I wake up with a start in unfamiliar surroundings, and my eyes fall upon a naked light bulb and a bare concrete ceiling.

“…What is this room?”

I can feel myself about to lose it, so I review what I can remember of what happened.

I’m sure I was sleeping on my bottom bunk. I don’t remember moving from there. I don’t remember leaving or meeting anyone, either.

I look around the room. The space is about the size of six tatami mats with an exposed toilet and sink. There’s also a table in the center of the room with a hemp sack lying on top of it.

What sticks out the most, however, is the cutting-edge twenty-inch monitor embedded in the wall, completely unbefitting this cell-like chamber.

I suddenly lower my gaze. I’m dressed in my school uniform with nothing in my pockets.

I reach into the hemp sack on the table and pull out its contents one at a time.

A pen. A notepad. A blue digital wristwatch. Seven sets of solid rations. A portable device that looks exactly like an iPod Touch.

And then…

…a knife, with a solid heft to it.

I slowly pull off the cover. The blade is thick, and it even has a serrated edge. It’s an authentic combat knife, just like the ones the military guys use in the movies.

“…What the—? Why is this here…?”

It’s clearly a weapon. An implement of warfare.

Is someone trying to make me fight? Or to put it another way, do I have to fight?

With a shake of my head, I toss the knife back in the bag. Realizing my body is trembling, I take a breath and try to collect myself.

I survey the room again. No windows. I can’t spot any vents, either. There is a single, extremely heavy-looking door. I think about opening it, but then I notice there’s no doorknob. I try pushing against it lightly, but it doesn’t even budge.

I totter unsteadily toward the bed and plop down.

“What the hell is happening…?”

I don’t understand. I don’t understand…but this is not normal.

…It’s not normal—not my everyday life.

I see. So maybe it’s…

“Good_morning.”

My heart almost leaps from my chest at the sudden voice.

I swivel my head, and on the previously black monitor I spot… What even is that? It’s bizarre, whatever it is.

“Geh-heh-heh_good_morning_Kazuki.”

Though the greeting itself is friendly, the voice sounds purely mechanical and devoid of intonation.

On the monitor is a lurid primary-green…bear, I think—maybe. The creature’s eyes have a sharp glint, and its overall misshapen form isn’t cute in the slightest—pretty gross, honestly.

“H​e​Y​_​h​e​y​_​h​e​y​_​h​o​w​_​a​r​e​_​y​o​u​? I​_​a​m​_​t​h​e​_​m​a​s​c​o​t​_​N​o​i​t​a​n. N​i​c​e​_​t​o​_​m​e​e​t​_​Y​o​U​.”

The mouth of the bear (Noitan?) moves up and down, although all the sprite is doing is raising and lowering its chin. Like I said, creepy.

“…What a horrible character. This would scare any kid to tears…”

“……Eep!”

H-he spoke back to me! And not only that, but he’s incredibly vulgar and really fluent all of a sudden!

Those wide-open, bloodshot eyes are terrifying, too!

“…U-uh…can you speak to me?”

“YeaH_I_can.”

The weird inflection is back. I guess he’s designed to only speak smoothly when he’s angry.

“Noitan—”

“That’s ‘Mr. Noitan’ to you, you presumptuous sack of trash. Be polite.”

“……Mr. Noitan. I don’t know how I got here. Could you tell me where I am?”

“I​n​s​i​d​e​_​a​_​g​a​m​e​_​c​a​l​l​e​d​_Kingdom_Royale. I’ll​_​e​x​P​L​a​i​n​_​m​o​R​E​_​l​a​t​e​r​_​w​h​e​n​_​E​V​E​r​y​o​n​e​_​h​a​s​_​g​a​t​h​e​r​e​d​_​b​u​t—”

“Everyone…? You mean I’m not the only one here?!”

“Okay, asshole, if you don’t learn to let people finish before butting in, I’ll rip out your tongue.”

“……I’m sorry.”

“T​h​e​_​d​o​o​r​_​i​s​_​g​o​i​n​g​_​t​o​_​o​p​e​n​. O​u​t​s​i​d​e​_​y​o​u​_​w​I​L​L​_​f​i​n​d​_​t​h​e​_​o​t​h​e​r​_​P​L​A​y​e​r​s​_​i​n​_​t​h​e​_​g​a​M​e. I​_​w​i​l​l​_​E​X​p​l​a​i​n​_​m​o​r​e​_​t​h​e​R​E​_​s​o​_​W​A​I​t​_​a​_​b​i​t​_​o​k​a​y?” Noitan says, and the heavy door slowly but smoothly begins to open.

“…May I leave?”

“Y​o​u​_​C​A​n​_​w​h​E​N​_​y​o​u​_​a​r​e​_​r​e​a​d​y.”

“Ready…?”

“O​u​t​s​i​d​e​_​t​h​e​_​d​o​o​r​_​I​s​_​a​_​c​O​m​m​O​N​_​r​O​o​m​. T​h​e​r​e​_​y​o​u​_​w​i​l​l​_​f​i​n​d​_​P​E​o​P​l​e​_​i​N​_​t​h​e​_​s​a​M​e​_​p​o​S​I​t​i​o​n​_​a​s​_​y​o​U​. A​r​e​_​y​o​u​_​r​e​a​D​Y​_​t​o​_​m​e​e​T​_​t​h​o​s​e​_​p​e​o​p​l​e​?”

“And what are we supposed to do?”

Noitan’s face contorts into that disturbing sprite.

“Kill one another,” he says.

“……Huh? What the—?”

Before I can finish speaking, the monitor shuts off. The door fully opens at exactly the same moment.

What is that?

So there’s a room out there? …I find that hard to believe. I’m pretty sure refusing to go isn’t an option, though.

I put on the blue wristwatch lying on the table and stand in front the door. I try to talk myself down as the terror threatens to overwhelm me.

…You’ll be fine. Everything’s gonna be okay.

I know nothing good lies ahead. But this is the inside of a Box, so she’ll be here.

…Maria will be here.

That’s how I know I’ll be okay.

And with that, I plunge forward into the darkness.

Day 1 <B> The Common Area

The view changes instantly.

The first thing I notice is that it’s white. Unnaturally so, like a newly built hospital without doctors or nurses or patients.

I have just enough time to take it in, and then…

“Urgh…?”

…I’m knocked flat.

Before I have time to wonder what happened or even register the pain of slamming against the floor, I’m staring down the point of a knife.

“What’s your name?”

I finally process the situation as I see a girl with midlength hair holding the weapon out at me.

“A-ahh…”

“Your name is ‘Ahh’? I’m guessing no. I want you to tell me your name here.”

Wh-who is this person?

“K-Kazuki Hoshino.”

I notice she’s wearing a uniform from my school and has an orange digital watch on her left wrist. Unsurprisingly, it’s the same as the watch I’m wearing, just a different color.

Does that mean she’s another player in the game? …Huh? Wait, has the killing already started, and this is checkmate for me? H-hold up, this is unfair!

Just as the situation looked to be too much…

…Yeah, just hearing that voice makes me feel a million times better.

“Hmm, do you know him, Otonashi?”

“Yes, I do.”

The girl with the longish hair returns her gaze to me for a closer examination.

“…Hmm,” she says. She stands up, her expression never changing, and moves away. I don’t really get what happened, but apparently, she’s let me go.

“Are you all right, Kazuki?” Maria comes running up.

“Y-yeah…” I answer as I grab her extended hand. “B-but why exactly did she…?”

“Whoa!”

At the sound of yet another voice, I stop short and turn around to see what’s happening. The same girl has turned her knife on a boy with brown hair.

“…What’s this all about?” he asks as his eyes move to take in his surroundings. He seems surprised, but he’s also calm enough to be curious about us.

“…You’re awfully relaxed,” the girl comments, noticing the brown-haired boy’s attitude.

“Nah, that’s not true… I guess once I saw in your eyes that you weren’t going to go through with it, I knew I’d probably be okay.”

The girl answers him with a meaningful “Huh.” She then withdraws her knife and lets him go.

“…Oh, is that it?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

…She backed off from the brown-haired guy just like that, too. Why does she keep doing that?

Now that he’s off the hook, the brunet acts like he’s completely forgotten what just happened to him. “Oh-ho, three young beauties. Today’s my lucky day,” he says with a carefree smile.

Three…? Let’s see, there’s Maria, the girl with the knife, and then…

Next to the big monitor in the room, I spot a girl with long hair curled up in a small ball, as if trying to hug herself. Her skin is pale, striking a contrast with her deep-black hair that gives her a very trim and neat appearance.

And then there’s the beige watch around her wrist.

“It’s okay, Yuri!”

“…What’s going to happen to us?”

“We’ll figure something out!”

…Guess those two know each other.

“You’re the Kazuki Hoshino, correct?”

I look away from the two girls and toward the one who spoke to me. It’s the guy with brown hair.

“Do you know me?”

“Of course I do. Everybody knows you and Maricchi are a set. Don’t tell me you forgot about that epic entrance ceremony.”

As he answers, I notice his worn-out school uniform, silver necklace, and green digital watch on his arm… Now that I think about it, everyone here is dressed as a student from our school.

“Um, so what’s your name?”

“I’m— Oh yeah. Hey, President, it seems like the gang’s all here, so how about we do a round of self-introductions?” he says to the knife girl.

President? Does he mean the student council president? One of the Superhuman Three Kokone was talking about?

“You’re right. That might be a good idea.”

Now that I think about it, I’ve heard this same clear articulation through a microphone many times before. This girl with her confident smile… Yeah, no doubt about it—she’s the president of the student council.

So that means…I’m supposed to lock horns with a superhuman in a game of kill or be killed?

“Is this everyone?” the president asks the brunet.

“There’re chairs for six, so I’d think so.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

…Huh? Six?

“Hold on a minute, there’s only five of us here—”

“Kazu, you got eyes in that head of yours?”

I hold my breath.

The six chairs are arranged evenly around the rectangular table in the middle of the room, and he’s sitting in the farthest one from me.

Dressed in his school uniform, Daiya’s lips curl up in a little smile, and he raises his arm with its black digital watch as if to say, Long time no see.

We haven’t seen each other in two months, we’re finally meeting again in a place like this, and yet he’s greeting me like it’s been hardly any time at all.

“What? You know each other, too? ……I see.”

“President. Does that mean you’re nervous about us joining forces?”

For just a moment, the president seems caught off guard, but then she sighs and says, “Do whatever you want.”

This time, Daiya smirks.

What was up with that little interaction…? It’s like they’re already squaring off for battle… Or maybe it’s already begun? Is that why she pulled the knife on me?

“So I’m the one without any friends here? Being the odd man out sucks!”

The brown-haired kid clutches his head dramatically as if completely unaware of the tension between the two… Given his behavior, I wonder if he has any idea what’s happening to him…?

“Okay, right, self-introductions,” the president says. “Shall we give that a try? Let’s have a seat in these chairs since they’ve set them up for us.”

I sit directly across from Daiya, and Maria sits next to me. As I thought, there’s a watch on her wrist, too. It’s red.

“Now then, I’m sure you might already know a bit about me, but I’ll go ahead and start. I’m—”

“Can I say something first?” Maria interrupts, glaring at the student council president across from her.

“What?”

“I didn’t stop you earlier because I didn’t get the feeling you were really going to hurt him, but…what was the point of threatening Kazuki?”

“Oh, that?” The president explains, completely unfazed by the angry gaze directed her way. “If that ridiculous bear told you the same things it told me, then everyone already knows we’re about to play a game of killing. Right? That being the case, I figured someone might try to get a head start while everyone was confused, and if I did what I did, it might deter them. So in essence, I was just doing a bit of risk management.”

“Heh.” Daiya snorts derisively at that explanation.

The president is openly upset. “Okay… I’m pretty sure you’re Daiya Oomine. I’ve heard rumors about you. What was that sneer for?”

“A plan to gain a mental edge, eh? Wrong, so, so wrong. I’d never go for a plan with so many disadvantages. That’d just get me on everyone’s bad side, maybe even make me a target.”

“So you were just trying to find the mastermind? Gauging everyone’s reactions to see if you could catch someone behaving suspiciously?”

“Oh, stop, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.” The president responds lightly, but I still can’t shake the feeling that a storm is brewing.

“Come on now, you guys. You’re all starting to freak me out here!” the brown-haired boy interjects.

“…Fine, but I have to say, you’re taking this remarkably well. I can tell you’re a tricky one,” the president replies.

“Cut me some slack. This is just what I’m like when I’m feeling off. Normally, I’m pretty quiet, but now I’m just a bit worked up or something… I don’t think I’m as nervous as your friend there, though.”

The quiet girl’s shoulders jerk as the conversation suddenly turns to her. “I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, Yuri. There’s no need to apologize.”

“S-sorry, Iroha.”

The president smiles and shrugs at the girl apologizing next to her. “Ahh… I can just feel all the stress leaving me.”

“Nice one, Yuri.” The brown-haired boy gives her a thumbs-up.

“Huh? What? Did I do something…?”

The president starts giggling again as the girl blinks in confusion. “Shall we get back to the matter at hand and start those introductions? As you know, I’m Iroha Shindo, third-year student and the student council president. My skill is being able to fall asleep anywhere. My hobby is track and field.”

“You’re good enough at track and field to compete in national tournaments, and you call it a hobby? People must hate your guts,” Daiya interrupts.

“Well, listen to you. But the simple truth is that it is just a hobby. I’m actually not cut out for track at all. You have to rely on your physical abilities. As it happens, I’m not especially gifted there, which is why I’m not cut out for it; thus, it’s just a hobby.”

“Says the hateful little boy,” the president retorts without even missing a beat. She really is superhuman if she can go toe to toe with Daiya like this.

She nudges the girl next to her, prompting her to go next.

“Ah, I-I’m, um, a third-year, and, um, I’ve been one of Iroha’s friends since we were in the same class during our first year… Um, do I really need to say my skills, Iroha? Um…I don’t really know if I have any skills…but my hobby is reading. My name is Yuri… Yuri Yanagi.”

“Huh?” The word escapes my mouth before I can stop it. Did she say Yanagi?

“……Huh? Um, ah, did I say something strange?” The girl calling herself “Yuri Yanagi” seems flustered by my reaction.

“Ah.” I get ahold of myself and wave my hands vigorously. “I-it’s nothing. It’s just…I have a friend with the same last name.”

“O-oh, I see…”

Yanagi—no, that’ll just confuse things, so Yuri—is still giving me a strange look.

“Are you through, Yuri?” the president asks.

“Oh, um…” Yuri looks away. “N-nice to meet you.”

…Oh great, now she probably thinks I’m some sort of weirdo.

Having watched all this with a grin on his face, the brown-haired boy opens his mouth.

“You’re a real cutie, Yuri, dear. Just my type.”

“What?!”

“Hold on there, first-year. Don’t go hitting on Yuri. Don’t speak so familiarly to her, either.”

“Just so you know, President, you’re a bit too aggressive for my tastes.”

“As if I care. You introduce yourself next.”

“All righty. I’m Koudai Kamiuchi from first year, nice to meetcha. Oh, and it’s especially nice to meet you, Yuri. So, my hobby is slot machines… Oh, the ones in arcades, I mean.”

Daiya seems unexpectedly interested in Koudai Kamiuchi, the brown-haired boy, as he introduces himself. “Ahh, so you’re Kamiuchi, huh? I’ve heard a lot about you. Apparently, you never lose at pachinko slots.”

“Eh, that’s not true. Well, I guess overall I probably having a winning record. I just have good eyes.”

“I was scouted? I don’t really remember, I guess… Either way, there’s no chance in hell I’d play high school baseball. Besides, I’m way too delicate for those brutal practices. The go-home club suits me much better.”

He may not be one of the Superhuman Three, but maybe Kamiuchi is pretty incredible, too…

“…Uh, Yuri?”

“Y-yes?”

“Are you by any chance really smart or something?”

“Huh? Oh, I, um… Not at all.”

“Yuri always has the top scores in Class 1,” the president answers lightly.

Third-year Class 1? That’s the class for the elite humanities students aiming for Tokyo University. If she’s the head of the pack in there, then…

“Th-that’s only because you’re in the science class. If you were in humanities, I know you’d be better than I am…”

“Oh, just so you guys know, I got the second-best score on my entrance exam,” Kamiuchi chimes in. “Looks like we’re both second fiddles who can’t hold a candle to those cheaters at the top, Yuri.”

“O-oh…”

It seems he’s no slouch, either.

“Hmm. I’m beginning to see some commonalities among us. All at the top of our classes… Well, I can’t generalize too much, since we’re dealing with both sciences and humanities classes here, but it seems we’re all the first-and second-best students in our respective years. It’s consistent with the number of people.”

“Uh, but my grades are only slightly above average. I did pretty good on my finals, but even then, I’m still probably at the bottom of the top scorers, so…” I swallow the rest of my comment.

The student council president, Yuri, and Kamiuchi all eye me suspiciously.

…Why? Did I say something that strange just now?

“Just to confirm, Otonashi and Oomine are both number one in their classes, right?” the president says, looking at me.

I nod silently.

“I see.” She has a pleasant look on her face as she speaks, but her eyes are not smiling. “Then why are you the only one who’s different?”

I flinch in the face of her overpowering question.

“You can only afford to be so eager.”

The president’s gaze moves away from me…to Maria.

“Why’re you getting so intense before you even know what this game is about? Does that mean you agree with the killing and are all for taking part in it? If so, then you’re the one we need to be on guard against.”

“Th-that’s right. It’s not like anything has started yet…”

Prompted by Maria’s words, Yuri peeks over at the president as she gives her two cents. In response, the president stands quietly with her lips pursed for a moment. She doesn’t seem especially miffed, but more like this is just a habit of hers when she’s thinking.

She draws her mouth into a line, then lets out a long breath and replies, “You’re right. Maybe it is a bit crazy to start suspecting someone just because they don’t fit the theory that all of us are overachievers. Carrying around baseless suspicions could trip us up at some point.”

“If you want my input, the most suspicious of us all is our high and mighty president here with her penchant for jumping the gun,” Daiya says.

“Ha-ha-ha, I’m suspicious? Go take a look in the mirror.”

Daiya smiles happily at the president’s words.

“…Uh, what are we doing here? Are we already trying to find the culprit?”

The question shows an obvious inability to keep up with the situation, and the president’s mouth quirks upward slightly. “I don’t know if I would say we’re finding the culprit so much as just figuring out who we need to be on guard against. One of us could be the mastermind orchestrating this game, or maybe the mastermind’s accomplice who’s trying to facilitate the killing. Basically, if I can learn who they are, then I want to expose them before we pass the point of no return.”

The mastermind, eh?

Mastermind or whatever…I already know who the culprit who set all of this in motion is.

Daiya Oomine. There is no other possible culprit aside from him.

…But I’m beginning to understand that I can’t simply say this.

There isn’t any room for clumsy announcements here. I’m already under suspicion simply because my grades aren’t high enough. Going against the flow would only make them doubt me even more.

I wonder what would happen if I just said Daiya caused all of this by using the powers of his Box as an owner.

That’s why I can’t say anything about the Box, no matter how right I am.

I’m sure the reason Maria is just brooding in silence is because she understands this, too.

“N​o​W​_​t​h​e​n​_​n​o​w​_​t​h​e​n​_​n​o​w​_​t​h​e​n​.​ ​I​_​c​a​n​_​S​E​e​_​t​h​a​T​_​t​h​e​_​p​A​R​A​n​o​i​a​_​i​s​_​r​e​A​L​l​y​_​S​t​a​r​T​i​n​g​_​t​o​_​k​i​c​k​_​i​n​. I’m_h​a​p​p​y​_​t​o​_​s​e​E​_​t​h​i​N​G​s​_​a​r​e​_​g​o​i​n​g​_​a​s​_​e​x​p​E​C​T​e​d​.”

We all simultaneously turn our gazes to the big monitor in the center of the wall. On the screen is the same decidedly un-cute bear from before. Seeing it on an even larger screen just makes the creepy factor all the more apparent.

The president sneers at the monitor. “Well, if it isn’t the scarebear.”

“Watch your mouth and call me Mr. Noitan. Just because you’re the student council president of a single school doesn’t mean you don’t smell like piss, so don’t get any ideas you’re something special.”

The president is smiling confidently, but Yuri lets out a small yelp and shrinks in shock at Noitan’s sudden sharp tongue and upsetting sprite.

…She isn’t especially short, but there’s definitely something about her that reminds me of a small animal… People often say the same about me, though, so it’s not like I can talk.

“Just get on with the explanation, scarebear.”

“Are you too dumb to understand language? I hope you die first.”

“Hey, Your Presidency. We won’t get anywhere at this rate, so how about you pipe down for a bit?”

“Fine, fine.”

In response to Daiya’s caustic remark, she shrugs and closes her mouth. After a bit of silence, the image of Noitan returns to normal, and his speech resumes its normal unsteady manner. He’s probably calmed down.

