＜Infinite Dendrogram＞

□ [Saint Knight] Ray Sterling

A carriage carrying us is trolling on a dirt road.

This carriage belongs to a senior, but it's our silver that tows the carriage.

Me and my senior are sitting on your podium, and Louis is in the carriage.

Is the carriage considered to be able to run even on uneven ground, with large tires and high car heights, like the old off-road cars? I'm going to get through this if I give in.

In addition, it is a luxury product with a variety of features embedded by magic items, including air conditioning, impact reduction, and even defensive junctions in the expansion of internal space.

It is no exaggeration to say that it is the same armoured car for VIP.

So I wonder, "How could a senior have only had this carriage?"

Normally, a horse to tow would be the only carriage.

"How did seniors only have carriages?

I couldn't help but ask directly.

In response to my question, the senior put his hand on his mouth again and thought for a moment before starting to talk pale.

"This carriage was a share of the clan I owned"

"Senior, were you a clan owner?

"Yeah. I've already broken up."

The seniors laid their eyes down just a little lonely.

"Originally, a lot of people were busy with real life. If you are a housewife busy raising children and working, or a middle-management position in a company, a student on the job, a police officer, a university professor...... everyone, I've been busy. As much as I'm the most sloppy college student."

Seniors continue their words as they look to the landscape ahead of the carriage.

But somewhere nostalgic, that gaze is not the landscape, but is it looking at the memories of the day of his presence?

"Still crusading monsters together, turning quests, making noise together...... hunting and doing all kinds of fun"

If you look at the seniors' faces, you can tell they really enjoyed it.

... Well, how did you say anything else about crusading and hunting now?

"Didn't you even hunt grapes? Is there an orchard inside the king's capital?

I see. You know what?

"But the other day, I was devastated by the clan's activities. I used to lose more gear and items. Me, too."

The senior had only a few regrettable eyes before smiling bitterly for some reason.

"In addition to that pain, many people start a new life because it's spring..." It'll be fine around here any longer, "so I broke up the clan."

"Were you..."

Dissolution of the clan.

This < Infinite Dendrogram > is extremely real, but it's the same thing as a regular MMO.

"Upon dissolution, items shared with the clan will be distributed face-to-face to continue playing. Members recommended this to me: 'You have a head for this most expensive carriage'. I'm glad I received that feeling too...... hehe"

Seniors laughed as if they remembered something.

"I got a carriage, but I didn't have a monster to tow the carriage myself. I've always had a clan member Tame Monster tow me, so I lost track of it. Since then, I haven't been able to use it, I haven't had any errands to use it, I've been stuck in an item box..."

A little lonely while talking about such an episode of memories, but happily the senior looked at me holding the reins.

"Glad it helped today"

"Yeah, thank you. Senior."

◇

It has been about three hours since I left Wang Capital.

The carriage runs down a road called Faddle Mountain Road. Mountain roads, rather than a continuous series of hills.

Looks like that's about half the way to Louis.

Departure before lunch, so this minute you will be able to reach the village of Torne before sundown.

Now, as the journey progressed, I began to see other carriages and people heading north on foot.

There are many with children, and many people with a different atmosphere than crusades and business purposes can be seen.

"You got something?

"There's already a Wind Star Festival."

To my question, Louis answers with his face out of the carriage window.

"Fuusei sai?"

Louis said that Windstar Festival is a festival that is held jointly in several villages, mainly in the village of Torne, in the region north of Wangdu.

At a festival that captures old stories, windmills decorated full of villages and fireworks launched into the night sky are the sights.

Many tourists come from nearby villages and also from the Wang capital for festive sights.

They also say many will open stores for those tourists.

"Well, it feels like a festival."

"Yeah! Until last year, I went around with my stepfather every year, but it was so much fun!... but"

Louis will lean over there again.

I recall the fact that my father-in-law is not at this year's festival, and I guess I've gone down my mind.

"Father-in-law, I'll find you."

"... Yeah, please, Brother Ray"

That's how the carriage progresses, even as we exchange words.

Eventually, we entered a sloppy hilltop road,

"Ah..."

So I raised my voice as Louis noticed something.

"What's up?

"Around here..."

Turning his neck and looking at the landscape, Louis said this to remind him of something.

