No Game No Life - Vol 7 Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

Chapter 1 —

 

Closed Circle

 

Rejuvenation and Aging

 

——Seven hours must have pa.s.sed since the start of

 

the game with the Old Deus.

 

Sora was currently running through an alley covered

 

by the darkness of the night.

 

——There were no stars in the night sky separated by

 

the squares of concrete.

 

Droplets of a small rain and rough footsteps were

 

hitting the hard asphalt.

 

A handgun was ready in his hands and the approaching

 

shadow reflected in his eyes——was only the [Enemy].

 

[————Chh!!]

 

He clicked his tongue once. Overlaying his sights on

 

the enemy, he pulled the trigger with machine-like

 

thinking.

 

The hammer stroked the detonator, the explosives’

 

sh.e.l.l casing reacted and detonated——the shock caused

 

his hand to shake.

 

The supersonic gas born from the conversion to solid

 

phase pushed everything out from inside the gun and made

 

it accelerate——

 

——The lead blown from the muzzle split the air. The

 

flash of light uncovered the shadow.

 

With a process in less than milliseconds, it turned into

 

a deadly weapon piercing through the dark night——the

 

lead and the light.

 

It shot the following shadow with a frightening speed

 

——hitting the body of the small Warbeast uncovered by

 

the flash of light.

 

——Yes, it was at the [body]…… He won’t aim at the

 

[head].

 

The firepower of a handgun from such a weird game

 

couldn’t be trusted. No, even with the handgun that Sora

 

knew from the old world, the bullet would slip on the

 

bone with the smallest angle of deviation. That was even

 

more true when it was the cranium, the toughest bone in

 

the human body.

 

Even more so when the [enemy] wasn’t human……

 

they were Warbeasts and monsters greater than that.

 

The aim was the triangle made by the jaw and both

 

chests. It’ll steal the combat capacity no matter where it

 

hits and, if it hits the center, he can hope damage to the

 

vital organs——Now, what will a coldly and rationally

 

fired bullet pursuing the kill will do he wondered.

 

It teared into the small Warbeast who slipped on the

 

road with the same speed as when she followed——and

 

turned into a corpse.

 

——He killed it. That’s right, he killed it.

 

This game is really simple, Sora laughed darkly.

 

————If the traitor isn’t known, then it doesn’t

 

matter who it is.

 

Except his little sister, the only one who definitely

 

won’t betray him…… he can simply kill everyone else.

 

Remove everyone suspected to be a traitor——this

 

incredibly simple answer was this game’s

 

theory

 

scenario.

 

Yes, it’s a simple game, Sora covered himself and

 

smiled bitterly.

 

Simple——but also a game easily surpa.s.sing the very

 

hard, with

 

Inferno Mode

 

a super degree of difficulty.

 

That’s because the [enemy] was a bunch of monsters

 

one couldn’t compete with normally.

 

Even then, I still can’t lose——he had survived until

 

now with that stubbornness.

 

Sora turned his gaze around and sorted out the

 

situation cautiously.

 

——It was a Tokyo like the one he saw in the game

 

with the Eastern Union——but, somehow different.

 

The height of the buildings, the complex back alleys,

 

the objects installed at each place of that map——

 

Making full use of those advantageous spots, he

 

managed to finish off a large-sized Warbeast, a Dhampir,

 

and a small-sized Warbeast.

 

All were done in through trickery and shooting:

 

feigning to be an ally, shooting at their back, luring them

 

out with lies, then sniping them.

 

While being called [dirty] repeatedly by s.h.i.+ro, he

 

survived until now by not choosing his methods——but.

 

——That nasty monster who calls itself an angel.

 

Just that one alone——he didn’t feel like it’ll work

 

out somehow at all.

 

After sorting the situation out, he let out a sigh in the

 

back alley, covered his respiration and strained his ears.

 

Countless footsteps in the distance were slowly getting

 

closer, gradually closing in.

 

[If I could at least regroup with my sister…… No, I

 

guess even that wouldn’t be desirable in this situation,

 

huh.]