“NoW_I_wiLl_eXPlain_Kingdom_Royale.”

We watch the screen quietly.

“T​H​i​s​_​i​s​_​a​_​g​a​M​E​_​o​f​_​K​I​l​l​_​o​r​_​b​e​_​k​i​l​l​E​D​_​b​u​t​_​M​o​R​e​_​p​r​e​c​I​S​E​l​y​_​i​t​_​i​s​_​a​_​g​A​M​e​_​o​f​_​s​E​I​z​i​n​g​_​t​h​e​_​T​H​R​o​n​e​.”

We all look at one another as we listen to Noitan’s explanation.

“And how will we know our Class?”

“Y​o​U​_​c​a​n​_​c​H​E​C​k​_​y​o​u​r​_​C​l​a​s​s​_​o​N​_​t​h​e​_​M​O​N​i​t​o​r​_​i​n​_​y​o​u​r​_​r​O​O​M​. B​y​_​t​h​e​_​w​a​y​_​T​h​E​Y​_​a​r​e​_​t​O​U​c​h​_​S​C​R​E​e​n​s​_​s​o​_​y​O​U​_​c​a​n​_​o​P​E​R​A​t​e​_​t​h​e​m​_​i​N​_​v​A​R​I​o​u​s​_​w​a​y​s​_​d​E​P​E​N​D​i​n​g​_​o​n​_​y​o​u​r​_​C​l​a​s​s​.”

The president scowls as she listens to the rest.

“N​o​W​_​t​h​e​n​_​b​e​F​O​R​e​_​I​_​t​e​l​l​_​y​o​u​_​a​B​O​u​t​_​t​h​e​_​C​l​a​s​s​e​s​_​I​_​w​i​l​l​_​e​x​p​l​A​I​n​_​t​h​e​_​s​e​T​T​I​N​g​_​o​f​_​K​i​n​g​d​o​m​_​R​o​y​a​l​e​. Th​i​s​_​k​i​n​g​D​O​m​_​i​s​_​r​U​L​e​d​_​b​y​_​a​_​d​e​s​p​o​t​I​C​_​K​I​N​g​_​w​h​o​_​h​a​s​_​T​R​I​e​d​_​t​o​_​i​n​V​A​d​e​_​o​t​h​e​r​_​l​a​n​d​s​_​m​a​n​y​_​t​i​m​e​s​. A​n​d…”

“Noitan.”

Maria cuts off the bear as he begins to launch into a prologue like the ones people usually skip when they play video games.

“WHAt_is_it_Maria?”

“We don’t need all that. Just cut to the chase and tell us what we have to know about the game.”

“What the hell sort of attitude is that to take when someone is kindly trying to give you a thorough briefing? You’ve got a lotta nerve for a kid who reeks of piss.”

He’s back to the bloodshot eyes.

“You just said Shindo smelled like piss, too. Your vocabulary is weak.”

“If a bird trapped in a cage has time to kvetch over that, then you should probably spend it thinking about how to stay alive.”

Seemingly satisfied (?) now that he’s said his piece, Noitan’s image returns to normal.

“L​o​O​K​S​_​l​i​k​e​_​I​_​D​o​N’t_​h​a​v​e​_​a​_​c​h​o​i​C​E​. I’ll​_​j​u​S​T​_​t​e​l​l​_​y​o​U​_​t​h​e​_​m​a​I​N​_​p​O​I​n​t​s​. F​i​r​S​T​:​_​T​h​e​_​t​i​m​E​T​a​B​L​e​_​m​u​s​t​_​b​e​_​s​t​r​i​c​t​L​Y​_​O​B​S​e​r​v​e​d. B​r​e​a​k​_​i​t​_​a​N​d​_​y​o​u​_​w​i​L​L​_​b​e​_​a​u​t​o​m​A​T​i​C​a​l​l​y​_​E​l​i​m​i​n​a​t​e​d​_​s​o​_​b​e​_​c​A​R​e​F​u​l.”

“…What happens to us if we’re Eliminated?”

“Compulsory_execution.”

The air grows tense.

“B​y​_​b​e​h​E​A​D​I​n​g​_​N​A​t​U​R​a​l​l​y​. I​d​i​o​t​s​_​w​h​o​_​C​A​N’t_k​e​e​p​_​a​_​s​c​h​E​D​U​l​e​_​d​e​s​e​R​V​E​_​t​o​_​d​i​e.”

Yuri’s eyes are wide and unblinking. As she comes to understand that “execution” means exactly that, the color drains from her face.

“Mummified… Huh.” The president purses her lips while scratching her head. “So how do we win this game? I have no idea what we’re supposed to be doing.”

“W​e​L​L​_​t​h​e​_​c​o​n​d​i​t​i​o​n​s​_​f​o​r​_​v​i​c​T​o​r​Y​_​a​R​e​_​d​i​f​f​e​R​E​N​T​_​f​o​r​_​e​a​c​h​_​C​l​a​s​s​. F​o​R​_​e​x​A​M​P​l​e​_​t​h​e​_​K​i​n​g​_​w​i​n​s​_​i​f​_​h​e​_​d​i​s​P​O​S​e​s​_​o​f​_​a​l​l​_​t​h​o​s​e​_​g​u​N​N​I​N​g​_​f​o​r​_​h​I​S​_​t​h​r​o​n​e. I’ll​_​s​H​O​w​_​y​O​U​_​t​h​e​_​d​e​t​a​i​l​s​_​f​o​r​_​e​A​C​H​_​n​o​w.”

Noitan vanishes, and text appears on the screen.

*The game ends when all the victory conditions of those still alive are fulfilled.

Everyone is so absorbed in reading and trying to work through the implications that they don’t utter a single word.

I stare at the screen with all my might, too, but that doesn’t give me any clue of what I should do next. All I know is that the ominous words “Murder” and “Assassinate” prove that we really will be killing one another in this game of Kingdom Royale.

“Hey, scarebear. How exactly do we use these Magic or Assassinate abilities?” the president asks.

“C​o​m​m​a​n​d​s​_​f​o​R​_​t​h​o​S​e​_​A​B​I​l​i​t​i​e​s​_​w​i​l​l​_​a​P​P​e​a​r​_​o​n​_​t​H​E​_​m​o​n​i​t​o​R​s​_​i​n​_​y​o​u​r​_​r​O​O​m​s. A​L​L​_​y​o​U​_​n​E​E​d​_​t​o​_​d​o​_​i​S​_​p​r​e​S​S​_​t​h​e​_​B​U​T​t​o​n​_​T​O​_​p​e​r​f​O​R​m​_​t​h​e​_​C​O​M​M​a​n​d. Y​o​U​_​c​a​n​_​K​I​l​l​_​a​s​_​e​a​s​y​_​a​S​_​y​o​u​_​w​o​U​L​D​_​b​U​y​_​a​_​t​r​a​i​n​_​T​I​C​k​e​t.”

Except for mine, everyone’s faces turn white. I look at Maria, unable to understand why they’re reacting so strongly.

“…Maria, I—”

“Don’t you see how dangerous this situation is?”

I nod slowly. Daiya looks at me with an exasperated smile… I mean, if I don’t get it, I don’t get it.

“Let’s say you feel you’re in danger… No, maybe that’s not good enough. Let’s say you’ve realized your death is almost certain. The only way to avoid this threat would be to kill a certain person. Would you be able to murder that person with a knife, Kazuki?”

“A-absolutely not.”

“How about if all it took was a press of a button?”

“Huh…?”

I could save my life with a single button, in exchange for the life of another.

“……I—I don’t think I could do that, either. Kill someone, I mean.”

“True, I’m sure you couldn’t. But do you think the others would arrive at that same conclusion?”

I instinctively take a look around me.

“Do you have any conclusive proof that any of the six of us here, including you, wouldn’t take someone else’s life the moment they sense danger? …Let’s be honest here. I know I don’t.”

I’m almost positive that goes for everyone else, too.

“‘Someone here could very well kill me.’ The thought will probably cross all our minds. I think it goes without saying that paranoia will make the situation especially critical, don’t you agree?”

“B-but even if we could kill one another just by pressing a button, it’s still not an easy thing to do.”

“How about if we’re running out of time?”

“…Time?”

“It’s like that green bear said. There’s an overall time limit—namely, that we die if our rations run out. If there’s no victors at that point, then we all lose… We die, in other words.”

I swallow.

“Our goal isn’t simply to win; it’s to find a way out of the game. But if we start running out of time, that goal will start breaking down. Someone will abandon the idea of achieving it at all. This person will probably prioritize survival. They’ll even start thinking that if we’re all going to die anyway, they may as well fulfill their own conditions for victory. And then once there’s a corpse…it’s all over.”

“…Why?”

“There’s a dead body. That means we know someone is actively taking part in the game. If we rest on our laurels, they’ll end up killing us all. The rest of us will be forced to play the game as well. And that most likely means there will be no end until a victor is decided.”

No one contradicts Maria as she calmly lays out the facts. We’re all on the same page, it seems.

“The moment the first body appears, it’s all over…”

The bottom line is, we need to think of a way out of this game before someone makes a mistake.

“S​o​_​s​o​_​s​O​_​D​o​_​y​o​u​_​u​N​D​e​r​S​t​a​n​d​_​t​h​e​_​g​a​M​E​_​n​O​W​? I’lL​_​s​h​o​w​_​Y​O​u​_​t​h​e​_​t​i​m​e​T​A​B​l​e​_​n​o​W​. M​A​K​e​_​s​u​r​e​_​T​o​_​f​o​l​l​O​W​_​i​t​_​a​n​D​_​g​e​t​_​w​h​E​R​E​_​Y​O​u’r​e​_​g​o​i​n​g​_​w​i​T​H​I​n​_​f​i​v​e​_​m​i​n​u​t​E​S​_​O​f​_​t​h​e​_​s​c​h​e​D​U​L​e​d​_​t​i​M​E.”

“T​h​e​r​E’s_​n​o​_​n​E​E​d​_​t​o​_​t​a​K​e​_​a​N​y​_​n​o​T​E​S. T​h​e​_​c​L​A​S​s​_​d​A​T​a​_​a​n​D​_​t​h​e​_​t​i​m​e​t​A​B​l​e​_​a​r​e​_​o​n​_​y​o​u​r​_​p​o​R​T​A​B​l​e​_​D​E​V​i​c​e​s. Y​o​u​R​_​D​E​V​i​c​e​s​_​a​l​S​O​_​k​e​e​p​_​l​O​G​s​_​o​f​_​c​o​N​V​e​r​S​a​t​i​o​n​s.​ I​_​h​o​P​e​_​t​h​e​y​_​c​o​m​E​_​i​n​_​h​a​n​d​Y.”

“Uh, you mean everything we say here will be recorded?”

“Are you implying you’ve said something you don’t want on record?” The president instantly pounces on Kamiuchi’s remark.

“No, I haven’t said anything like that…”

Kamiuchi laughs ruefully. “Ha-ha, I don’t think anyone would want to give anything away in a situation like this.”

I can’t blame Kamiuchi for being on guard. I don’t want to play this game, either, but I can’t help but feel an urge to know the others’ Classes. Especially the ones who will be hostile to me, as well as the oh-so-dangerous Revolutionary.

That’s why I can see us reading those conversation logs.

But that act in itself could be dangerous. I suspect that if I ever become anxious and read back over past remarks as my own fears start to swallow me, I could get hung up on the most trivial of remarks and descend into even further paranoia.

And then, when I can no longer bear the suspicion any longer, I just might press the switch to kill someone…

…That’s it. Giving us the ability to review what’s been said was a way to get us to take part in the game, no doubt about it.

“A​n​Y​W​a​Y​_​I​_​w​i​s​h​_​y​o​u​_​a​l​l​_​G​O​O​d​_​l​u​c​k. D​o​N’T_​l​e​t​_​t​h​e​_​g​a​m​e​_​e​n​d​_​w​i​t​h​_​s​o​m​e​_​b​O​R​I​n​g​_​o​u​t​C​O​m​e​_​w​h​e​r​e​_​Y​o​U​_​a​r​e​_​a​l​l​_​m​u​M​M​I​f​i​e​d​.”

And with that, Noitan disappears from the monitor.

“That damn scarebear…,” the president growls.

Now that the grating robotic voice is gone, silence reclaims the room. Everyone is quiet, not even opening their mouths. Perhaps now that we know all of our conversations will be recorded, it’s harder to say anything that isn’t absolutely necessary.

In the end, the president breaks the silence. “Otonashi.”

“What is it?”

“You were pretty casual about saying our goal is to find a way out of this game, but do you actually think that can be done?”

“Of course I do. You don’t agree?”

“I… To be honest, I believe it would be extremely difficult. I mean, I can tell that in here, both logic and intuition are abnormal. I had kinda assumed it wasn’t just me, that all six of us felt the same way, but am I right?”

Yuri and Kamiuchi nod. I quickly follow suit.

“Do you really think a place as anomalous as this would really provide a viable means of escape? If so, I’d love to see your evidence.”

Everyone else is also staring at Maria like they’re members of a jury.

…She does have proof to back her claims. She knows that no matter how crazy this place is, we can get out if we do something about the Box.

She briefly glances in my direction, but…

“…It will almost certainly be difficult. But that is our only goal. You may not believe there are any breakthroughs to be found, but our only option is to have faith… Am I wrong?”

She’s keeping quiet about the Box after all.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

It appears the president has accepted Maria’s unflinching response.

“President. You said you think it’s going to be difficult to escape from here—that means you intend to play this game of murder, right?” With a smug look on his face, Daiya cuts in with another sardonic remark.

“Back at it with the carping, huh? You’re wrong. After all, I could never kill anyone. Even if we said the murders committed here weren’t crimes, and I could kill someone with just a single button—neither of those things would change the fact that I’d tainted my hands by taking a life. I would bear the weight of that sin until I collapsed under it and my life fell apart. I have enough imagination to know that, so it is categorically impossible for me to go through with it.”

Daiya clicks his tongue at her perfect response.

“I’m…the same.”

“Aw, everyone here knows you could never do a thing like that, Yuri, m’dear. Oh, and neither could I, just so you know.”

“If you’re going to jump on the bandwagon, try not to make it so obvious. Yuri aside, there’s no way I can believe anything you say.”

“Wha—? Hey… C’mon, don’t say that, President!”

“Well, the one I trust the least is Oomine, though.”

The president is paying him back for that smug jab earlier, but he responds with a cynical grin.

And then he goes and says:

“Yeah. I don’t mind killing someone if it suits my purposes, after all.”

He just made an enemy out of everyone here without even breaking a sweat.

YOUR CLASS IS THE SORCERER.

I notice the message written on the monitor as soon as I return to my room.

Right. Out of the six, the Sorcerer is the only Class that doesn’t have any enemies.

“…Whew.”

I let out an instinctive sigh of relief.

Our goal is to not even let Kingdom Royale get started. All the same, it does my nerves good to know my position has no obvious enemies.

“…Hmm?”

There’s text at the bottom of the screen.

NO TARGET HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR MURDER YET.

Murder. The command that lets the King choose someone he wants to have killed.

If the King does pick a target for Murder, then most likely the command for using Magic—for killing someone—will appear on the screen.

I don’t want to think about it. Not someone wanting to kill someone else, or me having to press the button.

“……I’m fine, everything’s fine,” I whisper, trying to encourage myself. The killing won’t start so easily. I’m sure none of the others want to start offing one another, either.

At the very least, there’s no way anything will happen during the early stages when we still have plenty of time.

“……”

Is that true?

After all, Daiya is one of the six participants.

“HeY_hey_hey_Kazuki. It’s_tIMe_for_Private_Meetings.”

Noitan shows up with the same unnerving suddenness as ever.

I’m used to him by this point, so I look up at the monitor without a hint of surprise. The bear’s mouth flaps up and down, still green and still gross.

“C​h​O​O​s​e​_​w​h​o​_​Y​o​U​_​w​A​n​t​_​t​o​_​s​p​e​a​k​_​w​i​T​H​. Y​o​u’ll​_​b​e​_​a​B​L​e​_​t​o​_​g​o​_​t​o​_​t​h​E​I​R​_​r​o​o​m​_​f​o​r​_​j​U​S​t​_​t​h​i​R​t​y​_​m​i​n​U​T​e​s​. I​f​_​Y​o​U​_​c​H​O​o​s​e​_​t​h​e​_​s​a​M​e​_​p​e​r​s​O​N​_​a​s​_​s​o​M​E​O​N​e​_​e​l​s​e​_​w​h​o​e​v​e​r​_​c​H​O​S​e​_​f​i​r​S​T​_​w​i​l​l​_​G​O​_​f​i​r​S​T​.”

“…What happens if the person I choose picks me, too?”

“N​o​T​H​I​N​g​_​h​a​p​p​e​n​s​. Y​o​U​_​s​i​m​P​L​y​_​g​e​t​_​t​w​I​C​e​_​a​s​_​l​O​N​g​_​t​o​_​t​a​L​K​,” Noitan’s voice answers.

I ask something else as I look down at the portable device sitting on the table. “…Um, will the devices show the conversations I have during my Private Meetings to anyone besides me and whoever I’m talking to?”

“N​o​. T​h​e​_​o​n​L​Y​_​c​o​n​V​E​R​S​A​t​i​o​n​s​_​t​h​a​t​_​c​a​n​_​b​e​_​v​i​e​w​e​d​_​o​n​_​a​_​d​e​v​i​c​e​_​a​r​e​_​t​h​O​S​E​_​h​e​a​R​D​_​b​y​_​t​h​e​_​d​e​v​i​c​e’s_​o​w​N​E​R​. E​v​e​N​_​i​f​_​y​O​U​_​a​r​e​_​i​n​_​t​H​e​_​s​a​M​E​_​r​o​o​m​_​t​h​e​_​c​o​n​V​E​R​S​A​t​i​o​n​_​w​i​L​L​_​n​o​T​_​b​E​_​r​e​c​o​R​D​e​d​_​u​n​l​e​s​s​_​y​o​u​_​a​c​T​U​a​L​l​y​_​o​V​E​R​h​e​a​r​_​i​t​. H​o​w​e​v​e​r​_​w​H​O​_​y​o​u​_​s​P​E​A​k​_​w​i​t​h​_​d​u​r​i​n​g​_​y​o​u​r​_​P​r​i​v​a​t​e​_​M​e​e​t​i​n​g​s​_​w​i​l​l​_​b​e​_​n​o​T​E​D​_​i​n​_​t​h​e​_​o​T​H​e​r​s’_r​e​c​o​r​d​s​_​s​o​_​b​e​_​c​a​R​E​f​u​L​.”

Who should I pick…? Well, I guess there’s really only one person.

Of course, I press the button for MARIA OTONASHI.

“N​o​W​_​t​H​E​n​_​w​a​I​T​_​a​_​b​i​t​_​f​o​R​_​e​v​E​R​Y​o​n​e​_​e​l​s​e​_​t​o​_​c​h​o​O​S​E​.”

I wonder who the others are going to pick…?

…It’s just a hunch, but I get the feeling Maria won’t choose me. I’m sure she’s assuming I’ll choose her.

That’s why she’s going to go with…Daiya.

“OkAY. I​t​_​s​E​E​M​s​_​e​v​e​R​Y​O​n​e​_​h​a​S​_​d​E​C​I​D​e​d​. I’ll​_​s​H​O​W​_​y​o​u​_​w​h​o​_​t​h​e​y​_​p​i​c​k​e​d​.”

Noitan vanishes again, and now names appear on the screen.

As I thought, Maria has chosen Daiya.

And Daiya—

“……Ah!”

“Why…?”

I can’t think of a good reason… With no idea why he’s doing all this in the first place, I don’t even know where to start.

Fortunately, it seems I won’t be seeing him until after I speak with Maria.

I’m glad the order isn’t reversed. If my Private Meeting with Daiya came first, he would have me in the palm of his hand. With Maria, I can come up with a plan of action.

I take a look at who the others have picked. Yuri’s and Kamiuchi’s choices are pretty much what I would have expected, but I’m a bit surprised to see that the class president singled out Kamiuchi.

“T​h​E​_​d​O​O​r​_​w​i​l​l​_​o​p​e​n​_​o​n​C​E​_​i​t’S_​t​I​m​e​. D​o​n’t_​w​O​R​r​y​. A​F​T​e​r​_​y​o​u​_​p​a​s​s​_​t​h​r​o​u​g​h​_​t​h​e​_​d​O​O​R​_​y​o​u​_​w​i​L​L​_​a​u​t​o​M​A​T​I​c​a​l​l​y​_​g​o​_​t​O​_​t​h​e​_​c​o​r​r​e​C​T​_​r​o​o​m​.”

