Chapter 110: A Woman Named Henrietta

The pit on the morning of the finals.

I had put on the Centipede and was lining up Rat Unit and Dog Unit while thinking over our strategy for the final match when something suddenly occurred to me.

“Come to think of it, Shinzo, what happened with the Sheepherd Dog exam?”

We were already at the finals.

Now that Banri, who had seemed like the biggest problem, had dropped out, it would not have been strange if the next-generation Sheepherd Dog had already been decided by this point.

“Ah… how do I put it? It’s over, but it ain’t over.”

“Is that philosophy?”

“Nope.” “It’s a riddle.” “Ouroboros!”

The three little girls answered me. Maybe after actually interacting with me, I had turned out not to be all that scary, or maybe yesterday’s feeding had gone well. Either way, the girls who were often with Eevee had warmed up to me. …It was a delicate line between feeling grateful and finding them a nuisance. No, since they kept trying to use my terminal to play games, at this stage, they were nothing but a nuisance.

I lifted the terminal somewhere their hands could not reach, then prompted Shinzo with a look that said, “And?”

“Our opponent in the finals is a candidate too.”

“Then it’s not over yet.”

“They’re weaker than Julius.”

“So what? This isn’t a game. The way you fight can overturn any difference.”

“Thing is, normally, they wouldn’t even count as a puppy.”

“I see. …Is this philosophy?”

Enough of that. Give me the conclusion.

“They bought their skill rank with money.”

“…That’s something you can buy?”

“Up to Rank 3, if you’ve got the money, you can use a stand-in. So the guy’s actual ability is below puppy level.”

“…Even so, they must have been able to do the work without causing problems, which is why they were allowed to remain a puppy, right? And they’ve made it all the way to the finals.”

In that case, we could not afford to let our guard down. It meant they possessed some other kind of ability, not something measured by a skill rank.

“The qualifiers probably had some setups too, but… here, take the semifinals.”

A terminal was tossed at me with a light pop. I caught it and looked at the screen. It was an article in electronic format. I read it. Apparently, it was about the second semifinal match. There was a video attached as well, so I played it.

Split-screen playback… was not quite the right term, but the screen was divided between the right and left sides so that the movements of both camps could be followed. 

A question mark floated into my mind. Both sides were moving strangely. One side launched all at once, while the other side did not move at all.

I wanted to think it was some kind of strategy, but something felt wrong. The side that had sent out all its machines did not spread out, did not stay alert to their surroundings, and ran at a fairly good speed. It was almost as if… yes, almost as if they already knew their opponent was not moving.

When the two forces collided, that suspicion was confirmed.

The side that had looked, at first glance, as if it was devoting itself to defense began to move sluggishly and abandoned its position.

“What is this?”

“They bought the win with money.”

“…Is that allowed?”

“A win’s a win.”

“…Whew.”

I tried whistling despite not being able to whistle at all.

“And in the qualifiers too, I’d say several teams were probably bought off.”

Don’t be ridiculous, I thought.

Simply participating was difficult enough. Some teams had staked their lives on entering. In other words, whether it had been arranged in advance or bought off after the matchups were decided, it was too much of a stretch. It was far too unrealistic.

“That’s… impossible, isn’t it?”

I returned the terminal to Shinzo. The end of my sentence had grown weak because, even so, I had still found myself thinking, But what if?

“Maybe it is. Maybe it ain’t. Either way, the reason I thought so is simple. Last night, our opponent invited us to throw the match.”

A wry smile rose to my face. Well, well.

“…Tell them, ‘Fools.’”

“Don’t worry, I told ’em right away.”

“So damn cool.”

“Thanks.”

Shinzo and I high-fived with an “Yeah!” 

Then the little girls cried, “Yeah!” as well, so I high-fived… low-fived all three of them too.

“By the way, how much was it?”

At my words, Shinzo turned the email screen toward me.

“…Shinzo, I’ve thought this over a little. With your ability, you could become a Sheepherd Dog at any time, couldn’t you? I’ve also heard that even against a hound, if people think they lack ability, a vote of no confidence can be held.”

“…I can pretty much guess what you’re trying to say, but I’ll hear you out to the end. Say it.”

“Right. Well, to be blunt, let’s take the deal.”

Shinzo’s eyes as he looked at me turned deeply suspicious. Then he pointed at me and said, “Tell him, ‘Fool.’”

“Fooool.” “You fooool.” “You biiig fooool.”

The three girls insulted me with genuine delight.

***

“Shinzo, I knew you wouldn’t bow to me!”

She was a woman in red.

Her silky black hair framed sharp, strong-willed eyes, and she wore a crimson Centipede.

Carrying herself with a confidence that backed every word, she strode into our pit and declared that aloud.

For a moment, the security team froze at the sheer suddenness of it. Then the combat team, Kirie included, hurried into motion. But the guards she had brought with her pushed the children aside without any trouble and opened a path for the woman in red.

Thanks to enhanced exoskeletons, the difference in strength between adults and children had narrowed. But narrowed was all. The gap was still there. So, well, this result could not be helped.

“Rat Unit.”

At that single word from me, the Monoz scattered through the pit began moving in unison. Each chose its preferred distance, gave orders to the other Monoz in the pit, and formed squads.

Guns came out.

Blades came out.

Seeing that, the combat team finally regained their composure. They gave orders to their own Monoz, opened distance, and raised their guns.

It might look excessive.