 

It was a hopeless speech——but, this kind of speech

 

at such a time was obviously a flag.

 

While thinking that half-expected, half-amazed, Sora’s

 

ears captured the footsteps firmly stepping in the back

 

alley.

 

——He reacted even faster than his thoughts.

 

Ahead of the aim was the figure of a red-hair girl——

 

Contrary to Sora’s will, the aim wavered.

 

The girl was suspicious. Rather than suspicious, it’s as

 

if it’s far harder to search for something that wasn’t.

 

But, Sora put aside those thoughts and eventually

 

spoke some words.

 

[You, just how did you get inside this area…… No,

 

leave that for later. My sister’s together with you, huh. Did

 

you find a countermeasure——]

 

[Yes…… we found it.]

 

——There was no sound, only the shock conveyed.

 

He understood it in one beat. It seemed the bullet came

 

flying from behind the red-haired girl and pierced his

 

abdomen.

 

[We should’ve just done this from the very start……

 

Isn’t that right, Traitor-san?]

 

[——Wrong…… that was a bluff…… ——!]

 

Contrary to his will, his body didn’t move, his blurry

 

vision captured the shooter of the devilish bullet that

 

pierced through him——

 

He gasped. The slightly red light from the fire burning

 

the gun barrel reflected the one approaching through the

 

gun’s smoke.

 

The white-haired girl…… for the sake of searching

 

for a way to survive this hopeless game.

 

She had accompanied the red-haired girl——it was

 

his little sister.

 

……Putting Sora aside, whose thoughts

 

froze

 

stopped with

 

his mouth opened, dumbfounded.

 

[If the one going around killing everyone isn’t the

 

traitor, then who would you say it is!?]

 

Hearing the infuriated scream, “Wrong” …… he

 

replied.

 

Or he tried to, but, a load of blood overflowed from

 

his mouth and spilled out instead.

 

[That was…… because if I didn’t do so…… At the

 

time, you wouldn’t have, protected my sister——]

 

——Just like a revelation, Sora came to understand it

 

in an instant.

 

It was within predictions the red-haired girl would

 

betray.

 

But, the little sister——the one that definitely

 

wouldn’t betray him, had betrayed…… then the answer

 

was——

 

[It was…… you, huh…… the real traitor——the

 

‘fake’ was you…… from the very start……!!]

 

Exactly——Looking back at her slowly dying brother

 

with mocking eyes——towards that something.

 

[With my sister’s appearance, with her face…… don’t

 

turn those trashy eyes to meeeeee————!!]

 

The red-haired girl swallowed her breath at his

 

wailing scream——but, it was too late.

 

The flash of light mercilessly illuminated the back

 

alley once again——two times, three times.

 

The figure of the red-haired girl collapsing on the

 

ground reflected in his already half-blackened vision.

 

[…… It’s a lie, right…… I only, believed——]

 

——in you, but, her lips stopped midway, the light

 

wouldn’t return to her dull eyes ever again.

 

The white-haired girl——the traitor with the

 

appearance of his little sister slowly approached him.

 

Hearing the sound of the shoes. .h.i.tting the hard cold

 

asphalt as death approached, Sora finally——concluded.

 

——Ah. This is a s.h.i.+tty game.

 

A development where not knowing what will happen

 

is very good. But, super development, you’re no good.

 

When and where was the flag indicating that the

 

fake

 

traitor was the

 

this guy

 

sister?

 

In the first place, what was that speech——“I only

 

believed in you”?

 

Say that earlier. A hint that’s only collected right

 

before the event can’t be called a hint!

 

[I wonder…… Where did I go wrong……? For what

 

reason, did I…… work so hard……]

 

Continuing even after having defined it as a s.h.i.+tty

 

game, Sora sharply agreed with that no-good line.

 

——Aahh, really, just for what reason did you work

 

so hard for.

 

Just one thing…… it was “for the sake of his little

 

sister” that he endured Inferno Mode and came this far.