"... my mother and I met my stepfather here"

◇ ◇ ◇

That was four years ago in this time now.

Lewis and his mother, Farica, were on a boarding carriage to the village of Torne, just ahead of Mount Faddle Road.

Because an elderly [seamstress] who was in the village of Torne died and Farica, who was also a [seamstress], was seconded by the sewing guild.

Apparently Job's guild is also responsible for sending personnel to each town, and the dispatchers are hopeful and not compulsory, but Farica volunteered.

The reason is that there are significant financial problems.

Because it's been about a year since Louis' real father died in an accident and he's starting to feel uncomfortable saving.

She also did her job as a [seamstress], but how many minutes of her days with young children.

In addition, there is an increase in the number of well-armed [seamstresses] - in urban areas. The supply was greater than the demand, and the sale of clothes from Tian, of inferior nature and quality, was in decline.

Life was difficult with less work, and life was close to it even if it wasn't until I lit a fire on my nails.

That's why I volunteered to be sent to the village of Torne.

If you are seconded from the guild, in addition to earnings from your job as a [seamstress], you will also receive subsidies from the guild. Besides, I thought that work would be stable if we moved away from the oversupplied urban areas.

That is how she decided to move to the village of Torne together in order to raise her son well, in order not to leave him feeling poor.

There was no mistake in her judgment.

Everyone involved has been saved, both financially in the family, in the upbringing of their son and in the sewing situation in the village of Torne.

So there was no mistake...... she was only a little (...) unhappy.

To the extent that the passenger carriage is attacked by more than a hundred monsters.

Just a hundred meters beyond the riding carriage in which the mother and child rode, there were numerous monsters running the ground with four legs as they raised earthquakes.

It's called [violence-fung-bore], a flock of carnivorous pigs. A ferocious monster who is said to follow you everywhere to mark the smell of blood.

Not a rare monster around here, but it was rare for so many to strike as a herd.

However, monster habitats often change in this world due to < UBM > outbreaks, and large herds continue to form accordingly.

Therefore, it was only a little misfortune that this [bore] flock attacked the boarding carriage.

Though it was twelve misfortunes to kill those who had no power to fight.

The passenger in the carriage changed the horse's direction and tried to escape.

But the horse panicked at the herd of [bore] gets stuck and falls on every carriage as it is.

People and objects inside are thrown out of the rolling carriage.

Fortunately, there were no deaths on that roll, but we weren't lucky enough yet to overshadow that their situation was the worst.

"Come on! Get out of here!

Tian's adventurer, who was escorting him, calls out to the passengers.

They were going to escape while protecting their passengers.

Some people tried to serve as lords, but they are embarrassed by the Adventurer of the Song that he "will only lay down his life".

None at all. I can't even make ten seconds in front of all those [bores] where a few Tians stood, no matter how many battle positions they were, all below a hundred levels.

It was more solid and right to leave with the passengers than that and try not to be attacked by another monster ahead of us.

They were right.

I was right... but the result was to abandon the lives of the two of us.

That's a set of mothers and children.

Mother - Farica was crushed by a load in a rolling carriage and couldn't escape.

Child - Louis is crying beside his mother who can't escape either.

Louis asked for help.

But the other humans have already put them away and run away.

I can't help it.

A matter of contesting every minute and second, not a metaphor. If you spend a minute trying to help your mother and child, all the humans you've tried to help will feed [Boa].

In addition, even if they were able to help, [Boa] and the others would follow the bleeding phallica and her bloodbathed Louis.

With the two of us, you'll never get away with it.

So this is a necessary sight to kill, and an inevitable inevitable, everyone, except the mother and child, fled, blocking their ears to the crying voice of Louis.

The spiteful inevitability is here, and soon the lives of mothers and children will be lost.

The miracle that overshadows that fate... is not in mothers and children.

But... "they” had it.

"- Gringamu!!"

When the fangs of one [bore] approached the carriage exposed to the bottom and tried to pierce it...... I heard someone say something.

Immediately after that word, which seemed to call on someone,

"GLUWOOOOOOOOO!!"

A giant carnivore emerged from somewhere, sticking his fangs up to its [bore] neck muscle, crushing his cervical spine with one blow and letting it die.

That's a lion. A giant lion, better than an elephant, with woolly hyenas.

