said that when he found a place he had pioneered in the woods.

The width is circular with a radius of ten meters.

There are no unnaturally tall trees there, and the plants can peer like it hasn't been long since they started growing.

"Maybe the magician used Range Attack magic here. But this time it's convenient."

When Hugo said so, he took a round silver sheet out of the item box.

Start spreading that to the ground.

So I noticed, the seat is pretty big.

It's about four meters square on one side.

"[Cage] is ready. Cuco, where's the enemy?

"The - puffiness. There's no carrots and no monkeys."

Copy that.

Hugo opened a window at hand and began to manipulate something.

Then some mechanical sound was heard from the inside (...) of the seat that Hugo had spread to the ground.

"... mechanical sound?

So, finally, I realized.

Hugo's job is [High-Level Pilot].

Piloting is operating a machine.

But there is no such thing as a machine to steer into this fantasy world.

- "Except for just one country".

"Hugo, you are"

"Ray, I am now challenging this quest as one < master >, a thorn that protects the Hua named Woman"

Hugo speaks so as to block my question.

"Why are you doing this quest? [Holy Knight] of the Kingdom. Is that why you're doing it? Or because it's a man named you?

Inquiry from Hugo.

For that question, I...

"If I ignore this, I'm doing it because I thought the aftertaste was bad"

I just answered as I thought then.

"At least I don't think it's a quest I've taken in my position"

"Me too, yes."

Hugo said so, smiling lightly - pressing the button on the window.

It said “sortie" in French.

Immediately thereafter, the sheet laid on the ground unfolds.

Its surface slips open like a shutter, exposing a cavity inside that ignores the thickness of the seat.

Four columns rise from the four corners of the seat and stretch to a height of five metres.

Immediately afterwards, from the bottom of the cavity, the lift comes up with a roar.

A huge object was seated on the lift that reached the ground.

It's a two-armed, two-legged mannequin.

But I'm never a person.

All the heads reach six bodies, but five meters high.

The whole thing is covered in dark green steel and the lower back is mounted with a firearm and army knife to fit its size.

There are other weapon-like parts throughout the body.

Its chest is open, with seats inside that look like fighters.

It's like the cartoon I used to see.

It was - a man-made combat robot.

"Magic and Gear - commonly known as Magic and Gear. It is the main weapon of the Empire of Drife (...)"

Hugo - the [high-ranking pilot] of the Empire of Drife - revealed so as he boarded the cockpit of Magingear.

"... Hugo"

"Now it's just one night fighting for Lady's tears. That's right, it's one night, not the [Holy Knight] of the Alter Kingdom."

"... oh"

It also entails an atmosphere like girl cartoons or takarazuka, to Hugo's words that can be stated in a playful dialogue...... I endorse.

The kingdom and empire fought a war.

We are now in a temporary ceasefire, but in a few months we are told that we will be able to exchange wars again.

Clear enemies that are not virtual enemies.

But that has nothing to do with us right now, it has nothing to do with the woman who was crying at that time, nor with the boy who is her brother and the object of her help.

What we do now has nothing to do with where we stand.

Because I, Hugo, as Hugo, stand up to this quest as an individual.

"Are you close?

"Respond"

I jumped on a hand stretched out by Hugo's pilot.

Cuco was on the other hand early.

With us in both hands, Hugo's Maggie stands up.

", [Marshall II]... Go!

And [Marshall II] rushed across the mountain toward our destination.

To be continued