 

But, if that single thing was fake, then, his efforts and

 

hards.h.i.+ps.

 

Just for what reason——had he piled up tricks,

 

tactics, and strategies——!?

 

[Bye, bye Nii……]

 

Just a single shot. The impact told him so, but, the end

 

was slow——the white-haired girl’s last voice.

 

Isolated by the darkness…… lifelessly——echoed.

 

“……Nii…… how does it feel…… to die, a virgin?”

 

————Wait a second.

 

No, no, seriously wait a second!

 

“Hey, s.h.i.+ro, that’s a lie, right! You’re randomly saying

 

whatever you feel like just because Nii-chan can’t

 

understand the Warbeasts’ language, right!! If you say such

 

reckless things, how will you take responsibility if I

 

accidentally end up crying, huh!?”

 

——And then, the black-haired young man lost

 

consciousness.

 

Sora yelled with teary eyes while gazing at that screen,

 

holding the controller.

 

——Now, it surely doesn’t need to be said.

 

What was reflected on the screen wasn’t Sora and

 

s.h.i.+ro, obviously not Steph, either.

 

Of course, the Old Deus’ game——[Sugoroku] didn’t

 

have even the slightest relation to it.

 

——It was right at the beginning, soon after Sora

 

loudly made the [Traitor] declaration.

 

Sora requested everyone’s dice, but they all finished

 

writing their【Tasks】and left through the door.

 

As if it was obvious. No, extremely natural——saying

 

[This fight, we’ll buy it].

 

After each of them spoke out their words, feelings,

 

they all threw their own dice, proceeding as they pleased.

 

Likewise, naturally, Sora and s.h.i.+ro threw their dice

 

and proceeded to aim for their outcome of [62] ——But.

 

Pa.s.sing through one square, the moment they stepped

 

on the second square, they looked to the sky, then gazed at

 

the nearest house.

 

——[Ah, this is an impossible game.]

 

After nodding to each other, they decided to

 

refres.h.i.+ngly forget about everything, confining themselves

 

inside that house——and

 

played games

 

ran from reality.

 

……Thus, suffering their first defeat, the

 

life

 

story of

 

Kuuhaku

 

[ ] is now over.

 

Please wait expectantly for Sora and s.h.i.+ro’s next

 

life

 

work.

 

【THE END】

 

——Those two went past the sh.e.l.l of the period of life

 

and rushed straight to the afterword.

 

On one hand, one could see eight dice——the siblings’

 

age had reduced by two-tenths and their limbs had shrunk.

 

But the Old Deus’ game had long since turned into a

 

memory of a previous world, already far beyond the

 

horizon of oblivion.

 

They found an Eastern Union’s [Domestic Game

 

Machine] in the house they confined themselves in.

 

——Was there a game? [There are.]

 

——Was there a reason to not play it? [None.]

 

Thinking for zero seconds, the two of them wordlessly

 

started the game machine and ran from reality refreshed.

 

Sora, who didn’t understand the language of the

 

Warbeasts——provisionally 14.4 years old, set the

 

subt.i.tles to ON.

 

s.h.i.+ro, using Sora’s crossed legs as a pillow while

 

playing with the Tablet PC——provisionally 8.8 years

 

old, read the subt.i.tles out loud.

 

Seeing his sister’s unexpected acting skills, though

 

improvising, she translated all the characters’ lines with

 

rich representations——Why doesn’t she always speak

 

lucidly like that? Two hours had pa.s.sed since he pulled

 

out such a profound question——But.

 

After finally throwing away the controller, Sora

 

grabbed the package and growled.

 

“Even though I expected the Eastern Union would also

 

have ‘Zombie Games’…… what a s.h.i.+tty game.”

 

The t.i.tle was [Living or Dead 3 ~ The Price of

 

Silence] ……apparently. According to s.h.i.+ro.

 

It also seemed its sequel was a spin-off called [Love

 

or Loved] ——the game they played against Izuna.

 

This is what happens when one expects something

 

from it and tries playing something from their screwed up

 

senses.