Even so, in this era, it was common enough for a smiling neighbor to approach you with a bomb strapped inside their jacket.

“Everyone, maintain semi-combat readiness.”

Howard-san’s voice echoed through the silent pit as he stepped forward to deal with the woman. He glanced toward Shinzo and Eevee. Eevee quickly evacuated the three little girls and the other lower elementary children, while Shinzo gave a small nod and started walking.

“…”

I let out a long breath.

Melt into the air, presence.

That was what I thought. Riding my breath, I pictured myself dissolving into the world.

Silently, soundlessly, slowly, I readied the Type Five behind a stack of luggage.

“We’ve got some minor tech here, and even that includes confidential information. You don’t have an appointment either, so how about you go home?”

“An appointment? An appointment, you say? Come now, Shinzo, you and I know each other. Don’t be so cold!”

I could not tell whether the screws in her head had come loose or whether she had removed them herself.

The guards froze for an instant, shocked by how well a group of children had moved. Meanwhile, the person they were guarding strolled forward with perfect ease.

Even under Shinzo’s intimidation, like a dog baring its teeth, the woman in red smiled.

“Don’t ask the impossible. You’re my opponent in the finals. I’m not soft enough to treat you casually right now.”

His voice was a little loud. That was for those of us, like me and Eevee, who did not know who she was. In other words, this was Henrietta. The last Sheepherd pup fighting Shinzo for the seat.

“Sorry to interrupt. But when the opponent we’re facing in the finals shows up unannounced at a time like this, it’s hard to stay calm. Could I ask you to come back another time?”

Howard-san spread both hands as he spoke, showing that he held neither weapon nor hostility.

Henrietta looked at him and said, “Hm.”

Then one word followed.

“Are you Touji?”

Howard-san did not move at that.

Neither did Shinzo, Eevee, or the children with a decent amount of training, like Kirie and Touka.

But the others did.

For example, the older children in the technical team.

They moved, and Henrietta’s gaze followed them straight to me.

“…”

Our eyes met.

She smiled happily, baring her teeth like a beast, and beckoned me over.

No helping it. Scratching my head, I stepped forward.

“…Did you need something from me?”

As a token of resistance, I let dislike seep into my voice.

“You are Touji, then?”

But my malice did not faze her in the slightest.

She was a different kind of noble from Karys. One who carried the martial side of the aristocracy. That was the impression I got. A female knight or a woman warrior. Either was fine. It did not matter. Something along those lines.

“Yes. I’m Touji. So what exactly do you want?”

“I thought Shinzo might not have told you. Have you heard about the match-fixing offer?”

The word match-fixing, spoken so openly, sent a wave of unrest through the pit, and even through the onlookers and reporters outside.

Ah. I see.

That was not cowardice or anything of the sort.

It was simply her way of fighting.

The way she showed not the slightest sign of wavering made me certain of it.

“If that’s what this is about, I believe we already refused.”

“What? So you did hear. Hm. I thought that, unlike Shinzo, you might be susceptible to this kind of indirect approach. Was the amount not to your liking?”

If so, I can still offer more, Henrietta seemed to say.

“No, the amount was enough for me, but…”

“So it was Shinzo. This hard-headed fool!”

“Shut up. Hurry up and go home.”

Shinzo, hissed at with a kyaah, answered with a growl.

If you called it roughhousing between pups, it sounded peaceful enough on paper.

“That’s how it is. Unfortunately, I don’t have the final say. If that is all you came for—”

“Ah, no, no. Wait, wait, wait. If that’s the situation, then I’m even more glad I came now. It’ll be harder to ask after we win.”

“…”

As a provocation, it was cheap.

Howard-san and I let it slide easily.

Shinzo did not. “Oh?” he said, anger spilling out of him. How immature. But that immature man was a mercenary who had become a Sheepherd pup through ability. Tension ran through the guards as they moved to protect their employer.

“Hey, what are you doing? Bring it over already.”

Arrogant did not even begin to cover it.

She did not care.

She kicked one of her guards, who had frozen under Shinzo’s anger, received something from him, and came back.

“If I asked after we won, after you refused the match-fixing offer and then lost, it would leave a bad taste on your side too. So I’ll ask now. I’m a fan. Give me your autograph.”

“…There’s an old man selling signed caps.”

“I have no interest in fakes.”

I see.

Arguing felt like too much trouble, so I accepted the autograph pen and square of fancy paper she held out, moved to a table, and scribbled my name in something like a signature.

Then I held it out to Eevee and the children she had brought over to peek.

“Want to write something?”

Eevee smiled wryly, and the elementary-age children backed away with faces that said, No, that’s definitely not okay.

But toddlers were fearless in that regard, or maybe they just could not read the room.

They happily drew flowers, a sun, fish, and so on. Then Rudo’s front paw was painted black, and a paw-print stamp was added too.

“Sorry for the wait.”

I handed the collaboration to Henrietta, who looked dumbfounded.

“Regardless of the match result, I’ll sign something for you. So come back after the match. When you do, I’ll sign it myself. Well, unless we fix the match, the result is obvious anyway. I’ll be able to sign in a much better mood after the match. Don’t worry. I’ll even add, ‘To Henrietta, underdog.’”

After saying that much, I turned on my heel.

Her provocation had been cheap.

But the truth was, I was affordable enough for that price to buy me.

“Now then, everyone, back to work. It’s nothing serious. Just win. Order to win.”

Cheers rose through the pit.