Day 1 <C> Private Meeting with Maria Otonashi – Maria Otonashi’s Room

The blackness makes it seem as if I might fall into a void, but when I take a step out into it, I find a room almost identical to my own on the other side. In fact, it’s so similar that it feels like the room I left simply rotated around me to become my destination.

“There you are.”

Sitting on her bed gazing at me, Maria pats the bed and beckons me to sit next to her.

“We don’t have any time for small talk, so let’s get right down to business.”

“…Um, and what exactly is that?”

“How we’re going to get the Box away from Oomine, what else? Don’t tell me you actually plan on playing along with this Kingdom Royale?”

Sitting next to Maria, I vigorously shake my head no.

“We’re going to put an end to the Game of Indolence. Our objective is the same as always. The only thing that’s a bit easier this time is that we already know who the owner is.”

“…But I wonder if Daiya will hand over the Box…”

Maria’s brow furrows a bit at my words. “…That’s true. We have to find a way to persuade Oomine…”

“Do you think it’ll be easy?”

I shake my head. We can’t persuade him. That means we won’t be able to get him to produce the Box on his own.

In that case, our only option is to crush it by force. Namely, crush Daiya himself.

“…Hey, Maria. If Daiya loses at Kingdom Royale, do you think it would spell the end of the Game of Indolence, too?”

“That all depends on the nature of the Game of Indolence, so I can’t really say… But thanks to the Rejecting Classroom, I had plenty of opportunities to learn about Daiya’s personality. After observing him for so long, I think if Daiya has made it so others die if they lose his game, he will die if he loses, too. I’m sure you agree, right?”

I nod. While I can’t be certain as long as I don’t know what Daiya’s endgame is…it’s hard to believe someone as prideful as Daiya would exempt himself from the rules of his game.

“……Hey.”

Maria gazes deep into my eyes as I mull over the situation.

“Kazuki… Do you hope Oomine will die?”

“Huh?”

She looks as collected as ever, but I can see the slightest hint of unease in her face as she watches me.

…Of course she would be. It’s not too farfetched to think my last question implies we should get rid of Daiya.

“No. I’d never want Daiya to die, I can tell you that.”

“…I see,” Maria says, and the smile flickering across her face is clearly born from a sense of relief.

…Which makes sense. There’s no reason she’d want to resort to such methods.

“Getting out of here because Daiya’s dead isn’t a real solution,” I continue.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“Still, that doesn’t leave us any closer to figuring out what to do…”

At my noncommittal reply, Maria scowls and starts to speak.

“…I’m a bit reluctant to do this. But I think we may need to enlist the aid of the others aside from Oomine…particularly Shindo. If all of us are on the same page, then we have nothing to fear from Kingdom Royale.”

“If we can get them to understand the gist of what Boxes are and convince them that Oomine is the owner, then we can make it clear who everyone’s real enemy is. We can avoid the worst-case scenario, where no one knows who’s going to kill who. Kingdom Royale will never even start as long as no one falls prey to paranoia.”

“…But it’ll probably be hard to convince them about the Box, huh?”

“Yes, exactly. It’s going to be difficult to even bring it up when drawing attention puts you directly in the line of fire.”

“Yeah… I can understand why you’d be reluctant to do it.”

“…I’m not saying that because I think I’d have trouble pulling it off.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you get it? I talk about who the owner is. I inform everyone that their real enemy is Daiya Oomine. And once I do that, they will all know that Oomine’s death will set them free. And they can kill someone with a single button.”

I automatically choke back what I was going to say.

“Oomine isn’t the type to be easily persuaded. Even if Shindo and the others learn the truth, he’s unlikely to call off the Game of Indolence. What do you think the others will do when they see that? Do you really think they’re all going to wait patiently for him to change his mind when we have a time limit, and when they could be killed as well? I don’t think so. If things come to a standstill, it’s possible that—”

Maria finishes her sentence with some difficulty.

“—Shindo will kill Oomine.”

“That—” I stop and take a big breath before continuing, “That isn’t necessarily true… I—I mean the president said herself, right? That she could never kill anybody.”

“That was enough to put you at ease?”

“…Do you think she was lying?”

“I don’t know whether everything was a lie. However, if Shindo was being sincere, that just makes her all the more dangerous.”

“Wh-why…?”

Without a word, Maria stands up, takes the portable device sitting on the table, and fiddles with it. It plays back a voice recording.

“I would bear the weight of that sin until I collapsed under it and my life fell apart. I have enough imagination to know that, so it is categorically impossible for me to go through with it.”

I shake my head.

“Here’s what Shindo is saying: She can kill as long as she is prepared for her life to fall apart.”

That sure seems like a really shrewd conclusion, but…yeah, I guess I can see how you might interpret it that way?

“B-but there’s no way she would be prepared to ruin her life without an extremely important reason.”

“Do you think she wouldn’t have one? I can come up with one right now. Let’s see… Wouldn’t saving Yanagi constitute a really good reason in Shindo’s book?”

I fall silent at how easily she fires back. That would definitely give the president enough motivation to cross the line.

That’s right—we aren’t in the regular world. This is an abnormal place twisted by the Box. This means many “extremely good reasons” could exist here.

“Kazuki, I’m sure you know this, but I cannot kill, no matter the reason.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I believe you are the same. Can you give an instantaneous explanation, like Shindo did?”

Her words make me wonder.

Why can’t I kill anyone?

…Is it because I believe it’s arrogant for a person to assume it’s okay to kill another?

…Is it because I feel pity when I imagine myself as the victim?

…Is it because my sense of ethics won’t allow it?

I can come up with several, but none of them really fit the bill. I don’t think they’re totally wrong, but they’re also not right. They’re all reasons you’d apply after the fact, and the resulting inability to kill actually comes first.

“Can’t come up with anything, huh?”

“…Yeah.” I respond with my head hanging low.

“That’s for the best.”

“Huh?”

“What Shindo said about her imagination, it isn’t right. Those who are truly incapable of killing others don’t need any reasons. You and I—we simply cannot do it.”

…She’s right. That’s exactly how it is. It feels more correct to me than anything else.

“Why would Daiya do that when he has to know it would place him in danger…?”

“Well, given his normal attitude, the claims of ‘I could never kill anyone’ from Shindo and the others probably don’t sound very convincing to him. If you think about it, his personality actually places him at a disadvantage in Kingdom Royale.”

…There’s no denying that his general behavior would seem to make him the biggest target.

In contrast, the safest would be Yuri, oddly enough.

“True. There’s one thing I’m curious about, though: Is the Game of Indolence an external type or an internal type?”

Maria’s gaze sharpens at my question.

“S-sorry, I didn’t think before I asked. Y-yeah, a Box as messed up as this would have to be an internal—”

“It’s external.”

“…Huh?”

“The Game of Indolence is an external-type Box. As for level, I’d say it’s around a five.”

I’m pretty sure she said the Week in the Mud was an external level four. That means we’re dealing with a Box much more powerful than the one that simply caused people to switch places.

But if it’s an external type…

“That means he does possess a certain level of firm belief in this situation… In this case, it’s possible the owner has mastered the use of the Box.”

I swallow hard at her explanation. That means…we’re dealing with something pretty serious here, doesn’t it?

“That’s why persuading him will be difficult. Up to this point, all the owners still possessed a sense of logic when they used their Boxes, at the end of the day. That’s why their wishes lacked confidence and had open seams in them. We were able to dig into those weaknesses and get them to reveal their Boxes.”

“…But it won’t work like that this time.”

“At any rate, we won’t be able to escape its effects on the real world. The memories of what we experience here during Kingdom Royale will most likely never vanish, and whatever happens will probably carry over into the real world.”

“So that means dying in the game means dying for real…?”

“Yeah, it’s best to think that… Just to be clear, death has a massive effect, even when we’re talking about an internal type instead of an external type. The only reason I’m here unaffected now after losing my life so many times in the Rejecting Classroom is due to the nature of that Box, because it became as if those deaths never happened. If I had perished during the final 27,756th transfer, I would have died in reality, or at least been affected in some way that would leave me functionally dead.”

“…I see.”

So that’s how things stand.

Dying here is the same as dying for real.

“That’s why we cannot allow Kingdom Royale to start, by any means.”

To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t really felt that much danger. Describing this as a game makes it all sound so frivolous, and a “death” delivered with a single button—since this Box is divorced from reality, part of me was sort of treating this like events in a game, after all.

But I was wrong.

Even if a single button is all it takes to kill me or for me to kill, there’s no resetting those deaths like we would in a game.

“…Anyway, we don’t have time. For now, let’s think of what you’re going to do in your meeting with Oomine.”

“Okay.”

We may not have a clue as to how to resolve this situation, but we still need to focus first on what we can do.

“Well, my guess is, the first thing Daiya will do is try to figure out my Class. What do you think?”

“You’re probably right… By the way, I should warn you: Unless there are some sort of extenuating circumstances, you should never, ever reveal your Class to Oomine or anyone else.”

“Gotcha.”

“But I can tell you, Maria. I’m the Sorcerer.”

“…And what would you do if my Class pit me against you?”

“Nothing. I’d still tell you.”

“…I see. I suppose that’s how it should be. You and I wouldn’t hide such a trivial thing from each other.”

Maria smiles as she says this, and I feel my face relax a bit at the sight of it.

The information could place our lives in danger if someone else found out about it, and she had just described it as “a trivial thing.”

“As it happens, my Class is the Prince. I would’ve been more relieved if I had gotten the Revolutionary.”

I hear that. The one most likely to kill someone is the Revolutionary, the only Class that can dispatch others autonomously. But Maria would never make such a mistake, even if the time limit was approaching.

There is no doubt in my mind that Maria could never kill anybody.

“……Ah.”

As the thought crosses my mind, something comes to my attention.

“What is it?”

“U-um…”

Maria looks at me questioningly as I glance at her out of the corner of my eye, and I think:

Maria is powerless within this Box.

I mean, Kingdom Royale is a game of murder and deception. Maria can’t do either, so she has no chance of winning.

In all our past struggles involving Boxes, I was completely reliant upon her. I’m sure I’ll need her help this time around, too.

But—I’m sure a time will come when I’ll have to rely on my abilities alone to do what I have to.

“……It’s nothing.”

Maria frowns and keeps scrutinizing me as I respond.

She has put her faith in my inability to kill someone else. But if I learned of a future where Maria would die, and that I could prevent it by killing someone, then I…

…What would I do?

As for what I’d need to do to make it through my time with Daiya—the conclusion we eventually reached was complete silence.

Daiya will undoubtedly try to throw me off my game, so even just reacting presents dangers. It’s not like I have any faith in my ability to evade his schemes, so all I can do is not listen.

I raise my hand in greeting as Daiya enters my room. After taking a quick glance around the room, he sits on the table.

“Kazu, there’s something I want to ask you straight off the bat that—”

“Daiya.”

I cut him off immediately.

“I know this is the inside of your Box. All I can think is that you’re approaching me because you figure I’m an opponent to deal with and you’re hoping to entrap me. So that’s all I’m gonna say, and nothing more.”

Daiya seems momentarily surprised by my serious, steady delivery, but his expression soon warps with contempt.

“What’re you talking about, Kazu?”

“……”

“What do you hope to accomplish by giving me the silent treatment? Aren’t you the one who should have questions for me about my Box? I’m sure you have to do something about it.”

“……”

I’m not saying a single word. I’ve made my resolve. If I decide it’s okay to just answer one question, Daiya will seize that opening, I’m sure. He’ll slowly lure me into believing it’s safe to talk to him, then get what he wants out of me. So I’m not giving a peep.

“…I get it—you’ve left all the decision-making to Otonashi, haven’t you? She’s the one who suggested you keep your mouth shut, didn’t she? You’re garbage, Kazu. I’ve taken shits worth more than you. If all you’re gonna do is stay silent, insects still have you beat. At least they’ll never talk.”

I cover my ears with my hands.

“I know you can still hear me. Hmph, I’ll let you in on a little secret, Kazu.”

Daiya stands up, leans in toward my ear, and whispers:

My eyes widen of their own accord at his words, and I look up at him.

Daiya cackles so hard I almost wonder if he’s gone crazy.

“See? Less than a bug.”

“Ngh…”

Why am I letting him get to me?! It’s impossible for me to stay quiet in the face of this!

After his laughter subsides, Daiya returns to the table. He then regards me for a moment and speaks again.

“But what I just told you is the truth.”

…He won’t fool me. There’s no way I’ll believe him. I’m not that much of a sucker.

“Anyway, I know it’s no use telling you to trust me. No matter how empty your head is, you aren’t just gonna swallow everything I say hook, line, and sinker. But let me ask you: Why do you think I would make a point of saying what I did?”

Daiya smiles as he continues:

“Because it’s the truth.”

…I don’t believe you. I cannot, will not believe you.

“I’m sure you know. I didn’t do anything for a while after I obtained a Box. In short, I had a Box in my possession, but I didn’t use it. Come on, Kazu. Can you really say that isn’t still the case?”

I swallow hard.

“O grew impatient when I didn’t use my Box for a while, so they gave another one to someone else, and that’s how we ended up here. Can you really rule out the possibility? How about it, Kazu?”

…It’s not possible… I’m sure it isn’t.

“I won’t ask you to believe me. I’m sure it’s impossible for you in the first place. But, Kazu, you must be wondering, aren’t you? What I’m telling you could be a lie, but maybe, just maybe, it’s the truth. If so, regardless of whether it’s true, you still have to consider the possibility of another owner out there, don’t you? …Heh, guess that’s not for me to say, though.”

…Dammit. Daiya’s right.

It’s not even a dilemma for me. The truth is, I did find it strange that Daiya would be able to use a Box so well. His not being the owner would explain this.

And that’s how I fall right into Daiya’s trap.

He isn’t the type to miss his chance now that I’m off-balance and my mental defenses have left an opening.

“Kazu, you’re the Sorcerer, aren’t you?”

“……What?”

The word slips out of my mouth.

“H-how did you…?”

How did he know? I know I didn’t do anything that would’ve given me awa—

And then the thought led me to a realization.

I did give it away—just now.

My face must look really stupid, because Daiya starts cackling delightedly again.

“Ha-ha-ha! I knew you were an idiot, but this game really is way over your head!”

I bite down on my lip as I listen to him laugh away.

Despite all the advice from Maria, in the end it went to waste. Daiya has me completely in the palm of his hand.

“…You’ve got good luck, Daiya.”

Daiya was just guessing when he said the Sorcerer. He had a one-in-six—no, he knows his own Class, so it’s a one-in-five—chance of getting it right. It was just coincidence that the one he chose to trick me happened to be my real Class. If I were another Class, he would’ve only figured out I’m not the Sorcerer, and that would be that…

“Lucky? You don’t understand why I decided to ask if you’re the Sorcerer, do you?”

“…What do you mean?”

Daiya scratches his head in silence for a moment.

“Hey, so let’s say I’m not the owner of this Box.”

“That’s not what I think.”

“Just shut up and listen. If I’m not, then that means I don’t want to be a part of this killing game, either. And if that’s the case, then the death of a friend like you wouldn’t be my real intention.”

“That’s why I would want to ask if your Class was the Sorcerer.”

“…I don’t follow.”

After I say this, Daiya regards me with disdain.

“You probably think the Sorcerer is the safest because he doesn’t have any enemies, don’t you? If you believe that, then it isn’t brains you’ve got in your head but just a big glob of shit.”

My words catch in my throat as he hits it right on the mark.

“Let me put this in easy terms even a monkey could understand: The Class with the least chance of survival is without a doubt the Sorcerer.”

“…Why? Whether the Sorcerer lives or dies has nothing to do with the victory conditions of the other Classes.”

“Even you must know the most dangerous Class is the Revolutionary, right?”

I nod. With the ability to kill autonomously, it goes without saying that the Revolutionary is the most dangerous Class.

“The one the Revolutionary wants out of the way the most is the Sorcerer. You get it, right? The only other Class that can actually choose whether to kill someone is the Knight. The victory conditions of the Knight and the Revolutionary are comparatively similar, which makes it easy for them to plot together. With the Sorcerer out of the picture, the risk of the Revolutionary getting offed drops considerably.”

I pick up the portable device on the table and read back over the portion about the Classes.

…He’s right. Even if the Revolutionary does away with the King, the Class that seems like his most immediate enemy, he still has the Double and the Prince to deal with, so his situation doesn’t really change. But if he gets rid of the Sorcerer, the Revolutionary immediately puts himself at an advantage.

“Wait, so…if the Sorcerer dies, doesn’t that make it almost certain that the Revolutionary will win…?”

“It’s not that simple. People could still guess the wrong Class for one another, and others most likely aren’t going to ally with the Revolutionary so easily. And then—”

Daiya rummages around in my hemp bag, then pulls out that big knife.

“No matter how much of a disadvantage someone is at in the game, they still have this if worse comes to worst. Heh, survival is a cinch in Kingdom Royale if you’re prepared to kill someone else directly.”

…I’m certain of it. The owner of the Game of Indolence…is insane.

“…Kazu, lemme tell you something.”

Daiya puts the knife away as he speaks.

“You’re not going to be able to persuade the owner before the killing starts. If you want to keep the damage to a minimum, then your only chance is to take out the owner. That’s why—”

Daiya looks at me. His expression is sincere, without the slightest hint of deception, as he makes his assertion.

“—no matter how much you fight it, it’s already set in stone. Someone’s gonna die because of this Box.”

I give a slight shake of my head, then whisper:

“That’s not true…”

Daiya doesn’t say anything.

The truth is that even I’m already aware.

I already know that this is the simple truth.

Day 1 <D> The Common Area

No one else is there yet when I arrive in the common area.

I think back over my meeting with Daiya. In the end, I spilled the beans that I’m the Sorcerer, as he hoped, and now I’m not even certain he’s the owner.

In light of all that, I need to discuss what to do next with Maria. I rushed to the common area because I wanted to speak with her as soon as possible—and just as I think this, she steps through the door.

“Maria!”

I call out to her, and she gives me a stern look as she seats herself in the chair across from mine.

Maria should have had a Private Meeting with Daiya after ours ended. From the look on her face, I’m guessing he got to her just like he did with me.

“…Did something happen with Daiya?”

“……I think it might be similar to what happened with you. I’ve been basing my approach on the assumption that Daiya is the owner, but now I’ve come to consider the small chance it could be someone else. If so, it’s going to be more difficult than ever to talk to the others about Boxes.”

“Yeah, that’s what is troubling me. I would like to use this time to chitchat with the others to get a grasp on each of their personalities, but small talk has never been my forte. Probably because it’s pretty much impossible to talk about my own past without mentioning Boxes.”

Maria’s past, huh?

I know pretty much nothing of her personal history, myself. Maria doesn’t speak about herself without prompting, and knowing about the Misbegotten Happiness as I do, I just can’t bring myself to ask.

“Maria, um—”

“Yo.”

Kamiuchi turns toward us and waves as he arrives in the common area. I smile awkwardly and return the gesture.

I curl my hand into a C shape and put it up to Maria’s ear so Kamiuchi won’t overhear what I say.

“Kazuki, whispering won’t work. If we show the others that we’re trying to hide what we’re doing, it’ll just make them wary of us.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Maricchi, you don’t gotta worry so much. Coupla lovebirds like you are bound to have one or two secrets.”

“You say that, but that doesn’t necessarily apply to the others.”

“Guess you’re right. Everybody’s so scary anyway. Especially the president and Daiya.”

“…Maria, do you know Kamiuchi from before?”

I ask this because of how familiarly they’re speaking to each other.

“No, not at all.”

“Whoa, kinda harsh, don’t you think? We’ve talked a few times before, you know.”

“You’ve tried to talk to me several times in the past, but we’ve never had a conversation.”

Kamiuchi shrugs with an exasperated look. “All I’m trying to do is soothe my troubled soul a bit by speaking with a girl too beautiful for this world. No need to get all defensive. It’s not like I’m plotting to pry you off Hoshino there.”

“…Listen, Kamiuchi. Just so you know, Maria and I aren’t seeing each other, got it?”

Seems there’s no point in telling him otherwise.

As we’re talking, the rest of the players arrive in the common room. At the president’s direction, we all take our seats.

“Now then, has anyone thought of a way to escape Kingdom Royale?”

With that opening question, the president smiles and crosses her arms as she waits for someone to speak up. I steal a glance at Daiya and see that he’s not even facing us, as if he’s paying no attention at all to the discussion.

If the three of us who are in the know about Boxes can’t say anything, then most likely no one will have anything to offer. —At least, that’s what I thought, but then to our surprise, someone timidly raises their hand.

“Oh, Yuri. You got something?”

“Um, it’s not a way to escape so much as a way to stop the game… Is that okay?”

“Oh, awesome! Go ahead and tell us your idea!”

At the president’s prompting, Yuri gives a tiny nod.