 

The setting goes like this——The Elves’ large-scale

 

magic experiment to resurrect the dead had…… well, it

 

was the usual super failure thing.

 

The out of control magic gave birth to the

 

living

 

walking

 

dead~ and spread throughout the entire world~

 

The

 

Living Dead

 

traitors feigning to be alive were hidden among

 

their friends and~ a game with a high level of stupidity.

 

That was fine. A stupid game? It’s a favorite! ——But.

 

“Just what kind of decision leads to making a ‘Macho

 

Warbeast Zombie with Wings’ considered fine in the

 

head?”

 

Not a single attack worked, he growled after being

 

reminded of that nasty monster who called itself an

 

angel.

 

Yes——It was a nasty monster.

 

He was half-naked, no, that was pretty much fully

 

naked, wearing only a loincloth.

 

It was the extremely difficult and abnormally weird

 

s.h.i.+tty game with a s.h.i.+tty development at all times but, he

 

still endured it.

 

All for the sake of the only solace in his mind! The

 

[Little Sister]! A white-haired loli with cute animal ears!

 

…… And the result was that——after Sora suddenly

 

remembered the protagonist’s speech.

 

“Where did you go wrong? It’s the brain of the staff

 

who made this game that’s wrong——”

 

Throwing away the package, Sora barked while lying

 

on the tatami mat.

 

Enduring it for the sake of the little sister character,

 

there was a super development where the sister was the

 

[fake].

 

As if that wasn’t enough, he was killed while she

 

looked at him as if he was trash——

 

…………Hmm?

 

“Hm~…… Well, that part was fine. Yeah. On second

 

thought, that was a reward.”

 

“……Nii, just how much…… do you plan on……

 

being aggravated……?”

 

He let out a single cough after being looked by his real

 

sister as if she was looking at trash.

 

“……Nnnn! ……W-Well, as expected, the problem

 

surely must be this scenario, right……”

 

He looked at the screen while still sprawled on the

 

ground.

 

On screen, the protagonist had used his privilege——

 

no matter how many death flags he raised, they all turn into

 

survival flags, he’d wake up somewhere without

 

displaying any regrets, just like it was written.

 

But Sora already lost interest in the development after

 

that, so he rolled around and looked at the ceiling.

 

While emptying his head and s.p.a.cing out, he once

 

again remembered that speech.

 

——[I wonder…… where did I go wrong……], was

 

it.

 

“……Suspicion kills everyone——I wonder why’d

 

you think only you wouldn’t be betrayed……”

 

That kind of [

 

theory

 

common sense]——It’s obvious

 

everyone will think the same thing.

 

“If you betray then, you’ll be betrayed. It’s just

 

inevitable……”

 

Exactly——Just like how those guys wrote

 

their【Tasks】after betraying so easily.

 

Sora clicked his tongue at the same time——he

 

thought about “this situation”.

 

“——Hey s.h.i.+ro, I wonder where did I go

 

wrong……”

 

“If you’re seriously asking that, then shall I. Answer.

 

You!?”

 

But the answer he got was a furious roar and——

 

“Even though you betrayed me and made it

 

impossible for me to return that betrayal! You threw

 

everything at me even after forcefully dragging me, so

 

Why. Are. You. Holing. Yourself. Up huh——!?”

 

A red-haired girl rushed inside the room after breaking

 

down the sliding door together with a cart.

 

Just like Sora and s.h.i.+ro——with eight dice on their

 

chest——she had shrunk to 14.4 years old.

 

——The one whose breathing was coa.r.s.e due to

 

yelling was Stephanie Dola.

 

“See! I acquired the ‘cart’ you wanted, didn’t I!?”

 

“…………Uh…… m?”

 

“——What was that about again?”

 

“You said you wouldn’t move unless I brought a cart,

 

didn’t you!”

 

Seeing Sora and s.h.i.+ro’s blank response, Steph roared

 

while scratching her head.

 

“Now, it’s fine if I pull it like a cart right, literally like

 

a horse pulling a cart, right!”