The lion is ravaging as if it were to tap into the true food chain with the carnivorous pigs who tried to eat the mother and child.

"Are you all right?

From the lion's back, two humans jumped.

One is a warrior with a bald head. His face is close to those in heaven and earth, and he wraps lightly dressed protective equipment around his forged flesh.

The other is a green haired girl. Somewhere in the ocean, he stares at [Boa], who flocks to the ground.

The Bald Head Warrior reaches out his left hand to Louis, who is slipping his hips by the carriage.

Its left hand back was engraved with a pale crest.

"Those monsters are my Gringham...... the horseman is holding them back. Run while you can..."

"Or my mother...! Mother's still in the carriage!

To Louis' words, the bald-headed warrior notices Farica caught in a load in a carriage.

Running right over, squatting in and trying to help her out.

"Let's help now!

"Never mind me, give my son...!

Farica takes control of the bald-headed warrior who tries to help her and begs her to take her son away.

Farica continues her words as she sees her own crushed legs...... unable to move and attracts [Bore].

"I wouldn't be helpful if it didn't happen by miracle anymore...... So at least... just my son..."

"... that's not true"

But the bald warrior denies Farica's words.

"Defeat all those monsters and we can help you"

"It's...!

"If that's a miracle, if you say you can't help without a miracle, I'll do a miracle"

That being said, the Bald Head Warrior stands up and looks out for a herd of [bores] fighting his own horseback.

And call on the green-haired girl who was beside herself.

"Yuno!"

Shortly after the bald-headed man calls his name, the green-haired girl becomes a green and red particle and dissolves into the universe, to two points… converges into the palm of the bald-headed man's hands.

The man had a spear in his right hand and an oval shield in his left.

"- Come on, monster. The miracle shield is here."

The man ran out with a weapon the girl had changed and jumped on the back of the horseman he was fighting.

He drinks against [Bore] without a herd.

"[Phantom Beast Cavalry" Fantasy Rider "] Sijima Ichiro, push through!!"

And he challenged a one-on-one hundred battles.

The result is... you won't even have to ask.

◇ ◇ ◇

"My father-in-law was... amazing. With Gringham, he defeated so many monsters, he helped me and my mother."

"Is that the meeting between Louis and your stepfather?"

"Yeah. And he also took on an escort to the village of Torne. Besides, my mother brought someone from somewhere to use healing magic to heal her beautifully."

Mr. Sijima has since been concerned about them, one mother and one son, and stopped by the village of Torne from time to time.

Love sprouts and marriages between him and Mr. Farica, Louis's mother, within doing so.

I'm going to have a baby.

…………

One thing I care about right now.

Mr. Sijima, Lewis' stepfather, was... Maiden's.

Yes, "I don't think of this place as a game," Maiden's.

Such a person has been disappearing for six months after leaving his family in this time, and I think I should think of the consequences.

When they find Mr. Sijima in real life. If you intend to retire < Infinite Dendrogram >, at least at first sight you wanted Lewis and his family to meet and say goodbye.

But suppose the reason he's gone in the first place isn't because he's retired or something... "because I'll never see him again”...,...?

"... what?

As I circled my mind about Mr. Sijima... I heard the wind roaring low from afar.

That doesn't end in one go, and the sound goes off one after the other as you change places.

I heard what happened near here... and I found out that it was the sound of "legal spiral".

'BOOO', 'BOOO' and legal helmets are blown all over this area as if to let you know something.

"Senior, what is this..."

My words stop in the middle of an inquiry.

Because the side of the senior who turned to the question was the opposite of what it had been until then.

In a nutshell...... I could see a face of the kind that was regarded as' fierce '.

But when I blinked surprised, in the meantime, the seniors' sides were back to the calm ones.

Wrong look, was it?

It's just that the senior looked me in the eye and said this in a slightly more rugged voice.

"Attention, Ray. Now the spiral is their signal."

"They?"

When I question the seniors' words,

"We will contact you during the passage through the area or during the hunt"

Voices like Miss Uggs on the baseball field echoed on the map over loud items.

And that voice...

"Ten minutes from now, we will be hunting for the PK Clan. If you do not want an interpersonal match, please leave within ten minutes'

That's what I declared.

To be continued