“Well…if I’m not wrong in assuming…we all agree that paranoia will make our situation worse, right?” Once we’ve all nodded our assent, Yuri continues, “We don’t know who is what Class. We don’t know who is whose enemy in the game. I believe that’s why everyone is so uneasy. None of us wants to proceed with the game, right? If that’s the case, then wouldn’t it be better for us all to just come out and tell one another our Classes?”

Everyone is more than a little shocked by this timidly delivered yet very bold proposal.

Though Yuri seems a bit taken aback by our reaction at first, she musters her courage again and says, “If we do that, no one will be able to get the jump on anyone else anymore. I think we’ll all be able to trust one another. If we all do it at once, then no one will be able to lie. We’ll know someone isn’t telling the truth if more than one person says the same Class. So…how about it?”

“Oh man, Yuri, you’re amazing! That’s absolutely perfect!”

Yuri smiles shyly and blushes at Kamiuchi’s enthusiastic agreement.

“We can only do this while all six of us are together in one place. If even one of us is missing, then it will be possible for someone to lie… Oh, someone being missing is pretty bad, isn’t it? I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

Maria is probably in the same place. After spending a moment in thought with her arms folded, she says:

“I agree.”

She didn’t find anything wrong with it when she thought it over? If not, then I’ve got no problem with it.

But just as I’ve made up my mind to let everyone know I’m all in…

“Hmph.” Daiya snorts in derision.

A mixture of bewilderment and fear appears on Yuri’s face in response. “…You don’t like the idea, Oomine?”

“I don’t.”

“I’m sorry if I didn’t think things through enough… Would you explain why you disagree, if you don’t mind?”

“I don’t like how you’re pretending to be a Goody Two-shoes.”

Yuri’s eyes go wide, and she freezes at this unexpected reply.

“What’s with that face? Can you only comprehend language when it’s what you wanna hear? I’m saying I’m not going along with your idea because I hate you, you piece of shit.”

Tears begin to well up in Yuri’s eyes.

“Oomine. Come on, don’t you think that’s a bit much? Please apologize to Yuri here.”

“What? Me, apologize? The rest of you should be thanking me. I’m the one whose exposing her for trying to play dirty. Isn’t that right, Yanagi?”

Yuri’s shoulders jump in surprise as the tears threaten to fall.

“I-I’m p-playing dirty? Why…?”

“Well, then let me ask you this: Are you the Revolutionary or the Sorcerer?”

Yuri’s face instantly goes white.

“You’re not either, right?”

“…H-how did you know…?”

“The truth is that you’ve figured it out. You know that the risk each Class faces by revealing itself is completely different. Which means you aren’t one of the two Classes that are the biggest targets. You’re one of the relatively safe ones, right?”

Yuri’s already pale face continues to blanch, and I’m starting to feel bad for her.

At Daiya’s hostile tirade, the tears finally spill from Yuri’s eyes.

“Oh, come on, do you really think I’ll let your little scam slide if you cry? Man, a woman’s tears really are a handy trick. I’m sure a slut like you can probably turn it on and off like a faucet, eh?”

“That’s horrible… How can you say that…?”

“All you want to do is find out who the dangerous Classes are so that you can keep yourself alive.”

“That’s…not… I just hate the idea of us killing one another, that’s all…”

Yuri lowers her face, unable to stop the flow of tears running down it.

…It’s true. If someone as seemingly cowardly as Yuri were the Revolutionary or Sorcerer, she most likely wouldn’t have proposed such a dangerous idea.

But despite this, she gave it her all to come up with a plan that could improve our situation. Daiya was way out of line to say what he did. Apparently of a similar opinion, Kamiuchi gives Daiya a look like he’s about to start swinging any second.

“You probably just didn’t want to have to say anything because you’re the Revolutionary, aren’t you? Sorry, but if you’re the Revolutionary, I really don’t feel like letting you run the show here.”

“Oh, so I’m the Revolutionary, am I? If so, then I’ll just have to Assassinate you during this next <E> period.”

Daiya’s reply is even more hostile than Kamiuchi’s, and the younger boy is totally speechless, probably overwhelmed. Apparently losing his desire to fight back, Kamiuchi frowns and stays silent.

“Anyway, even if I wasn’t against it, this plan would never work. Isn’t that right, President?”

Yuri raises her tear-soaked face and looks at the president, who returns her gaze with a rueful smile and then speaks.

“…Yeah, that’s true. Sorry, Yuri. I’m against the idea, too.”

“Wh-why…?”

“The idea definitely has some merit, as you mentioned. It’s just that the disadvantages are too big. For example, if that scumbag Oomine really was the Revolutionary, do you think the rest of us would be able to stay calm? If things went poorly, we might even end up more paranoid that before.”

“That would probably prompt Oomine to act, too. He might even flaunt his power and try to control the rest of us. I can think of plenty of ways things could get worse. That’s why I’m fundamentally against the idea.”

“……I see.”

Now that even her friend the president has rejected the idea, Yuri’s face grows even grimmer.

“Someone as stupid as I am should have just stayed quiet… I’m sorry for any confusion.”

Another tear wells up and falls from Yuri’s eye.

“Th-that’s not true, Yuri. I think it’s a really good plan. And see, even Maria agreed to it, too!”

“…Hoshino.”

Though my efforts to cheer her up seem a bit forced, Yuri manages to give me a little smile.

“Why did you agree with this idea, Maria?” the president asks.

“Because I think reaching a mutual understanding between all of us is more important than anything right now. No one will be able to disclose everything they feel if we don’t reveal our Classes or something similar, right? I think if we can do that, things will never reach the point where we start killing one another, but how about you?”

“Isn’t that just because you don’t feel fear that easily? Not everyone here is as strong as you. To be honest, I’ve been terrified this entire time.”

“You don’t seem like it.”

“The only reason is because I’m trying to hide it. Showing any weakness in this situation means someone might take advantage of it… Well, telling you about it kinda defeats the purpose, but I’m saying it anyway.”

She sounds completely at ease saying this… Yeah, she definitely isn’t telling the truth about being scared.

“But it’s not wrong to say we need to share our Classes if we want to reach a mutual understanding. The situation is still much too opaque now, though, so I can’t help but feel it’s too early for that.”

“But if someone dies, it’ll be too late.”

“True. So we need to make a decision soon…,” Maria quietly says and pouts her lips. That’s her habit when she’s thinking. “Well, let’s set that aside for today. I’d be surprised if we ended up with a victim today, at least.”

Though we discussed all kinds of things in an attempt to build communication among us, we were unable to find what we needed to make any progress before the period ended.

“TiME’s_up. Go_bACk_or_you’ll_DIe.”

Noitan’s announcement prompts me to look at my watch, at which point I see that it’s eight on the money. The time for <D> is over.

Daiya heads to his room straightaway, while the president and Kamiuchi have just gone through the door themselves.

Welp, guess I’d better head back soon, too, I think, and I’m just about to leave when someone grabs the sleeve of my uniform.

“What is it, Maria?”

I turn around.

It isn’t Maria who I find, but a wide-eyed Yuri. As I realize my mistake, my face automatically turns red. Yuri crinkles her eyes in a gentle smile when she sees it.

“U-um…what’s up, Yuri?”

“Mm. I just wanted to say thank you.”

“…? Thank me?”

As I tilt my head in confusion, for some reason Yuri seems even happier than before.

“If you don’t know right away…that means you weren’t being nice to me on purpose just so you could get me on your side, then…”

“…Huh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing… Do you really not know what I’m talking about? Come on, you tried to cheer me up when I was crying, didn’t you?”

“…Oh… So that’s what you mean.”

“Thanks again.”

Seeing Yuri bow deeply toward me, I hurriedly make a reply.

“C-cut it out… It’s not like I did anything special.”

“But what you did really saved me.”

“W-well, in that case…I’m glad…”

All these thank-yous are really making me blush.

For some reason, Yuri’s eyes soften into another warm smile as she watches my red-faced antics.

“…I feel like I can trust you, even in a game like this.”

She seems to hesitate for a moment, but as if making up her mind, she looks directly at me and says, “If we can all trust one another, then no one will kill anyone else. I’m sure of it… Hoshino, do you think I’m naive?”

When I return that imploring gaze, I shake my head as hard as I can.

“Not at all. I agree with you.”

“Really?”

Seemingly without thinking, she joyfully grabs my right hand in both of hers. Her grip is warm and soft, which makes my face flush all the more.

“If we hold hands like this—and all the others do, too—if we can trust one another like this, there’s no way we can lose to this game. So can you and I start it by trusting each other?”

“O-okay…”

I find it hard to look directly into such an untroubled smile, so I can’t help but lower my gaze.

Yuri may be an upperclassman…but, man, is she cute.

“Kazuki.”

Someone calls my name, and I look up to see Maria watching us with a blank expression… I only figured this out recently, but that’s the face she often makes when she’s upset.

“We’re running low on time. You’d better get back quickly.”

“Oh yeah…”

I look at Yuri, and she lets go of my hand, reading my intent. Her expression is somewhat sad, or maybe lonely.

“Yanagi, you should pay attention to the time, too.”

“O-okay…”

Yuri still finds Maria frightening, it seems.

“…Hey, Yuri. You can trust Maria; don’t worry.”

“Oh, yes. If you say so…”

“Well, we’d better all get back to our rooms.”

“Yes, you’re right… Oh, one more thing.”

Yuri brings her lips close to my ear.

“I’ll come by for a Private Meeting tomorrow.”

She whispers to me, and I can feel her breath on my ear.

Still in a daze, I stare at the place where she vanished.

“…Hmph.”

Maria snorts unhappily, then follows her through the door.

Now alone in the common room, I ruminate over her name.

Yuri Yanagi.

Yanagi.

“…They are…kind of similar.”

I don’t think their faces have all that much in common. But that mischievous grin she flashed at me before she went through the door does remind me of her.

The other “Yanagi” I know.

I doubt I’ll ever see her again, though.

Day 1 <E> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

YURI YANAGI WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH BY ASSASSINATE.

This is the message on the monitor in my room.

Unable to process the words, I don’t react at all. I just stand there silently, reading it over and over.

She died?

Yuri…died…?

“…What the hell is this?” I mutter without thinking, giving a small laugh.

I mean, everybody said it, right?

There’s no way anyone would die on the first day. It’s all gonna be okay. That’s what they said.

Yeah, I know they did. Hey…that’s what’s you said, right?!

“HeY_hey_hey.”

The incomprehensible text vanishes from the screen as the green bear appears.

“PoOr_Yuri_hAS_dieD.”

“A_lie?”

Suddenly…

…Noitan’s sprite changes to something I’ve never seen before. His mouth spreads wide enough to tear its face, and it raises itself open.

“O​o​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​-​h​y​a​_​A​_​l​i​e​?​_​W​o​u​l​d​n’t that be nice_But she’s dead_She was strangled_so her eyeballs popped out_and her face turned all purple_and her bowels emptied_and she died_She used to be so cute_and now she’s ugly and stinky and dead.”

I had thought he was just a creepy bear.

But this is the first time I’ve ever felt such utter loathing from the depths of my heart.

It’s possible this is the true nature of Noitan—no, the Box. This is the truth of this hateful, irredeemable, senseless wish.

“It’s really too sad_You two were becoming such good friends_Maybe you coulda hooked up if you played your cards right_But now she’s dead_Too bad_so sad!_Oo-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya!”

The laughter is so grating that I cover my ears.

There’s no way I can allow a wish like this to continue. It doesn’t matter what kind of troubles led the owner to make a wish like this. I don’t care if there are any weaknesses to work on or not. No matter why it came into being, I cannot allow a wish like this to exist.

“Oo-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya-hya!”

That’s why this bear is my enemy.

“……Prove it.”

“Hmm?”

Noitan’s mouth returns to normal.

“Show me some proof that Yuri is dead. If you don’t, I’ll never believe you.”

“Proof_eH?”

“Yeah, I know you’re lying, so prove—”

“Fine.”

Noitan disappears. At the same time, the door to my room opens.

“…What the hell…?”

The same darkness as before unfolds beyond the door.

Regardless, I have no choice but to go through that door—through that darkness.

I plunge through the entryway.

And then, in the center of that backward cell-like room—there it is.

“Ah!”

Yuri Yanagi’s—xxxxxx.

“A-ahh!”

Irrefutable proof.

I know now. I know it’s real.

I comprehend why it’s there, but even then, I still can’t seem to make the connection. I can’t connect this sight to the same girl who was once so pretty.

Despite this, even if I can’t associate her with what has become of her, the horrible state of the body alone is enough to break my heart.

I yell, then lose control of myself and collapse. It brings me closer to the xxxxxx. In place of the lovely features one might expect, what reveals itself before my eyes is…

“…U-urgh.”

…a visage, purple and monstrous, that threatens to drive even my own pity for her from my mind.

Now I get it; there weren’t any falsehoods or exaggerations in Noitan’s description. She’s really here, in exactly the state Noitan said she would be.

Now, I can finally acknowledge the truth.

Yuri Yanagi is dead.

Yet again, I was unable to save Yanagi.

And thus, Kingdom Royale begins…

…with the death of the girl who said we would be fine as long as we took one another’s hands.

•Yuri Yanagi, dead via Assassinate

A hemp sack is lying on the table like it’s on display.

Its contents are pretty much identical to the one in my room. The only difference is that the digital watch is beige instead of light blue. Yuri’s portable device is inoperable.

There are also six sets of rations. This means that if someone dies, we can take their food and extend the time limit. This, too, is most likely a system to encourage murder.

It makes me sick.

All of us sit in our chairs, simply gazing at the sack in silence.

Next to me, Daiya wipes away some blood dribbling from his mouth. Kamiuchi punched him almost as soon as <B> period had started. Kamiuchi believes beyond all doubt that the Revolutionary—the one who killed Yuri—is Daiya.

The president, who had joined Maria in stopping Kamiuchi’s outburst, whispers to Daiya: “…Just be happy he didn’t use a knife.”

At this point, anyone could kill anyone, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise.

“You two need to cool off and think things through. Let’s confirm something first. The Revolutionary killed Yuri. They killed a kind girl. And the culprit is one of us. There’s no mistaking that.”

At first glance, the president seems as levelheaded as she did yesterday, but her expression seems, almost deliberately, a little less confident.

Her gaze is also almost unnaturally steely.

“Our goal is to find a way out of Kingdom Royale. But now we have a second goal. Namely, to find the Revolutionary and kill them. That’s fine and well, too.”

“Hold on, Shindo. Where do you get off deciding this?”

“Otonashi, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to accept any debate on this. Would you like me to explain? First of all, at this rate, the Revolutionary is going to kill the rest of us, too. Second, if they murdered someone at this point in the game, it’s plausible they’re the mastermind, or at least an ally of whoever is behind this. Third, I can’t stand the thought of them walking all over us.”

For just a moment, the president struggles to respond. However, her answer is smooth.

“I don’t know. But I do know I could never forgive someone for murdering Yuri like that.”

“……I see.”

I’m guessing Maria has determined that trying to persuade her right now would be pointless, not to mention unnatural. She holds her tongue.

“Our goals are settled. Does anyone have anything else?”

The president surveys us as we sit there with our heads bowed, then starts up again.

“No? Well then, this is just my opinion, but—”

She stops before she can finish and widens her eyes in surprise.

Daiya, who chose not to participate properly in our talks yesterday, has his hand raised.

“Is there something you would like to say?”

“Yeah… Well, I’ll stay quiet if you aren’t interested in hearing any testimony from the suspect.”

“I didn’t say that… But why are you speaking up now after staying silent for so long?”

“If this keeps up, I’m almost certainly next, so you can’t expect me to keep my mouth shut.”

“You have a point.”

Kamiuchi snorts at their exchange. “You can say whatever you want. Nothing is gonna change the truth as I see it, so your comments are nothing more than a bunch of white noise to me, got it?”

“Suit yourself.” Dismissing him, Daiya turns his gaze on the president. “My question is, why did the Revolutionary decide to target Yuri Yanagi?”

“I’d like to find the answer to that as well,” the president says with a small frown on her face, and Kamiuchi lashes out:

“What’re you saying? Does any of that matter? What else do we need to know? The Revolutionary is a low-down piece of crap who needs to die!”

“…Kamiuchi, if you were the Revolutionary, and you had to kill someone, would you kill Yanagi first?”

“Ugh… And here I thought he understood how to speak like a human.”

Daiya shrugs exaggeratedly.

“What do you think, President? Do you think Yanagi should have been killed first?”

“…Probably not, if it was just for survival. If it did happen to be me, the first person I’d want eliminated is you, Oomine. It’s plausible some of the others might want me or Otonashi out of the picture, but I can’t imagine anyone getting rid of Yuri right off the bat.”

“Right? I suppose it’s not unthinkable, if someone learned she was the Sorcerer, for instance, but I figured out that wasn’t the case yesterday, so we can scratch that idea.”

The president seems slightly irritated as she asks, “I understand what you’re saying, but what’s your point?”

“Basically, the goal of the Revolutionary was to put us all into this exact situation.”

I don’t see what he’s getting at. But I have the feeling everyone else does. Silence takes hold of the room instantly.

“…Ha-ha.” Kamiuchi’s sardonic chuckle breaks the silence. “I have no idea what you’re going on about. Do we really need to keep beating around the bush? If someone wanted you dead, all they’d need to do is take you out with Assassinate lickety-split, right? The fact that the Revolutionary didn’t do that just proves it’s you, don’t you think?”

“But if I die, then they could get suspected of being the Revolutionary.”

Kamiuchi’s eyes go wide as he finds himself at a loss for words. As he falls silent, the president speaks in his place.

“The Revolutionary set you up as a scapegoat—that’s what you’re trying to say, isn’t it? So why wouldn’t that be some lie you came up with to try to get out of this situation?”

“If I were the Revolutionary, I’d have no reason to start with Yanagi.”

“Well, that applies to everyone else here, too, don’t you think?”

“Not necessarily.”

Daiya pulls his portable device from his pocket and presses the playback button.

“—If that’s the case, then wouldn’t it be better for us all to just come out and tell one another our Classes?”

The president and Kamiuchi both fall silent.

“So what do you think? The two of you had a Private Meeting with Yuri Yanagi yesterday, right?”

I suddenly remember she tried to set up a Private Meeting with me as well.

If we’d had that meeting today, she most likely would have shared her Class with me.

But—that’s right.

She would trust the president more than someone she just met, like me. If so, would she really tell me her Class before she told her?

“…So let’s say we did know Yuri’s Class. That still doesn’t give us a reason to kill her straightaway.”

“And that’s because our great and wise student council president can’t figure it out? …Heh-heh-heh, then let me fill you in. The reason would be to steal her Class.”

…There wasn’t anything in Kingdom Royale rules about being able to do that.

Still uncertain what he’s getting at, I listen to what Daiya has to say.

“They want to convince everyone else I’m the Revolutionary. As the real Revolutionary, they must of course pretend to be another Class. If they said they were Yanagi’s Class, then their chances of being found out by the other players would decrease dramatically. The dead tell no tales. If they did ever find themselves having to reveal their Class, they could simply say Yanagi’s.”

All of us are quiet, waiting for Daiya to continue.

I don’t get it, though. Is that really enough to warrant killing her first?

“How about we run a simulation? Let’s start by utilizing the advantage of being able to say we’re Yanagi’s Class since she’s already gone, and then suggest that everyone reveal their Class. The victory conditions for the Revolutionary are to kill three people: the King, the Prince, and the Double… Hmm, I would guess that maybe Yanagi was the Prince or the Double.”

“…How are you able to narrow it down so much?” Kamiuchi asks with a sullen look.

“But there’s still the Knight.”

“If Yanagi was the Knight, it would be better to find a way to use her than to kill her. I don’t need to explain about the Revolutionary or the Sorcerer, right?”

“……”

“Now that the Revolutionary has killed Yanagi, they only need to do away with two other people to win. With pretty much everyone thinking I’m the Revolutionary, there’s almost no chance anyone will go after them. If they can successfully ask everyone’s Class, they’ll be able to identify who they need to kill. I could explain in further detail…but it’s too much of a pain, so I’ll stop there.”

A small smile rises on Daiya’s face as he carries on.

“But I’m sure you all know this, right? Setting me up as the Revolutionary will turn the game in their favor, and victory will be all but certain.”

And with that, Daiya…

…fixes Iroha Shindo with a glare.

“I’m sure they thought they were pretty badass up until now. To them, everyone else is dim-witted scum that serves no other purpose but making them look better in comparison. They’re probably more than happy to kill worthless slugs like that if it helps them survive… And they’ve got a lot of nerve.”

Daiya snorts scornfully, then spits:

“They’re just a fool, but they still made an enemy of me.”

“……”

A thought suddenly strikes me.

I notice it because I’m still in shock over Yuri’s death, which has kept me from speaking and joining the discussion.

What is this?

Right here, right now, we’re all snapping at one another. We’re hurling hate and accusations, ready to explode at any moment. It’s just like the way we imagined Kingdom Royale would start, isn’t it?

If this keeps up, we’re all going to kill one another, and that will be that.

That’s the one thing we have to avoid. We must find out exactly who the owner is. We have to work together… We have to, but…

“That’s enough out of you, Oomine.”

The president’s voice is utterly unlike before.

All the anger and loathing she can no longer keep bottled in has contorted her face.

“You’ve got a lot of gall, throwing out such baseless delusions so confidently. You can sneer from your high horse all you want, but I have no idea where you get off thinking it’s okay it to act this way. Otonashi has better grades than you in school, Kamiuchi has you beat physically, Hoshino is more popular than you, and Yuri was more charming. Oh, look, guess you’re not the best at anything, huh? If you are, it’s your talent for twisting logic.”

The president smiles the same sort of condescending smile I would expect from Daiya.

“You’re no different from all the other scumbags who can’t face reality. No… You’re even worse because you actually murdered someone.”

At those words, Daiya returns the president’s smile with a similar one. The president isn’t even pretending to be pleasant anymore.

“We aren’t in a nice, soft little world where everyone will leave you alone if you throw your weight around, not anymore. You’ve made a painful blunder, and you can’t write off a mistake like this as youthful indiscretion. You killed Yuri… Haven’t you noticed? You’re done. Crushing someone as innocent and incompetent and helpless and ineffectual as you will be as easy as stepping on an ant.”

She continues on in an unfittingly gentle voice:

“I already recognize you as an enemy, get it? I’m going to do everything in my power to ruin you. Why, I might even—kill you.”

“So what?”

Hearing this, I look over at Maria, the real Prince. She continues to watch the two of them go at it with a keen gaze.

“I’ve got a confession to make. I knew Yuri’s Class. Isn’t that great, Oomine? At least one little theory of yours was right. But see, she wasn’t the Prince. That means one of us here must be. Hey, Your Highness, whoever you are, do you understand that Oomine’s full of it now?”

Daiya simply remains quiet, perhaps unable to come up with a good argument.

“You would have noticed all this if you were the King or the Double, so I know you aren’t either of those Classes. So what does that leave us with?”

The only ones left are the Knight and the Revolutionary. That’s how much the president has narrowed down Daiya’s possible Class.

Even then, Daiya only breaks his silence to laugh mockingly at the president.

“Do you really want to take me down that badly? You’re really at the end of your rope.”

“What?”

“You sure are proud of yourself just for finding a loose thread in my theory. I’m not really the Revolutionary, so naturally, all I can do is make conjectures. All you’ve accomplished with your blabbering just now is prove your own treacherous nature to all of us. I’ll come up with as many new theories as you want. Then you can have fun wasting your time breaking them down.”

“Oh, stop with the desperate show of strength. It’s getting to be more annoying than funny.”

This conversation is more like two people stabbing each other with knives, and watching the carnage, I think:

We’re already done for.

The moment the first body showed up, the moment Yuri was killed, we lost the ability to stop Kingdom Royale.

All the same…I still can’t accept this.

Yuri was the one who said we would be fine as long as we trusted one another. But now, it’s her body that’s preventing us from doing that. I can’t possibly accept such a horrible outcome.

Long black hair sticks to my cheek, staunching the flow of tears.

“……It’s all right, Kazuki.”

I know, though. There’s no basis for Maria to say that.

“Hoshino.” The president says my name. “I like that you’re so kindhearted.” She continues in a gentle voice, as if calming a child. “But I won’t allow you to use that kindness to hold me back, understand?”

Those words were more than enough to hammer it home: For us, peacetime was over.

Day 2 <C> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

NO TARGET HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR MURDER YET.

In the past, that would have been enough to comfort me, but not anymore.

I have no idea who can use the Murder command. But I know whoever it is will undoubtedly be choosing a target.

And I’m sure they will try to force me to kill their victim.

“H​e​Y​_​h​e​y​_​h​E​y​_​I​t’s_​a​L​M​O​s​t​_​P​r​i​v​a​t​e​_​M​e​e​t​i​n​g​_​t​i​m​E. C​h​O​o​s​e​_​w​h​o​_​y​O​U​_​w​o​u​L​d​_​l​i​K​E​_​t​o​_​m​e​e​T​_​w​i​t​h​.”

I quickly touch the name MARIA OTONASHI when it appears with my pointer finger.

“P​l​e​A​s​e​_​w​a​I​T​_​a​_​b​i​T​_​u​n​t​i​l​_​e​V​E​R​y​o​n​e​_​f​i​n​i​s​h​e​s​_​c​h​O​O​s​i​n​g​.”

After a clearly longer wait than before, the Private Meeting chart flashes onto the monitor… Someone could be drawing things out on purpose to mess with the order of the meetings.

Daiya and the president have both picked me. Daiya I get, but why would the president chose me?

I think it’s possible Daiya is both the Revolutionary and the owner of the Game of Indolence. The idea of another owner is too convenient for me to believe.

…But if Daiya is neither the Revolutionary nor the owner, then both positions would pretty much have to be the president.

Both of the prime suspects are seeking to meet with me.

I shiver as I think back over them at each other’s throats in the common area. There’s no way I can face off with either of them.

Cradling my head, I wait until it’s time to see Maria.

Day 2 <C> Private Meeting with Maria Otonashi – Maria Otonashi’s Room

Maria sits on her bed, arms folded and face tense.

She starts talking as soon as I sit down next to her.

“Kazuki, we can’t allow anyone else to die besides Yanagi. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“But that’s going to be extremely difficult. The way things are now, the Revolutionary is sure to kill again… We must do something to alter this course of events.”

“What can we do…?” I ask.

Maria clenches her jaw hard for a moment before answering.

“I’ll tell Shindo everything there is to know about the Game of Indolence.”

“Huh…?”

But the president might be the owner.

“I understand your apprehensions. The thing is, the time for avoiding risks is over… I know it may put you in danger, but please forgive me.”

“…Were you…keeping quiet about the Boxes until now because you were worried about me?”

“Why else would I?”

Maria furrows her brow as if puzzled.

“Well…you’re telling the president about Boxes because you assume Daiya is the owner of the Game of Indolence, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you expect her to believe you? The way she is now…don’t you think she’ll probably just try to kill Daiya…?”

Maria grimaces.

“……Yeah, most likely. Despite that, we absolutely must prove to Shindo and Kamiuchi that there’s another way out of Kingdom Royale besides winning. I’ll have to do everything I can to make sure my intentions get through to them if I want to keep them from killing Daiya… That’s going to be easier said than done, though.”

“…Oh, but hey, if Daiya is the owner, then the president isn’t the Revolutionary, which means she won’t be able to do anything about Daiya with Magic. I’m the Sorcerer after all. We’re in the clear as long as I don’t press the button.”

“Why do you think Daiya being the owner indicates that Shindo isn’t the Revolutionary?”

“Huh…? Well, if she didn’t have a reason to want Kingdom Royale to start, she wouldn’t have any motivation to kill Yuri, right…?”

Maria doesn’t respond affirmatively to my obvious question.

“Daiya gave reasons people could have for killing Yanagi first… But consider this approach. Gaining an advantage in the game didn’t matter to them. They simply hated someone so much they wanted them dead, even before this, and that person was Yanagi. That’s why they couldn’t help but do it once they found themselves in circumstances where it could be rationalized.”

“Huh…?”

I’m staring at Maria, wondering if this is one of those occasions where she’s joking but doesn’t sound like it, but the serious expression never leaves her face.

“…No way. Th-this is Yuri we’re talking about, right? No one would ever have it in for her like that.”

“Yuri was charming. Charm that sways people’s emotions can also stir up negative feelings at times. I’m sure some girls were jealous of Yanagi’s popularity with boys, for example. Or maybe she rejected someone, and their love for her turned to hate.”

“…Anyway, these are all just possibilities. I didn’t notice anything off about Shindo’s attitude toward Yanagi, either. Shindo has been blessed with many gifts herself, too. I can’t imagine her being jealous of Yanagi. What I’m really trying to say is that it’s dangerous to get too invested in a single idea.”

That’s certainly true. I’ve only been considering situations where the Revolutionary and the owner are one and the same. I could end up in trouble if I don’t take alternatives into account.

What should I do? I don’t have any time to think, but the questions keep piling up. I’ve got to keep believing there is something to be done. I know that, but this situation—it’s just hopeless.

“……Kazuki.”

I don’t realize I’ve lowered my head until I feel a comfortable weight on it. Maria is mussing my hair with her hand.

“I don’t know about Shindo, but I was certainly jealous of Yanagi.”

“Huh?”

I instinctively raise my head and look at Maria.

Still rubbing my hair, Maria continues with no particular expression on her face.

“I don’t know why, but even though you called me Otonashi for so long, you called her by her first name, Yuri. Yanagi being the way she is, she was acting familiar with you and holding your hand—she even whispered in your ear. And then promising to have a Private Meeting with you? That really ticked me off.”

“……?”

“Why do you look so confused?”

“Why would that make you jealous…?”

Maria’s hand rubbing my hair suddenly stops.

“…Are you serious?”

“U-uh…”

“All right then, let me lay it out to you plain and simple. What I’m saying is that it upset me to see you attracted to Yanagi.”

As she says this, Maria places her hand on top of mine and leans in until her face is inches away. Though I’m used to seeing her now, her features really are beautiful, and I feel my face quickly heating up.

“Um…y-you’re a bit…close…”

Maria says this softly by my ear, almost intentionally trying to tickle it with her breath. She then jabs her pointer finger into it.

“Ack!”

Hearing my little yelp, Maria abruptly drops her alluring character, draws the corners of her mouth up into a grin, and begins to laugh. As I sit there perplexed, she steps back and watches me with that big smile on her face.

“You really know how to let younger women mess with you, huh, Kazuki?”

I finally realize she’s been teasing me this whole time.

Ngh… I never really thought of Maria as being younger than me…

“Oh, come on, it was just a joke. There’s no need to be so flustered.”

……What— What part of that was a joke…?

As I sit there silent and gloomy, Maria’s grin fades, and she speaks again.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Kazuki.”

Then she gives me that smile that is kinder than anyone else’s.

“I’ll protect you.”

Day 2 <C> Private Meeting with Iroha Shindo – Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

“Wh-why…?”

The word escapes my mouth upon my return from Maria’s room.

I stare at the monitor dumbfounded.

A TARGET HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR MURDER.

That, I’m okay with. I predicted that whoever could use Murder would put the command into effect. But the person they targeted was not who I expected.

WILL YOU BURN IROHA SHINDO TO DEATH WITH MAGIC?

Under this message is a portrait of the president’s face, with the text KILL? over her eyes. If I press this picture, she will be burned to death.

Why has she been targeted for Murder and not Daiya…?

I struggle to get my thoughts under control. The ones who can target someone for Murder are the King or the Double. Neither Maria nor I have those roles. And it’s not like the president is going to Murder herself. Which narrows it down to Daiya or Kamiuchi.

So is it Daiya…? No, didn’t the president say Daiya isn’t the King or the Double?

Hold on a second.

Then who the hell is the Revolutionary…?

“Hey, I’m here.”

“Eep!”

It’s enough to make me jump.

“Hmm? Aren’t you overreacting a bit? You should’ve known I was coming.” The president waves at me from in front of the door with an astonished look on her face.

“S-sorry, President.”

“…I’m not going to force you, but would you mind not calling me ‘President’ anymore? It feels like you’re ignoring who I am as an individual, and it kinda bugs me.”

“…So, ‘Miss Shindo’…?”

“I prefer Iroha.”

“…Miss Iroha.”

“You can drop the ‘Miss,’ too… But whatever. I’m going to sit here.”

Though she says she isn’t going to force me, the president—Iroha—makes her wishes crystal clear, then sits on the table like Daiya did yesterday.

“Um…Iroha, why did you pick to meet with me?”

The president answers my question with a smile.

“To beg for my life.”

“……Huh?”

“Don’t you get it? If I don’t kill Daiya Oomine during <C> today, then I’m pretty much guaranteed to get targeted for Assassinate. In other words, my life is in your hands. Please, oh please save me, Kazuki!”

“…Why are you telling me this…?”

“I mean, you’re the Sorcerer, aren’t you?”

My shock threatens to show itself, so I do my best to fight it down. This is exactly the same trick Daiya pulled on me. Screwing up the same way twice would just be pathetic.

“Darn, he didn’t fall for it. You’re more on guard than I thought. But anyway, if we don’t get Oomine with Murder today, I’m a goner. Why me?!”

“No.” Iroha’s denial is simple.

“Even if I was the Sorcerer, I wouldn’t be able to help you on my own. I can’t choose a target for Murder, after all.”

“I wonder. Do you really think Kamiuchi and Otonashi wouldn’t Murder Daiya Oomine after how our talk went in the commons? He was digging his own grave back there. Don’t you think you might be able to affect the outcome if you do something?”

I know Maria at the very least would never choose someone to kill, and the actual target is Iroha herself.

I can’t say any of that, though, so I keep my mouth shut.

“The reason why I chose you specifically for a Private Meeting was because, as far as I can tell, you’re the one most likely to let Oomine off the hook. It seems like you two knew each other before this, and even if not, well, you’re a nice guy.”

These words just strike me as sarcasm.

“I’m going to be in trouble if you spare him. So I’ve come here to give you a bit of encouragement.”

Encouragement to kill Daiya…?

“……But you said it yourself, didn’t you? If you kill someone, your life will fall apart.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Suggesting that you murder someone will undoubtedly throw the rest of my life into shambles. I’ll be perfectly honest, with as little imagination as I have, it’s hard for me to tell just how much suffering it’ll bring me. Or maybe I’m just trying to avoid thinking about it. After all—”

Iroha is smiling, but there is a strong gleam in her eye as she finishes.

“—even that is better than dying, no doubt about it.”

It finally dawns on me as I see the total resolve and complete lack of hesitation in her eyes.

I see just how dangerous Iroha is.

Right now, her goal happens to be “staying alive.”

A chill runs up my spine as I remember how I first met her.

“……Hey,” I begin.

Iroha said she wanted me to press the button to kill Daiya. What would happen, though, if I shook my head to her request? What would she do, since she believes she’s going to be killed if I don’t comply?

“You don’t happen to have your knife on you, do you?”

Iroha’s eyes go wide. “Well, well.” She looks at me with deep interest, then says, “How did you know?”

Iroha shoves her hand in her skirt, casually pulls out a knife, and then hurls it into the wall by the door.

“I bet you spotted it trying to get a look at my panties. What a perv.”

“……”

“Ha-ha, I’m just joking… Well, I guess carrying around a concealed knife doesn’t really qualify as a joke. Aw man… Will you give me a chance to explain myself? I wasn’t carrying it because of this Private Meeting with you. I’ve kept it on me any time I’m not in my own room. That’s the truth.”

“But you would use the knife to threaten me if I said I wouldn’t Murder Daiya, right?”

“I would. But that’s normal, isn’t it?”

I shake my head at her offhand response. That’s far from normal.

“Really? Well, whatever. Now I can’t threaten you, though.”

“Um, that sack…”

“Huh?”

“The sack on the table has my knife in it, so I need you to hand it to me.”

Iroha’s eyes go wide for a moment, and then she gives a rueful grin. She sweeps up the whole sack and tosses it over to me.

Taking the sack, I pull out the knife and throw it toward the door just as Iroha did.

“…And did you also sit on the table because you knew my knife would be in here?”

“Ah-ha-ha, I didn’t think it through that much, no. More importantly, can I ask you something?”

“Ask me what?”

“Whether you’re going to help kill Daiya Oomine, that’s what.”

She speaks lightly, with a kind smile on her face.

“……Um…”

“What?”

“I’m not killing anybody. Not Daiya, and not anybody else.”

After I reply, Iroha sits there watching me with a smile on her face, not saying anything. I can’t help but break eye contact and look down in the face of her silent entreaty.

“You don’t get it. This is what I’m asking you.”

Iroha pauses for a moment, then continues:

“I’m asking whether you’re going to kill Daiya Oomine or kill me.”

I raise my head and look at Iroha. She regards me with the kind of expression you’d give a disobedient child.

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can escape your sins if you don’t press the button. If you do, you’ll definitely be killing Oomine. But even if you don’t, you’ll be killing me.”

“B-but that’s—”

“You’re free to think what you want, but that’s how I see things. If I get Assassinated, it’ll be because you let me die, in my view.”

“Ugh…”

I understand that. Once I’m part of this game of murder, there’s no longer any way to keep my hands entirely clean.

“…I understand what you’re trying to say. But I can’t Murder Daiya during today’s <C>… I can’t explain why, though.”

“Are you saying you’re a Class that has nothing to do with Murder? …Or that Oomine really hasn’t been chosen as the target?” she asks with an angry scowl.

Of course, I can’t answer either question.

“Judging by your face, I’d say it’s the latter! Hey! That means I’m definitely gonna die!”

As I remain silent in the face of her misplaced excitement, Iroha sighs and collapses faceup on the table.

She covers her eyes with her arm as if exhausted.

“…Hey, Hoshino.”

Then, in a quiet voice, she asks a question on a completely different topic:

“Yuri was cute, wasn’t she?”

“Before I met her, I had never been jealous of anyone. Generally, I thought I could do anything. But even being the way I was, the first time I respected, envied—and yeah, probably felt jealousy toward someone…was Yuri.”

Jealousy.

I remember Maria’s comment that being charming can elicit negative emotions at times, too.

“I haven’t told anyone this because I really hate letting others see my weak side, but in my entire time in high school, I’ve only liked one boy. We had always gotten along well… But I’m not really smart when it comes to love, see, so I was content to just be friends with him.”

Iroha shows me a slightly bitter smile as she speaks.

“That is, until he and Yuri started dating.”

I can’t read the emotion in her expression.

“They were both friends of mine, so they would both come to me for advice about their relationship. So I even knew how things were progressing—if they held hands, if they kissed, things like that. Hearing all of it made me think—I really wished the whole thing would fall apart.”

“……”

“And then, as if my prayers were answered, they broke up after three months. I was so stupid. Yuri and him splitting up didn’t mean something good was in store for me. He and I were never going to start a relationship, and it would just alienate me from Yuri instead… So why had I wished for something so meaningless? Basically, all I had wished for was the two of them to be unhappy. Two people who supposedly meant a lot to me. It was horrible of me, and that’s putting it mildly.”

Iroha eventually looks at me.

“Did you think that was a boring, run-of-the-mill story?”

I shake my head vigorously.

“Well, what it means is that even I worry about such trite things sometimes… Some ‘superhuman’ I am.”

Iroha shifts her gaze up toward the light bulb hanging from the ceiling as she continues:

“…I forgot about all those childish concerns. I really did. All I needed to know was that I loved Yuri.”

A self-deprecating smile appears on her face.

Iroha slowly turns her head in my direction and looks at me.

“So, Hoshino, what do you think?” Gently, softly, she asks, “Do you think I—actually liked Yuri?”

There’s nothing I can say about that.

Iroha blankly regards me for a moment as I remain silent. But watching me sit quietly without saying a word, she unexpectedly starts to smile.

“Heh-heh… So? You like my plan?”

“…Huh?”

“Learning about my human side makes you wanna help me out, right?” she says, then starts cackling.

But I understand. She’s trying to play it off as some joke or funny story, but I have no doubt that the things she told me were how she really felt. She doesn’t have anyone she can show her vulnerabilities to. I’m sure that applies not just to others but also to herself. That’s why she doesn’t know her own heart.

She was able to express her weakness because she truly feels death bearing down on her.

I’ve closed my mouth and lowered my eyes, and Iroha stops smiling.

And then, in a humorous tone, she says:

“I’ve put a curse on you.”

Her expression is full of life.

“Now once I die, you’re going to remember our talk forever.”

Her plan…is a success.

Even if she does turn out to be the mastermind, I still can’t find it in me to wish her dead.

Day 2 <C> Private Meeting with Daiya Oomine – Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

Daiya sits on the table, fiddling with his portable device.

“Did you know, Kazu? Our devices won’t work for anyone but their owners,” he says, then starts going through my bag on the table. He pulls out my portable device and shows me how he can’t use it.

“…You’re very calm.”

He’s the complete opposite of Iroha and her desperation.

“Huh…?”

Daiya smiles.

“Don’t be boring and ask how I know. We’re all aware it’s because I’m the one who chose the Murder target.”

“…So that means you’re—”

“I’m the King.”

He says it so naturally that I almost take his words at face value—but that’s exactly what I shouldn’t do. I know this is another one of his tricks.

I rack my brain for an arguable point.

“…Um, if you’re the King, then I guess that would mean you know Iroha is the Revolutionary, right? If so, why didn’t you pick Iroha right after <C> period started? Why did you choose her after your Private Meeting with Kamiuchi?”

“During <B> period, Shindo did sound like she could be the culprit, but the truth is, I wasn’t entirely sure. I was just about as suspicious of Kamiuchi as she was.”

“Kamiuchi?”

The Kamiuchi who got so emotional after Yuri’s death?

“So you thought his anger was just an act?”

“He’s a dangerous guy in his own way. Even you must have felt like he’s tricky and hard to pin down, right?”

I give a small nod.

“Try to remember. The first person Shindo picked for a Private Meeting was Kamiuchi. That basically means she was on guard against him more than anyone else.”

Iroha had chosen Kamiuchi first…

“…By the way, Daiya, I get the feeling you know Kamiuchi from before.”

“Yeah, I do. We went to the same middle school. I didn’t really remember his face, though.”

“……Huh? But Kamiuchi doesn’t seem to know you.”

“That’s probably just because a mere peasant such as myself is beneath the notice of the great Lord Kamiuchi, don’t you think? I just have good grades, but he’s famous. I could tell you all the juicy rumors I’ve heard about him, but we don’t need to do that now, do we?”

So I guess for the time being, I should take it that Daiya and Iroha had heard enough bad things about Kamiuchi to put them on guard against him.

“…What is it?”

“The Revolutionary didn’t want to kill Yanagi.”

“…Huh?”

My mouth hangs open.

“Hoo boy… Do I really have to lay everything out for you? The King has another command aside from Murder, you know.”

“Ah!”

That’s right—he also has Switch Places.

If the King used that command, it could result in Assassinate killing an unintended target.

“The Revolutionary was trying to kill me, not Yanagi.”

Daiya had smelled the danger in the air, so he used Switch Places on the first day. That’s why Yuri, the Double, had gotten killed instead of him.

If that’s true, then it would be hard to say for sure that Kamiuchi’s anger was all an act, even if he really is the Revolutionary. After all, it would have been Daiya’s fault he killed Yuri, the girl he liked.

“I ascertained during my previous Private Meeting that Kamiuchi isn’t the Revolutionary. That means it’s impossible for the Revolutionary to be anyone other than Shindo.”

If everything Daiya says is true, that would mean Iroha killed Yuri accidentally.

And if that’s true…then it slightly changes the meaning of Iroha’s confession earlier.

She was forcing herself to find a reason why she had no choice but to kill Yuri so she could rationalize her guilt away.

—That might be one way of interpreting things.

“B-but…if so, then why were you being so vague during <B> period? If you just told us all that you were the King, it could’ve done away with the suspicion on you, right?”

“Revealing my own Class is about the stupidest plan I’ve ever heard of.”

“But you just told me…”

“That’s because I trust that you would never kill me.”

“Huh…?”

My eyes go wide, and Daiya scowls as if to say, Dammit. He then looks away from me, almost like he’s embarrassed.

“…I’ll explain why I said what I did during <B> period.”

Daiya launches into his explanation as if his last remark never left his mouth.

“I’ll start with my first goal: narrowing down the suspects. If I were the Revolutionary, I would naturally have known that Yanagi died because of Switch Places. I brought up the topic of why anyone would go after Yanagi so I could make the suspect slip up. That ended up failing, though.”

I nod and beckon him to keep going.

“And then there’s my other intent: to keep people from guessing I’m the King.”

“…Why did you need to do that?”

“The Revolutionary made me the scapegoat, namely so that I would be targeted for Murder. But if I’m the King, then that’s pointless. Obviously. After all, if I’m the King, then only I can pick who to Murder.”

The one who was actually selected for Murder is Iroha and not Daiya.

“So what do you think the Revolutionary would do if I not only didn’t work as a scapegoat but was a huge pain, since I was onto their lies?”

Daiya smiles as if this topic is pleasant.

“Kill me with Assassinate.”

I gulp audibly.

“That’s why it’s better to have them suspect as little as possible that I might be the King.”

I recall what Iroha said:

“You would have noticed all of this if you were the King or the Double, so I know you aren’t either of those Classes. So what does that leave us with?”

Yeah, now I see.

That exchange was meant to make Iroha think he wasn’t the King.

“……Oh.”

The speed of Daiya’s mind threatens to overwhelm me.

But—if it does, then maybe it’s okay to go along with what he says. He said he believes in me, and I can’t believe he was just acting… Or maybe I just don’t want to believe he was.

He’s my friend, after all.

Is it all right to trust Daiya? And if Iroha is the Revolutionary, is it also safe to say she’s the owner?

“Kazu.”

“Kill Iroha Shindo.”

“—That’s…”

“If you use Magic, neither you nor Otonashi will have any more dangerous bridges to cross, and you can find the solution to this Box. All it takes is one little act of determination on your part to free yourself from everything. No, you have to kill her. Are you prepared to let my resolve go to waste?”

I know that the suggestion Daiya cut me off with is the smart answer.

But…

“I won’t use Magic.”

That answer won’t change.

“If you’re saying Iroha is the owner, then I’ll find some way to persuade her to reveal the Box.”

“Even though your hesitation may end up killing you and Otonashi?”

“That’s right.”

Daiya snorts in derision at my quick declaration.

“I commend you on keeping up your patented ‘good boy’ act even in a killing game. Guess you’re planning to have faith in her being a good person, too? That’s about the worst case of sugarcoating I’ve ever seen. Take a look at my arms. Your rotten values have given me goose bumps so big I could use my skin as a washboard. What’re you going to do about that?”

“…Sorry.”

For some reason I apologize, even though I’m the one being slandered here. But…I don’t know, it just feels like another one of those back-and-forths we always have in class.

“But I knew all that,” Daiya says, pointedly rubbing his arm. “I knew what you’d probably say.” He has a resigned smirk on his face.

“…Heh-heh.”

“You freak me out. How the hell is your brain wired that you laugh when someone’s making fun of you?”

Come on, though. It’s so totally Daiya to show me respect while he’s insulting me.

And that’s when I become certain.

Daiya is telling the truth.

The Revolutionary—and the owner of the Game of Indolence—is Iroha Shindo.

That’s the conclusion I’ve reached. I have to find some way to get through to her and keep her from doing anything else crazy.

It should be possible. She’s not such a horrible person to just totally disregard the lives of others, after all. That’s why there has to be some way out of this, no matter how difficult it may seem.

Or so I thought.

How could I have been so incredibly naive?

“Ah— Aaaaah…”

Someone is gasping.

A red puddle grows, threating to reach my feet. I stand rooted in place, not even thinking of avoiding it.

“Kamiuchi!”

Maria’s yell snaps me back to my senses. I realize what exactly it is at my feet.

“Ah—”

That spreading red puddle…is blood.

I know that. I understand. But I’m trying not to process why it keeps growing and growing, growing and growing and growing and growing and growing and growing.

I slowly kneel down and gently touch the face near my feet. I’m answered with an almost teasing smile.

That expression is so typical for the one making it that I can’t help but say the name:

“……Iroha.”

Splish, splish, splish…

What’s that sound?

Splish. It’s footsteps. Each step leaves a red footprint on the floor. Splish, splish. The guy making that sound goes and sits in a chair as if nothing has happened at all.

Even though he plunged a knife into Iroha.

“Why? Hoshino, you sure do say some funny things. I did it because if I left her alive, she would’ve killed us all. Naturally, I had to stop her, right?”

“But there could’ve been another way…”

I stop short in the middle of what I was going to say.

Kamiuchi’s hands are shaking hard. He, too, notices this almost ridiculous level of trembling and suddenly begins giggling (“Heh…heh-heh-heh…”) in a way that’s completely inappropriate for the situation.

I’m sure Kamiuchi learned in his Private Meeting with Daiya that Iroha was the Revolutionary, and he got it into his head that he’d be killed if he didn’t do something.

But to think that would drive him straight to violence… Ah, now I get it. Daiya and Iroha were right to be on guard against him.

“Ungh…,” she moans.

Maria, who had been standing somewhere in a daze, snaps out of it and rushes over to Iroha. She begins looking over her body, trying to find a way to treat her—

—and then steps away without saying a single word.

“……I see. A scapegoat…,” Iroha says, then with a big cough, spits up some blood. “Whoa, I’m coughing up blood… I really screwed up… How lame…,” she whispers in a nearly inaudible voice.

“……”

I can’t say anything.

Even though there’s a woman coughing up blood in front of me, dying before me, I think:

This might be for the best.

“I’m sorry.” Iroha’s eyes close… She’s too weak to keep them open any longer. “……I’m sorry for cursing you…as I planned.”

In a small voice, as if mustering the last of her strength, she struggles to say:

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

“—What?”

Those are her final words.

She’s sorry she couldn’t save me?

I continue staring at her motionless form as I come to grasp the meaning of her words.

She took the forefront in Kingdom Royale, a game where the more you stand out, the more suspicious you are. With her strong sense of responsibility, she did this to turn the situation in a better direction, regardless of the danger she was placing herself in.

—She was prepared to let her life fall into ruin.

To protect her own life.

To protect all our lives.

“……Ah.”

I reach down and touch her face once more.

But she doesn’t show me that teasing smile again.

She’s motionless. Not breathing. Not alive.

And despite this, the Game of Indolence has not ended.

“……”

I stand up.

Slowly, so slowly, I turn my head to look at him.

Daiya Oomine is touching the earrings in his right ear with a blank expression on his face.

•Iroha Shindo, dead via stab wound to the chestinflicted by Koudai Kamiuchi

Day 2 <E> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

KOUDAI KAMIUCHI WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH BY ASSASSINATE.

Now there is no one left to challenge him.

•Koudai Kamiuchi, dead via Assassinate

Day 3 <B> The Common Area

“The game was decided the moment I realized you’re the Sorcerer.”

With just three of us left in the common area, Daiya begins telling us all his tricks.

And then, Koudai Kamiuchi was killed.

In the end, we couldn’t do anything to prevent his death.

Why did I believe Daiya? Why did I fall for such a convenient lie like the existence of another suspect, even though I knew he was the owner?

I knew Kingdom Royale was a game of deceive or be deceived…

That’s why I also understand how it’s my fault things ended up this way. But still…

“You said you trusted me.”

Daiya smirks at my caustic remark. “Yeah, I did. I said I trusted that there was no way you could kill me.”

“…And that was all just talk so that you could fool me.”

“That was a slip of the tongue. If you were smart, you might’ve noticed the real implications.”

I scowl.

“Still don’t get it? I assumed there was no way you could kill me as the Sorcerer. What I’m saying is, I was making fun of you because you can’t off me, no matter how far I take this.”

I bite my lip.

…So basically, he was mocking me. I thought he looked away from me then because he was embarrassed, but the truth is that he was actually just flustered because of his little verbal slipup.

“As the Revolutionary, naturally I’m going to want to know who the Sorcerer is, since they would be another Class with the ability to kill.”

“That’s why you asked if I was the Sorcerer…”

He wasn’t concerned about me; he merely wanted to know who the most dangerous Class was.

“And then you were. So if I let you live, I would never be a candidate for Murder.” Daiya smirks, then says, “Because I trust you.”

So that’s why Daiya said the game was over the moment he figured out I was the Sorcerer…

“Still, even you might have used Magic if you were absolutely sure I was the Revolutionary. And even if you didn’t, you might have tried something else. So all I needed to do was convince you I wasn’t the Revolutionary.”

All along, what I should have done was what I talked about with Maria back when all this started. I should have found a way to get through to Daiya and get him to hand over the Box.

It only seemed complicated because Daiya made it appear to be.

“…Even then, not everything went smoothly. Yanagi in particular.”

“Yuri?”

“Yeah. She was trying to recruit other people as allies. She probably would have been able to get everyone on her side except for me. If that had happened, things wouldn’t have worked out this way.”

…I see. Daiya wanted the game to start, and the presence of someone trying to stop Kingdom Royale was a thorn in his side. That was why he shot down her plan to share all our Classes, and why he killed her first.

“Now, then—”

Daiya brings his explanation to an end.

Letting out a breath, he looks over at Maria in her chair.

“All I need to do is kill one more person, and then it’s game over.”

The Revolutionary has one enemy left.

Maria Otonashi, the Prince.

She doesn’t even raise her head at the proclamation of her death.

…Ah, I see now.

The Revolutionary has no need to kill the Sorcerer to win. That’s why I’ll survive. Maria can save my life without lifting a finger. And Maria seems to have absolutely no interest in her own life.

So she couldn’t care less about Kingdom Royale.

She’s saying it’s fine, and she doesn’t mind if she’s killed.

“……”

Like hell.

I can’t let this happen.

If Maria says she’s a Box, and she’s willing to disregard that and offer her life up to save mine, then…

“Daiya.”

…naturally, I have to reject that.

I don’t mince words as I fix Daiya with a glare.

That’s right. Back when Maria realized she’s powerless in this Box, didn’t she say she thought I might have to do something? Now that time has come.

At the time, I didn’t know what I should do. But now…

“If you’re intending to kill Maria, then I’ll stop you. I’ll do whatever it takes. Even if it means—”

The conclusion leaves my mouth so easily.

“—killing you, Daiya.”

Maria hadn’t even twitched at Daiya’s intent to kill her, but my words make her open her eyes and look my way.

I’m sorry, Maria. I’m betraying your faith in me, that I could never kill someone.

“…You sound like you mean it,” Daiya says, then falls silent.

He once said it himself: If I’m certain who the Revolutionary is, there’s a possibility I would use Magic.

He failed. Kamiuchi went against Daiya’s predictions and killed Iroha, which means he doesn’t have any more scapegoats. It’s now obvious he is the Revolutionary.

“Give us the Box, Daiya. Do that, and you don’t have to die,” I say.

Daiya’s expression seems to suggest he still has it all under control. But as someone who used to be his friend, I know better.

He’s more panicked than ever.

“I don’t have to die, eh?” Going back over my words quietly, Daiya sneers. “…Kazu, do you know what type of Box the Game of Indolence is?”

I frown at this sudden change of topic.

“The Game of Indolence is a Box that staves off boredom by forcing the summoned players into a killing game called Kingdom Royale.”

“…So what’s your point?”

“Do you really think the ultimate escape from tedium would just end like this? Do you think I’d actually be satisfied with a single playthrough of the game?”

“……”

What the hell is he talking about…?

“That said, the sins you commit in this stupid game will carry over, if nothing else. If you kill me, that guilt will remain with you.”

“…So you’re saying I shouldn’t kill you?”

“Yeah.”

…Oh, come on.

I had thought it might be something more, but it’s all just a bunch of garbage meant to try to save his life. Even now, Daiya’s still trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

“I didn’t want to see you reduced to this, Daiya. I don’t care about any of that, so just hand over the Box.”

As a former friend of mine, Daiya has to know—more than he probably cares to admit—that I am seriously prepared to kill him.

Even so…

“That’s the one thing I cannot do.” Daiya states this coldly.

“…You know you have nowhere else to turn, right?”

“Like I give a crap. I know about the hope the Boxes bring. And now that I do, I’m not gonna let anyone take that away from me. If I lose my Box, then I’ll no longer have any purpose. I’d just be a CO₂ factory blundering through the motions of life in a thoughtless haze.”

“The Boxes are hope…?”

The Boxes that brought such suffering to Mogi, to Asami, to Miyazaki…?

“They aren’t as good as you think.”

“Shut up. You annoy me. I’m not interested in your cheap-ass bargain bin values.”

Scarily enough, Daiya sounds like he really means it. He’s serious when he says the Box is his hope. Even though he knows well enough about the previous two instances.

As my thoughts reach this point, I suddenly realize something. Could it be…?

“Does this have something to do with Kokone?”

Daiya doesn’t respond right away.

“…Does what have something to do with her?”

“I mean, does Kokone have something to do with your wish?”

I don’t miss it, though. There was a stony expression on Daiya’s face before he said that, and he seemed to be forcing himself.

No doubt about it. Kokone definitely has some connection to Daiya’s wish.

I’m certain of it now.

“You…aren’t going to hand over the Box, are you?”

I’m certain—that Daiya will not part with the Box, no matter what.

“Uh, yeah. That’s what I said, right?”

No matter how much I threaten to kill him, Daiya will never give us the Box. In other words, Daiya has us—

“……”

Realizing this, I look at Maria.

Maria is smiling.

“……Stop it.”

She’s smiling… As if she has given up on everything.

But maybe that’s an appropriate reaction to our situation.

I’ve known it all along. I can never kill Daiya and crush the Box by force. I can never use Magic, no matter the circumstances.

Not because I don’t have the resolve to kill Daiya. My willpower doesn’t have anything to do with it. I mean, I can’t use Magic on my own. Yeah—

I can’t use Magic because Maria will absolutely never take another person’s life.

And that’s why…

…we are going to lose to Daiya Oomine.

Day 3 <C> Private Meeting with Maria Otonashi – Maria Otonashi’s Room

I knew it would be this way, but for the entire thirty minutes, Maria ignored my pleas for us to use Murder.

I think back on what Maria said yesterday.

“I will protect you.”

I took her words at face value.

Even though I knew the truth. Even though I was well aware that Kingdom Royale was a game of murder and deception, and Maria was powerless within it.

I was wrong.

I’m the one who should have said those words.

“I will protect you, Maria.”

But it’s too late, and there’s no time left.

Day 3 <E> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

MARIA OTONASHI WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH BY ASSASSINATE.

•Maria Otonashi, dead via Assassinate

I wake up with a start in unfamiliar surroundings, my eyes falling upon a naked light bulb and a bare concrete ceiling.

“…What is this room?”

Why am I here all of a sudden?

I can feel myself about to lose it, so I review what I can remember of what happened.

I’m sure I was sleeping on my bottom bunk. I don’t remember moving from there. I don’t remember leaving or meeting anyone, either.

I survey the room, I check the contents of the hemp sack, and then the rules of the killing game are explained to me by a green bear—Noitan—that appears with a “Good_morning.”

This is the work of a Box.

That’s why Maria is here.

Day 1 <B> The Common Area

The view changes instantly.

I spot him, the closest one to me.

“…Daiya.”

“Long time no see, Kazu.”

Daiya, who had disappeared without a trace, greets me with perfect ease, as if we were just bumping into each other in the classroom for the first time in a while after summer break came to an end.

Even though I’m still unsure how to react, Daiya continues on.

“You should thank me, Kazu. I stopped things from getting violent.”

Daiya jabs his thumb at a girl with midlength hair.

“This girl was gonna push you down and threaten you with a knife.”

“What…?!”

Eyes wide, I look at her. That green bear had said we would be killing one another, so does this mean it’s about to get started…?

“Hold on there, Oomine. He’s going to get the wrong idea if you put it that way,” the girl counters. I’ve heard her voice somewhere before.

“Wrong idea? Nothing I said was incorrect.”

“Shut up. The only thing that isn’t mistaken here is your obvious bad intentions. I only did it because I thought it was a necessary measure.”

I realize I’ve actually heard her voice often, through a microphone. Right, she’s the student council president.

“A necessary measure, huh? Fine, but if you keep doing stuff like that, you’re just going to invite extra mistrust and put yourself at a disadvantage, you know? If you’re scared, you should just try trembling like you’re supposed to.”

The president seems a bit surprised by Daiya’s words. “…Yeah, well. Putting on a strong front is a bad habit of mine.”

Is she saying she’s worried despite acting so levelheaded…? Uh, she has to be joking, right?

“If you want to learn to express your fear naturally, take a look at that girl clinging to you and follow her example.”

The shoulders of the girl with black hair next to the president jump so hard I almost feel bad for her. The president pats the girl’s hair as if to reassure her it’ll be okay.

…Her face really is pure white. Nothing’s even happened; isn’t she a little too terrified?

I realize thinking along those lines is unwise, and I may not be as nervous as I should be, but I can’t fight this protective urge welling up within me, like the way you’d react to seeing a small animal.

It’s an appeal Maria doesn’t have.

“Kazuki.”

“—Urk!”

Th-that’s right. I knew she’d be here, but I got careless.

“What was that weird yelp for?”

“I-it’s nothing, Maria.”

I escape her suspicious gaze by turning my face.

“Whatever… You do know what kind of situation we’re in, though? I’m shocked you aren’t more on edge from how abnormal this all is…”

“S-sorry.”

“This isn’t the time or place to fall for a girl.”

“……”

Guess she really did catch me staring at the black-haired girl.

As I stand there quietly refusing to meet her gaze, Maria removes one of her loafers and presses the sole against the side of my face. That hurts, you know. Plus, it’s dirty.

Shoe still pressed to my face, Maria whispers in my ear:

“You know there’s a Box at work here, right…?”

…Yeah, she’s right.

This situation can’t be anything other than a Box. That means this is Daiya’s handiwork.

Still, I’m acting like I’ve never even heard of a Box before.

“Yo… Hey, do I spy three pretty girls? Lucky me!”

There are six chairs, and the sixth player arrives.

Now all the participants in the killing game Noitan described are here.

The brown-haired student, who was the last to join us and still seems somewhat unsure of how things are unfolding, suggests we introduce ourselves, and we promptly do.

The boy with brown hair is Koudai Kamiuchi. The girl who was apparently going to pull a knife on me is Iroha Shindo, our student council president. And the black-haired girl is—

“—Yuri Yanagi.”

“……Huh? Uh, ah, did I say something strange?”

“I-it’s nothing. I just— I have a friend with the same last name is all.”

She looks dubiously at me as I wave my hands frantically, then asks, “A friend?”

“U-um…”

I try to remember that person—

“—Ah.”

Unexpectedly, something resurfaces in my mind. Namely, what Daiya said to me in the cafeteria.

“It’s because you want to keep seeking. Hmph, even if I accept what you’re saying for the sake of argument, that still brings up another question. Why have you become like that?”

I get it now. The one I couldn’t see through the fog back then—

“……My classmate from when I was in middle school.”

Nana Yanagi.

As her name leaps back into my mind unbidden, I shake my head furiously. I don’t want to remember her. I once hoped she would remain forgotten.

Yanagi, the first girl I fell in love with.

“A classmate? Well, maybe you feel some connection with me because of that, then?”

Yanagi—no, that’s a bit confusing, so Yuri—says this with her head inclined to one side.

“Huh? Oh y-yeah… It’d be nice if we hit it off right away.”

Yuri smiles charmingly… She really is too cute.

“What’re you in such good spirits for, Kazuki?”

My shoulders tense up, and I turn around, only to see Maria giving me a reproachful look.

“I-I’m not in good spirits.”

“No, you definitely are. You have that happy expression guys get when they talk to a pretty girl. You look all weak and sappy.”

“You’re a pretty girl, too.”

“……Are you trying to flatter me? I hope you don’t think that’ll work on me.”

As we go on like this for a bit, Yuri eventually steps in.

“U-um…I’m not that pretty, you know…?”

“O-oh…”

Yuri has turned bright red. As I gaze into her face, unable to understand why, I feel a sudden impact on the back of my head.

“O-ow!”

Turning around, I see Kamiuchi staring at his own fist.

“???”

“Uh, I saw you and got super-PO’d, so I guess I just kinda did it without thinking. My bad.”

As I stand there holding my head, still clueless as to what’s going on, Maria sighs.

“Who’d have thought it’d take a natural-born skirt-chaser to ease the tension.”

“…That’s mean.”

“Whatever. It’ll be easier for us all to talk this way. Let’s get down to business.”

And with that, Maria pins Daiya with a hard stare.

“What’s the meaning of all this, Daiya Oomine?”

The somewhat relaxed atmosphere disperses.

All of our attention turns to Daiya when he’s singled out. Instead of being taken aback at the suspicion, he flashes a brazen grin.

“……Huh?” Yuri gasps, apparently not completely following the situation. “Is this…something Oomine did…?”

“What I’m about to say might sound bizarre, but will you try to believe it?”

Yuri is still blinking at Maria’s words. The president speaks up in her place.

“Aw… Sorry, Otonashi, but we’ll decide for ourselves what we want to believe. Don’t try to force anything on us.”

“Fair enough. But I still have to say it. This is the kind of subject you have to ask people to believe before bringing it up.”

The president pouts, then nods as if to say, I see.

“Okay, I guess I’ll start by explaining just what a Box is. Now, here’s the thing about Boxes—”

With the introduction, Maria begins describing Boxes to everyone.

Everyone listens to the explanation earnestly.

“…That all sounds really messed up.”

The president has a stern look on her face, just as she had the whole time while she was listening to Maria.

“So the Boxes themselves are really messed up, but the situation we’re in now is plenty crazy, too. It doesn’t even sound too far-fetched that such a thing could exist.”

“So does that mean you believe us?” I ask.

The president pouts again, as if it’s a habit of hers.

“…No, I’m just saying I wouldn’t be too surprised if something like that existed. I mean, even I could cook up some ridiculous reasons for a ridiculous situation, you know?”

“I see…,” I reply, crestfallen.

The president scratches her head and continues on.

“…But, well, I think if you were truly trying to deceive us, you would tell a more realistic lie. You answered all our questions straightaway, and you almost went out of your way to say some things that were fishy… Hmm, I’d say it’s about fifty-fifty for me… Hey, what do you think, Kamiuchi?”

“I don’t think I can buy it.” Kamiuchi flat-out rejects our explanation. “It isn’t so much what they’re saying—more like it’s a little odd that the three of them are working together. They all knew one another before this, right?”

“B-but we haven’t had any time to put our heads together and conspire on this…” I counter his argument feebly.

“I hear ya. But you still knew each from before, so weren’t you just going along with what Maricchi was saying? Not to mention the worst-case scenario, where all three of you are behind this whole thing, you know?”

“That’s not true!”

“Hoshino, please don’t get so worked up. What I’m trying to say is, it’s not easy to trust the opinions of three people who seem to be in cahoots,” Kamiuchi says.

The president agrees. “He’s got something there.”

“How about you, Yuri?”

She doesn’t speak haltingly because she lacks confidence in her own ideas, but more likely because she isn’t used to expressing negative opinions.

“Hey, Yuri, you must’ve taken my side because you want to get in good with me, huh?”

“Uh…? N-no, that’s not it…”

“Hee-hee, it’s so cute how that little joke was enough to make you blush bright red!”

The president butts in as if to protect Yuri, who is turning an even deeper shade of crimson. “Okay, okay, stop teasing Yuri.”

“President, maybe you’re just jealous because the guys don’t make passes at you like they do Yuri here?”

“It wouldn’t count if someone like you hit on me.”

“Ouch! You’re so mean. You might be surprised, but I’ve got a lot of fans among the ladies.”

The president sighs, as if to say she is through listening to him, and gets the conversation back on track.

“Anyway, can we set the matter of the Boxes aside for now? Yuri, Kamiuchi, I’d also like to ask the two of you to not dismiss the possibility so easily and just keep the idea in the back of your minds. If you do, then maybe down the line when it’s time to decide whether to believe in them, you can be a bit more objective.”

The two of them nod sincerely at her idea.

Maria says, “I guess I can live with that,” although her dissatisfied expression contradicts her words.

…Well, I feel the same way. It’s disappointing that we can’t get them to believe us about the Boxes, but on the other hand, there’s not much we can do about it.

“…President, what can we do to persuade you of this…?”

She replies to my timid query straightaway. “You have to prove with actions that you are trustworthy. If you do, even if we don’t buy into the idea of the Boxes, we’ll be likely to go along with your suggestions on how to get out of this mess.”

Easier said than done.

“Um, what exactly do we need to…?”

My question is interrupted.

“A​n​Y​W​a​Y​_​I​_​w​i​s​h​_​y​o​u​_​a​l​l​_​G​O​O​d​_​l​u​c​k​. D​o​N’T_​l​e​t​_​t​h​e​_​g​a​m​e​_​e​n​d​_​w​i​t​h​_​s​o​m​e​_​b​O​R​I​n​g​_​o​u​t​C​O​m​e​_​w​h​e​r​e​_​Y​o​U​_​a​r​e​_​a​l​l​_​m​u​M​M​I​f​i​e​d​.”

After he finishes explaining the rules of Kingdom Royale, Noitan vanishes.

“Hey, Otonashi.”

The president seems to have changed her demeanor somewhat after hearing such awful things.

“If what you’re saying is true, there’s a way for us all to survive aside from completing Kingdom Royale, right?”

“Yeah.”

Maria’s firm assertion seems to resonate even more deeply with the president.

…Maybe this could lead them to believe us even more quickly than expected.

I mean, the president—and the others, too—they don’t want to take part in this killing game. If we keep fumbling along without a clue and time starts running out, someone will end up breaking. Then the game would begin. We need to act before that happens.

That’s why, if we can establish another option for getting out of this, they’ll most likely jump at the chance.

“Shall I tell you exactly what it is?” And Maria can tell them.

“…Okay, I’ll bite. What do we need to do?”

“If we can get Daiya to take out his Box, we will be free.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Daiya instantly at her words. Seeing our attitudes, he clicks his tongue in annoyance and makes sure it’s loud enough for us all to hear.

“Hey, Daiya, aren’t you going respond to Maria?”

Rejecting the president’s question, Daiya turns away and stays silent.

“…To be honest, if you’re gonna call Oomine suspicious, I won’t object,” Kamiuchi says with a bit of a chill in his voice, as if he’s irritated. He then turns around and smiles at Yuri. “Of course, you’re on the same page as me, right, Yuri?”

“Huh?!”

Yuri’s eyes grow huge as she is suddenly dragged into the fray.

She’s fumbling over her words, but judging by the way she keeps peeking over at Daiya, I’d have to say she agrees with Kamiuchi.

The atmosphere of the situation is now completely to Daiya’s disadvantage.

“Ugh…” He reacts to this whole affair with a deep sigh. “You idiots are all a bunch of puppets.”

But not even his insults are enough to change the mood.

“How about you try defending yourself before you start calling people idiots?” the president replies calmly.

Daiya gives an icy laugh as if thoroughly disgusted.

“…What? What’s with the unpleasant laughter?” she asks.

“You believe others so readily—I was just thinking how easy it would be for all of you to get wiped out. And you say you’re all honor students? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Stop with the smoke and mirrors, Daiya. Hurry up and state your case.”

“Sorry, but I’ll save that until after the Private Meetings.”

“Huh? What sort of weak attitude is that? Aren’t you just buying time to come up with a good explanation?”

“I can’t decide what stance to take, and there’s someone I want to confer with.”

“Okay, but you’re overwhelmingly suspicious right now. Are you fine with that?”

Daiya doesn’t say anything in response.

Day 1 <C> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

YOUR CLASS IS THE REVOLUTIONARY.

I stand in place for a moment, taking in the message.

“……Huh?”

I’m the Revolutionary? The Revolutionary, as in the most indisputably dangerous Class…?

If Kingdom Royale starts, everyone is going to come after me straight off the bat, no doubt about it. No matter how you slice it, the Revolutionary and his ability to take lives independently are a hazard.

…Wait, let’s try looking at it from another angle.

And that’s not all. Since I’m the Revolutionary, the one most likely to kick Kingdom Royale into motion, I can keep the game from starting.

So I should assume I’m in relatively little danger, yeah.

Telling myself this, I let out a deep breath and try to calm my racing heart.

“H​e​Y​_​h​e​y​_​h​E​y​_​K​a​z​u​k​i​_​i​T’S_​t​i​M​E​_​f​o​r​_​t​h​e Private Meetings.”

“Eep!”

As usual, the mascot appears at the worst possible timing for my heart. I’m positive he’s doing it on purpose.

I listen to Noitan’s explanation of the Private Meetings, and then, of course, I choose Maria.

“…Daiya chose me?”

Does that mean I’m the one Daiya wanted to confer with?

……At any rate, I’ll have time to speak with Maria before that.

Day 1 <C> Private Meeting with Maria Otonashi – Maria Otonashi’s Room

“We might’ve had a bit of unexpected luck there.”

Maria says this out of nowhere.

“…What’re you talking about?”

“Telling them about Boxes.”

“…Huh? Is there a situation where we wouldn’t be able to?”

She might just be right.

“Thanks to that, we have a chance of victory. As time runs out, they’ll have no choice but to trust in us since we have the only plan for getting out of this. Oomine will probably be difficult as we saw earlier, but that’s just the way he is, so they won’t trust him.”

I think that’s true. I feel bad about it, but when it comes down to trusting us or Daiya, probably no one would take his side.

“…Maria.”

“What is it?”

“Is Daiya really the owner of the Box?”

Maria furrows her brows.

“In light of our situation, I don’t see any other possibility, do you?”

“But you could also say it was Daiya who kept things from getting out of control by stopping the president. Thanks to that, we had a good environment for the president and the rest to hear us out about the Boxes. Do you really think he would have done that if he wanted Kingdom Royale to start?”

“…What you say is true. But I’m guessing he probably wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Or maybe he wants us to think that so we’ll drop our guard or something.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re free to worry over whatever you want, but we know Daiya is the owner. Do you have any better evidence?”

“…You’re right.”

“Now that we’re in agreement there, let’s go over things. We need to get Daiya to bring out the Box. We have to convince him to do this. But he isn’t going to respond to our attempts easily.”

I nod dutifully. Yeah, our real work has just begun.

“We need to make time to get through to Daiya. To that end, we have to make sure Kingdom Royale never gets started, even if just by accident.”

“How do we do that?”

“Build a relationship of trust, as Shindo said. A good starting point would be to have those who actually have the ability to kill, particularly the Revolutionary, come forward and reveal themselves, but…”

“Oh, I’m the Revolutionary.”

“Really?!”

Maria’s enthusiasm throws me off a bit as I answer.

“This is huge. It means there’s no chance the Revolutionary will be consumed by paranoia and commit an error. Then, if we wait for the right moment and have you reveal yourself, there won’t be any better way to win their trust.”

…So it really is a good thing I’m the Revolutionary.

“So what’s your Class, Maria?”

“I’m the Double.”

“…Oh.”

According to the game, that makes us enemies.

“Our chances are good. All that leaves… Yeah, the one possibility that bothers me is that Daiya might conspire with someone to use Magic behind the scenes.”

“I have a Private Meeting with Daiya, so I’ll try asking him a few things then… Um, should I try driving the point home about not starting Kingdom Royale?”

“…Yeah. But be very careful. One slipup, and he could deduce that you’re the Revolutionary.”

Day 1 <C> Private Meeting with Daiya Oomine – Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

“I have no intention of playing a crappy game like Kingdom Royale.”

That’s the first thing Daiya says as he enters my room.

“What’re you all goggle-eyed for?”

“I…I mean—”

Is it really possible Daiya, the owner, wouldn’t want to play his own game?

“The look on your face says you don’t understand where I’m coming from.”

He’s right on the money, so I can’t say anything.

“The answer to that question is simple: I’m not the owner of this shitty Box. Forcing people into a game where they kill one another? Heh-heh… Sounds pretty unproductive to me. It has no reason to exist.”

“…I…think the same…”

“Uh, no…”

So maybe this is what Daiya is trying to say: He’s without a doubt an owner. But the Box that makes people play Kingdom Royale is not his.

This Box has another owner.

“That aside, what’s with this Box? I can’t sense any way of interfering with it. If it doesn’t have any loose ends, whoever made it must really know what they’re doing.”

“Huh…?”

“Come on, why are you so astonished? Think about it. Otonashi can detect Boxes, interfere with them, and knows about O because she’s an owner, right? I’m an owner now, too, so it shouldn’t surprise you that I can do all that.”

“That’s true…”

“What’s with that face? From where I stand, you’re the strange one since you know about O even though you’re supposed to forget completely about them.”

“…But that’s—”

“Yeah, it’s not possible. We’re owners, and it’s possible for us to do these things, since we can consciously make use of our special nature. But you’re not an owner, are you?”

I don’t have anything to say to that.

“…So what is it that makes Box owners different, exactly?”

Daiya crosses his arms and thinks a moment before answering my question.

“…This is just the way I see it, but from the moment a person comes into possession of a Box, they’re no longer human, because the Box allows them to surpass the limitations of humanity. When they step outside the bounds of these limitations, owners step outside the bounds of normal life. That’s what makes them special.”

I frown as if I have no idea what he means, and Daiya continues his explanation.

“Leaving your original standpoint allows you to perceive things you never could before. I don’t mean that we can see Boxes or O in the visual sense, but more that we are just aware of them. Like how you’ll spot a salon you’ve passed by many times, but only when you need to get your hair cut.”

“So why is it that you can perceive O?” he asks.

“I don’t know.” My reply is a little apathetic.

“…Hey, Kazu, you rejected it, but apparently, you did touch a Box once.”

Not really wanting to answer fully, I simply give a tiny nod.

“That’s because you truly felt that a wish-granting Box sounded like a bunch of nonsense. You knew there were no limitations. Back then, you took a step outside the norm—how does that sound?”

“How does it sound…? So does that mean there’s no going back for anyone who has ever been an owner? Mogi doesn’t remember O at all.”

“Yeah, I guess there is that. Mogi and Asami both got really lucky in that sense. They thought of their Boxes as something special. They didn’t notice the true nature of the Boxes. That’s why they could go back to how they once were, and why they couldn’t use their Boxes fully.”

Daiya looks me over.

“But I get the feeling you could master a Box. That’s why you ended up like this just by touching one.”

“No way. I’m normal.”

“No, I’m afraid you’re not. I said it before, but you’re floating in suspension. Away from normal life.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I’m not. On the contrary, you were abnormal even before you came into contact with a Box. You were, in essence, very close to the nature of an owner from the very beginning. No… Maybe less an owner and closer to O.”

“—Stop it!!” I yell. I can never accept the idea that I resemble that disgusting being in any way.

Daiya observes my exclamation. After a moment, he sighs.

“Well, there’s not much point in talking about this now. All I wanted to do was get you to trust that I’m not the owner of this Box.”

“…I…don’t think I can believe that anymore.”

“Hey, don’t make up your mind so quickly. Say…would you believe me if I could stop Kingdom Royale in its tracks?”

“…What do you mean?”

“If Kingdom Royale is designed to make people kill and deceive one another, then all we have to do is lead it in a direction where that doesn’t happen. Do that, and the game doesn’t work anymore.”

“Do you think the owner of this Box would want the game to stop running?”

“No, I don’t think so… Uh, hold on. Do you have an actual plan for how to stop Kingdom Royale?”

“Yeah.”

That’s when Daiya says it.

“Find the Revolutionary.”

“……”

I instinctively swallow.

I fight down the urge to let my panic show on my face. That was close. He almost outed me as the Revolutionary.

“Why will finding the Revolutionary stop the game?”

I manage to ask the question naturally. Daiya replies, without the slightest hint of doubt toward me.

“Because the game will never start if they don’t use Assassinate. If we can find the Revolutionary and threaten them so they can’t use Assassinate, then we’ve achieved our objective.”

The word “threaten” scares me a bit, but I maintain my composure and raise another question.

“How would we keep them from using that ability…?”

“There are plenty of ways. For instance, we could say that if they kill anyone, we’ll out them as the Revolutionary. Once exposed, the Revolutionary has no chance of victory. No one’s dumb enough to kill someone for no reason.”

“But let’s say we find the Revolutionary and prevent them from using Assassinate. Then what about Magic…? Wouldn’t it still be possible for the game to start if someone dies that way?”

“There’s no worry of that.” Daiya denies it firmly.

“Why?”

“Because I’m the Sorcerer.”

…Huh? Is he really okay with just revealing his Class to me like that?

“R-really…? You aren’t just trying to fool me?”

“That’s—”

I think for a moment, but I can’t come up with anything.

“All I want is to get out of this worthless Box. By necessity, I have to work with you and Otonashi to do that. That’s why I don’t mind telling you my Class.”

“…Are you sure? We might be Classes that are opposed to each other…”

“Do the Classes of this game matter to you? You know we can resolve all of this if we destroy the Box, after all.”

…He might be right.

“All I want is for you and Otonashi to realize I am not the owner of this Box… In light of that, I need to ask you something.”

Daiya casually says his question:

“You’re the Revolutionary, aren’t you?”

My reaction allows Daiya to ascertain my Class beyond a shadow of a doubt. It seems he was already pretty certain who I was from my response when he said we need to find the Revolutionary.

That’s how I ended up under Daiya’s control.

But…I don’t think there’s any way around it. I’m positive none of the others would’ve been able to keep their Class hidden from him, either.

Day 1 <D> The Common Area

Daiya’s claim that he wants to stop Kingdom Royale from functioning could be true.

“If you all don’t want to murder one another, then we should all come out in the open about our Classes.”

That’s his proposal, after all. If we all tell one another our Classes, then no one can lie. Furthermore, the Class Daiya would reveal is the Sorcerer, one that’s capable of killing.

“…Is that the conclusion you reached after consulting with Hoshino?” In the end, it’s the president who breaks the lengthy silence.

“Yeah. I don’t feel like playing along with this game.”

“Let me just say this: I’ll assume that anyone who doesn’t go along with this plan intends on playing Kingdom Royale.”

“You can’t just say that.”

“Can’t I? I’m the only one who gets to decide how I judge things,” Daiya retorts.

The president scowls.

“B-but, Iroha, I was thinking of suggesting exactly the same idea,” Yuri says.

“…Yeah, I kinda sensed that during our Private Meeting.”

The president looks around at all of us, then asks, “Are we all fine with this? If you have any objections, speak up.”

No one says a thing. I had thought Kamiuchi might object, since this is Daiya’s plan, but he doesn’t give a peep. Maybe because Yuri agrees with it.

“Ugh… Seriously?” the president complains. “Well, guess I can’t very well go against it and be the odd one out…”

“So you’re for revealing our Classes?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Once the president gives up, Daiya hands us each a piece of notebook paper from his hemp sack.

“Write down your Class on these. I only have one pen, so we’ll have to take turns. Make sure no one sees you while you’re writing so there won’t be any cheating. Once you’re done, put your paper facedown. Then, once I give the signal, we’ll all flip them over at the same time.”

Daiya writes first, and then we all write our Classes as directed: Maria, followed by me, the president, Yuri, and Kamiuchi. There are now six pieces of paper facedown on the table.

“All right, show ’em.”

Everyone turns over their paper. I read the Class on each one.

Maria is the Double.

The president is the King.

Yuri is the Prince.

Kamiuchi is the Knight.

And then Daiya—who I had thought might pull something—is the Sorcerer, just as he claimed.

“Hang on there, President—what’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Um, yeah. Exactly what I said.”

Kamiuchi grimaces with a “Whoa!”

“How about it, Your Presidency?” Daiya asks. “Seems like just the type of outcome to put you at ease, eh?”

“…Yeah. Unless Hoshino is secretly some scheming bastard, then I guess I’m okay with it.”

“…Hey, come on.”

Daiya ignores my pouting and continues, “I also have one more proposal. I want to collect all the knives we were given. This won’t entirely prevent violence, but it’s still safer than the alternative.”

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to hoard all the knives for yourself, Oomine?” Kamiuchi says. “In that case, I’m against it. It’s way too dangerous to leave all that power in your hands.”

“Hmph, well then, how about we gather them all in someone else’s room?”

The president cuts in. “How about Yuri’s or Hoshino’s rooms? They seem like the most valid choices. Anyway, I’m fine with either one, so how about you two work it out?”

“Huh?” “Huh?”

The two of us, who were just picked, exclaim at the same time and look at each other.

“Oh, go ahead, Hoshino.”

“Oh, it’s okay. Why don’t you do it, Yuri?”

“I couldn’t…”

“I couldn’t, either…”

“I think you would keep the knives stored safe and sound, Hoshino, so…”

“I’d feel safer if it was you, Yuri.”

“But…”

“You’d just be holding on to them.”

“But it’d be the same if they were with you—”

“Okay, okay, the knives go with Yuri.” The president stops our conversation with a clap of her hands, then settles the matter herself.

“I-Iroha.”

“Not yet.”

The president lets out a breath at Daiya’s statement. “Okay, your imperial majesty, what shall we do next?”

Daiya carries on, completely disregarding the president’s sarcasm. “We’ve stopped Kingdom Royale temporarily. But our objective isn’t just to stop it, but to escape it altogether. All we did now was reach a preliminary agreement. If the situation changes, that won’t hold true any longer.”

“Yeah, I guess I can see that. So what, then? Does that mean you know something especially vital?”

“I know a way to get us out of the game.”

The president and the rest of us freeze at his retort.

…Daiya, you can’t mea—

“We just need to destroy the Box.”

He really did it. He acknowledged the existence of Boxes in front of the others.

Even though he is currently the prime suspect.

“Boxes do indeed exist, as Maria Otonashi said. If you can’t believe that, then just think of the Box as an analogy for whatever forced us into this mess. At any rate, in order to accomplish our goal, we need to destroy this Box. And we can do this by killing the owner, or the one in possession of the Box.”

“But didn’t Otonashi basically say you were the owner?”

“…I’m going to retract that estimation for the time being.” Maria jumps into the conversation with a stern face. “This doesn’t change the fact that Oomine is my prime suspect. I’ve just concluded that a decision would be a little premature. I felt this during my Private Meeting just now, and the plan Oomine proposed will undoubtedly prevent any killing… That’s why I can’t be certain Oomine is the owner.”

The president tilts her head in obvious puzzlement at Maria’s unexpected assistance. Neither I nor Maria is sure how much of what Daiya’s saying is sincere. We don’t know what his aims are for us.

Still, there’s no mistaking the truth that Kingdom Royale is the work of a Box.

If we can just get everyone to believe that, then the game will not start. And then, we can work as one and find a solution to—

My optimistic thoughts come to a screeching halt.

Everyone focuses on Kamiuchi, the source of the outburst.

“Why are you even seriously considering this, President? There’s no need to think about any of it.”

“…Why is that?”

Kamiuchi flashes a condescending smile at the president’s question, then bluntly replies:

“I mean—the three of them are totally in cahoots, right?”

I’m…chilled to the bone.

There isn’t a trace of his usual flippancy on his face. Instead, it’s blank, with a hint of something hard and cold lurking underneath.

“This is just a trap. None of us has any idea what type of person would be an owner, right? That’s why if we start searching for this owner, we’d have no choice but to follow these three in everything during our hunt. Do you know what that means?”

Kamiuchi continues with a thin smile.

“These guys—can set somebody up as the owner we have to kill.”

What—

What is he saying…?

“We have no intention of killing the owner—”

“—Shut up.”

A single sentence. That’s all it takes to create an enormous impact.

I’m instantly aware of something. This person is—different. From an unknown world. And his world—contains violence.

Not one of us is able to open our mouth.

The long silence is finally broken as Kamiuchi lets out a deep exhalation. He breathes several times, in-out, in-out, and he’s wearing his usual clownish expression.

But it’s impossible to see it the same way as before.

“You can’t believe all this Box crap, either, can you, Yuri?”

Yuri gulps audibly.

He’s forcing her to take his side. He won’t allow any dissenting opinions.

“……I, um…”

That’s his aim.

If Yuri agrees with him, we’re done for.

But it’s no good. As weak willed as she is, Yuri isn’t capable of rejecting him the way he is now.

With tears in her eyes, Yuri looks at me for a moment before averting her gaze.

Then, with trembling lips, she whispers:

“……No, I can’t believe it.”

Yep, we’re screwed.

Or so I thought. But then—

“…But…”

—she keeps speaking.

“…at the very least, I think I can trust Hoshino. So the idea that he would be trying to trap us…is something I…can’t accept.”

She can’t accept it.

She said it clearly. She was trembling and scared, but she still managed to push Kamiuchi’s opinion to the side and defend me.

Maybe because she had to summon so much bravery, Yuri ducks down on the spot, places her hands over her chest, and lets out a ragged breath.

Kamiuchi regards her with wide eyes, probably because he never expected her to refute him. He then directs a piercing gaze toward me. I swallow hard, feeling exactly like a criminal about to be sentenced by a judge.

“Well, I can also acknowledge that Hoshino here seems like an upstanding guy.”

Only then does the hostility disappear from his features.

…Did we ride it out…?

Yuri raises her face and looks at me. Her tense face relaxes, and she smiles.

That’s how, thanks to Yuri’s bravery, we were able to hold on to some hope of finding a resolution.

Daiya, the president, Kamiuchi, and Maria all return to their own rooms. Just as I’m about to follow them through the door, Yuri grabs my hand.

“What’s up?”

“…I was…scared.” She murmurs this, not raising her head. “That guy…terrified me.”

“Yeah… But…you really helped us all. Thank you.”

I smile at Yuri to reassure her, but her face remains as frightened as before.

“My Private Meeting.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m scared of my next Private Meeting…with that guy.” Yuri’s complexion is as white as it was when I first saw her.

“I-it’ll be okay. Kamiuchi seems to like you, so I’m sure—”

“—That’s why I’m scared!!”

She looks up and raises her voice enough to startle me. She looks down again, embarrassed at her loud exclamation.

“S-sorry for losing my composure.”

“I-it’s okay…”

What’s this all about?

In the Private Meetings, we’re alone with the other person in our cell-like rooms. Kamiuchi has a thing for Yuri, so I can’t imagine he would kill her, but—

“Oh…”

The realization hits me.

I know exactly what Yuri is so afraid of.

I think she sees I’ve caught her meaning, because she grips me tight.

“……I really meant it, you know?”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t say I could trust you earlier because I wanted Kamiuchi to back down. I said it because I meant it.”

Her trembling grows even more intense. I’m getting worried, so I peer into her downturned face.

“I’m scared… So scared.”

Yuri is crying.

What do I do? What am I supposed to do here?

This isn’t the type of situation I can think my way through, so for the time being I just squeeze her shaky hand in reply.

Yuri places her left hand over mine and grips me even tighter.

“Oh…”

Again.

I’m remembering, again.

I remember Nana Yanagi even more vividly than I did when I heard Yuri’s name.

In fact, how could I have forgotten her so completely? It hasn’t even been two years, but recently, her existence hadn’t crossed my mind at all. I had blocked her out of my thoughts like none of it had ever happened.

Could it be that my wish to forget Nana Yanagi, the wish I had been praying for from the moment I betrayed her, had actually been granted?

It had—by completely blotting it out with mundanity.

“On the contrary, you were abnormal even before you came into contact with a Box.”

That doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with it.

“…I’m sorry, Hoshino, I’m sorry… I’m going to say something selfish, but please forgive me. I trust you, of my own volition. That’s why I ask—”

She says it. Yanagi says it.

“That’s why I ask—please don’t betray me.”

The tearful entreaty on her face…for some reason it resembles her, my first love.

And then, the moment I think it, the words leave my mouth.

“I won’t. I won’t betray your trust again, Yanagi.”

Day 1 <E> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

Upon returning to my room, I reflect on my memories of her.

Nana Yanagi. She was my classmate, the first girl I fell for, and—in a relationship with my best friend.

She and Yuri share the same last name, and they are at once alike and completely different. In a word, she was a troublemaker. She would suddenly shave off her eyebrows with a razor during break, cover the whole classroom in the pink powder of a fire extinguisher—the list of strange things she did was endless. The other girls even started calling her “Ex-ko” behind her back. (The “Ex” was short for “Eccentric.”)

But as it happened, I knew just such an oddball.

Toji Kijima, my best friend.

Toji was full of curiosity, and his eyes positively shone whenever he encountered something new. Yanagi’s eccentric behavior never failed to ignite that gleam. I think becoming interested in her was an extremely natural thing for Toji. At first, Yanagi rebuffed his advances. But I think the truth is she most likely wanted someone to pay attention to her. She accepted Toji, and they started dating.

Almost as soon as they did, she revealed her true colors.

The true colors—of a deeply lonely girl.

She was dependent on Toji. The extent of her need was, in a word, horrible. She never left his side for even a moment and lashed out at any girls who approached Toji to make them keep their distance. Because Toji wanted her to, she changed her blond hair back to black, wore a normal-length skirt, and buried her cigarettes in the garden.

Toji was everything to Yanagi.

Since he was her world, she couldn’t bear it if he said or did anything she didn’t like. Even the most trivial remark or behavior hurt her terribly. On occasion, she would even cut her wrists.

The only one who would listen to her at those painful times…was me.

The phone calls I got from her always started with sobbing. She would often drag me off somewhere away from prying eyes during breaks at school, then unleash a flood of tears.

At first, I was just trying to lend her an ear. But as time went on, she began to seek further comfort from me. She would get me to stroke her head, hold her, sleep beside her, even lick up the tears running down her cheeks. I remember her saying some really messed up things, like how the sight of my face as I guiltily lapped up her tears relaxed her.

That’s right. In the end, she was dependent on me, too.

Honestly, it was exhausting. I didn’t like the way she led me around by the nose, and at times, I even avoided her calls.

And that wasn’t just me. I soon found out how sick of it Toji was, too.

After countless talks of splitting up, the two of them finally called it quits for good.

I still had my limits, though. The pent-up anger was beginning to make my stomach hurt. I lost my appetite. I grew irritable. Why was I stuck comforting her when we weren’t even lovers?

That’s why, one day, I said something about it to her.

“I can’t see you anymore.”

She didn’t understand.

In order to understand my own resolve, I gradually said harsher and harsher things.

I can’t see you anymore, you’re nothing but trouble, think of someone else for a change, Toji dumped you because you don’t think about how other people feel, I can’t stand it anymore, quit stalking me, freaking Ex-ko—

Then, the very same day I showered her with abuse—Yanagi and Toji disappeared.

The classmates who knew them only while they were together came up with all sorts of stories, like maybe they’d eloped, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

So why did they both vanish at the same time?

There was only one answer. Succumbing to hopelessness after I stabbed her in the back, Yanagi called Toji to meet her. And then—she made it so he couldn’t come back.

I blamed myself. It was my fault. It was all because I couldn’t support her enough. Because I shoved her away, even though I was the one person she could depend on.

But what took over my heart even more than guilt was emptiness.

Each day felt entirely void of meaning. Each day was as flavorless as a piece of gum that’s been chewed for three days straight. I found it was missing something. The world lacked flavor.

It lacked that intense, salty flavor.

You’re awful. How could you even consider disappearing from my life over a few words like that? Don’t you think you can keep depending on me? You— You’re so irresponsible, letting me experience that taste and then disappearing.

If it were me, if you had me, I would have given you everything. I already pretty much had.

Once I reached that point, when I finally realized that my heart had become hollow…I truly, finally understood.

Yeah… What can I say?

I…loved Nana Yanagi.

By the time I realized that, she was already gone. She ran off with Toji, ran off with most of my heart, and vanished.

But though I may have betrayed someone I love, hurt them, drove them into a corner, or killed them, my normal life persisted. I was alive, so I had to keep on living. I had to make a normal world without her in it.

That’s why I had to forget her.

I had to forget about Nana Yanagi. She was never the type who would have anything to do with me anyway. I had to seal her away, this eccentric symbol of abnormality.

That’s how I was able to truly forget about her, to an almost incredible extent.

Now that I think about it, when did I become so fixated on normality?

CHOOSE THE TARGET YOU WOULD LIKE TO ASSASSINATE.

This message appears on the monitor alongside pictures of all six players, including me.

I can’t possibly make a choice like this.

I don’t understand the Game of Indolence. I suspect it might not have any meaning behind it at all.

I collapse on my bed.

But what am I trying to do by saying this Box is meaningless? Am I trying to suggest that the normal life I would go back to does have meaning?

That normal life built entirely around forgetting her?

“……”

I think about Yuri. No one needs to point it out—I’m aware that “Nana Yanagi” and “Yuri Yanagi” are beginning to overlap in my mind.

If I can save Yuri without betraying her, maybe I can escape from the spell Nana has on me?

I don’t know. I don’t know, but—

—I taste someone’s tears in my parched throat.

Day 6 <B> The Common Area

We reach the sixth day without any major developments.

As Daiya had planned, we revealed everyone’s Classes and even collected all the knives, bringing Kingdom Royale to a halt. Despite this, the other three remain on the fence about Boxes no matter how much we explain to them, so we’re stuck when it comes to identifying the owner… And the time limit is approaching fast.

I head from my room to the common area. By this point, I’m completely used to the warping phenomenon that occurs when I go into a new room and don’t think anything of it.

A room that is whiter than any naturally occurring shade.

…But whatever. As long as I’m the Revolutionary and Daiya is the Sorcerer, Kingdom Royale will never start.

“Kazuki.”

As she spots me, Yuri marches swiftly up to me with a little grin on her face.

“Huh? Did something good happen?”

As I say this, Yuri mutters “Huh?” in a small voice and tilts her head, as if she wasn’t aware of what she was doing. Watching us from the corner of her eye, Iroha chimes in.

“Yuri’s just happy to see you for the first time in a day. She’s really grown fond of you.”

By her tone, it’s hard to tell whether she’s joking or serious. Yuri’s face blushes a deep red.

“I-Iroha! Quit talking about me like I’m some sort of puppy!”

I imagine Yuri with a dog’s tail, wagging as she comes up to me.

“Ha!”

Oh man, that’s a great image!

“Wh-why did you laugh just now, Kazuki?!”

She puffs out her cheeks… I’ve got to find a way to pass off that laugh as something else.

All the same—I really have grown used to talking to these two.

At the very least, I can no longer imagine any one of us killing someone else.

“…Kazuki, as punishment for laughing, you have to choose me…for a Private Meeting during <C>,” Yuri says for some reason, her puffed-out cheeks turning slightly red.

“Fine, but how is that punishment?”

“…Huh? …Um, w-well, it just is! …Probably!” Yuri says, flapping her arms with gusto. It’s kinda funny.

“Huh?”

Maria, who has been eyeing Yuri, comes over, scratching her head irritably.

“…Huh? What’s up, Maria?”

For whatever reason, Maria stays silent, unwilling to open her mouth.

“…To put it this way…you’ve already had Private Meetings with Yanagi four times, correct?”

“Huh?”

“If you go again today, that’ll make it five. I wouldn’t be surprised if the others see that as you focusing on one person. Having Private Meetings with a specific person five times may endanger the sense of cooperation we’ve worked so hard to build among the six of us.”

“…Um? So you’re saying I shouldn’t have a Private Meeting with Yuri; is that right?”

“I’m not saying just with Yuri. I’m saying it’s dangerous to be perceived as favoring a specific person.”

“…Aren’t you overthinking it a bit?”

“You’ve only had Private Meetings with me three times.”

I feel like I’m missing something…

“Otonashi’s jealous. How cute,” Iroha says with an amused look on her face.

“…Don’t get started with that stupid, baseless conjecture. I’m just warning Kazuki about his behavior.”

“You’re really desperate.”

“…You aren’t listening to me.”

“Maria, are you jealous?” I ask.

Thud!

She kicked me in the shin really hard!

“Sigh…”

Kamiuchi, who was watching this exchange and fiddling with his portable device, jumps in disgustedly. “Aw man, I’m so jealous here. I kinda just wish you’d curl up and die, Hoshino.”

“Huh? What’s to be jealous of…? I just got kicked.”

“…What’re you playing dumb for? Is that what they call the confidence of the victor?”

When I tilt my head, Kamiuchi lets out a sigh and goes back to messing around with his device.

Despite how it may seem, Kamiuchi and I have gotten pretty used to each other, too. I wasn’t sure how things would go the first time I saw that violent side of him, but in speaking with him, I’ve found him to be surprisingly easy to talk to.

“Huh? Ah, I get it.”

Kamiuchi sets his device on the table and stands up.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, I was just going back over some past statements and I reached a conclusion.”

Kamiuchi walks over to where Daiya is sitting and pats him on the shoulder. Daiya scowls, as if he’s annoyed by the overly familiar treatment. This has been happening pretty reliably between these two the last few days.

“Daiya. I’m gonna believe you, about the Box, I mean.”

Startled, I ask, “Huh? Really, Kamiuchi?”

“There’s no reason to lie, right? …I mean, at this point it doesn’t really matter whether I believe you. With us running short on time, I have to pick one or the other. There aren’t any other answers besides the Box, so I don’t really have any choice.”

Now that he mentions it, Maria did say they wouldn’t have any choice but to trust us once time grew short.

“So what was it we needed to do again? I’m pretty sure you said this situation would be fixed if we smash the Box. If that’s the case, let’s just do this.”

With that, Kamiuchi lifts his button-down shirt.

“Let’s kill Daiya here.”

But there wasn’t enough time.

There wasn’t time for me to comprehend what he meant.

Before I can even think, he brings down the     —

And he kills Daiya.

“……Ah…”

……Huh? What is this…?

Though I can explain what happened, my ability to understand it is far slower.

Kamiuchi slashed Daiya’s neck open. Blood sprays from his neck, and he falls silent with his eyes still open. And then—he dies. I can tell that much. But while I can recognize the facts as facts, I cannot assign any meaning to them.

That’s why I just stand there, dumbfounded.

Kamiuchi’s shirt is now bright red, and his face is wet and crimson with the sticky spray of blood. In his hands is a knife, which he should not have. It’s one of the combat weapons we supposedly collected from everyone.

“That’s funny,” Kamiuchi mutters as he plays with the knife he had concealed underneath his belt. “Wasn’t everything supposed to be fixed once the owner dies? And wasn’t the owner Daiya here?”

He looks at Maria.

“Hey, that was the story, right, Maricchi?”

Maria is stunned, her eyes wide.

Kamiuchi keeps talking, as if he was never really looking for a response to begin with.

“Maybe it’s just that Daiya isn’t dead yet? Okay, let’s try this.”

And with that—

—he plunges the knife into Daiya’s neck again.

Blood flows everywhere.

The impact knocks Daiya’s body forward, and his head slams into the table with a loud bang. Red liquid spreads across the table.

“Ah…”

Yuri shrieks and falls on her backside.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Your scream is so cute, Yuri… But he sure looks dead to me. Guess that means all that stuff Maricchi said about Boxes in the beginning was either a mistake or BS, huh? Oh, I think I did choose to believe in Boxes, didn’t I? Guess I should just assume that Daiya here was a miss.”

Kamiuchi says a “miss.”

I don’t get what he means right away. But before long, I do.

“Maricchi.”

The murderer asks his question:

“Who should I try next?”

He’s asking who’ll be a “hit.”

By chance, I notice the hand gripping the knife is shaking.

At first, I think maybe it’s in fear of what he has just done. I understand once I see his face, though.

His hand is shaking with excitement.