 

Yes, Steph turned the cart around inside the room,

 

taking no for an answer and urged Sora and s.h.i.+ro.

 

Scooping the surprised two like a shovel to ride the

 

cart——following, literally, the principle of a carriage.

 

In a way, the BGM “Dona, Dona”

 

[3]

 

would fit really

 

well.

 

Steph mercilessly dragged the two recluses out of the

 

room……

 

——In the second square…… Steph left the cart she

 

was pulling and sprawled on the ground.

 

It was being used as a bed by s.h.i.+ro, who was using

 

the tablet PC with hollow eyes.

 

Steph cried out to Sora, who, until about two hours

 

ago, declared the view before him as an [impossible

 

game].

 

“So? Isn’t it about time for me to get a satisfying

 

explanation!?”

 

“……About what? Eh, could it be…… about the

 

reason I declared to be the traitor? That was——”

 

“Yes, yes, it was to fool

 

me

 

the idiot, right~? I already

 

know that!”

 

Sora answered evasively in an effort to reject the view

 

in front of him but Steph’s screaming continued.

 

“Not even I would fail to see through that stinking

 

lie

 

act

 

so it’s really unsettling you thought otherwise!!”

 

——That’s right, there wasn’t even a single speck of

 

truth in Sora’s [traitor declaration].

 

With a purity rate of 100%, free of any intent to ever

 

add any element into it——a super lie.

 

Without

 

being a Warbeast

 

needing the five senses to uncover the lie——

 

Even Steph knew it was a third-rate act.

 

But——That was exactly why.

 

Steph didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

 

——[I don’t know what Sora’s real intentions are……

 

but]

 

——[I believe——he won’t let anyone die or kill

 

each other.]

 

She extended out her nine dice to Sora together with

 

such a lame speech.

 

——While trembling with a pale face. She transferred

 

her existence’s time——“her life”.

 

Knowing one’s life is fading away surely must cause

 

an incredible amount of fear…… but.

 

If this game was all about the [

 

dice

 

life] decreasing as one

 

proceeds, then.

 

Which one was better…… That——or stealing from

 

those close to you and indirectly killing them?

 

Putting the fear on the scales, she swallowed her

 

patheticness, but, even so, she still decided to do it——

 

“When I finally decided to hand over the dice, it

 

backfires on me! Everyone keenly made that eloquent

 

traitor declaration!!”

 

——[I’ll buy that fight, desu!] Izuna spoke in a cute

 

way.

 

——[It’s an honor for me to be able to challenge

 

Master.] Jibril said so reverently.

 

——[I’ll make you regret throwing salt on my wounds,

 

got it?] Plum said mysteriously.

 

——And Ino said [Die]…… really, it was straight-

 

forward, without beating around the bush——

 

“There’s also what you said when you guys threw your

 

own [

 

dice

 

lives] unhesitatingly——when all I could do was

 

watch!!”

 

While that was happening, Steph already handed over

 

nine dice——nine-tenths of her life.

 

Basically, Steph had returned to a single die’s worth of

 

age…… [1.8 years old].

 

Sora had gained nine dice’ worth of time and was now

 

[34.2 years old].

 

Together with s.h.i.+ro, he smiled——a smile so nice it

 

even looked creepy, at Steph.

 

——[Hm, the amount of

 

dice

 

age held only affects the body,

 

holding more than ten makes you grow older.]

 

——[……Then, Nii…… now that you…… confirmed

 

that…… there’s no problem……]

 

——[Right. Then——now, we’ll have you “travel

 

together” with us, alright.]

 

——[……If you don’t…… want to, then…… it’s fine,

 

too……]

 

——[But then, you’ll have to wait here all alone and

 

sad, with only one dice——]

 

——[……Because, we want to…… wait until,

 

everyone dies…… then…… right❤]

 

——[Ah, also. If no one gets to the top, then everyone

 

besides the leading player will die. Of course❤]

 

“——My feelings when you two threatened me and

 

used me! Answer everything within ten characters!!”

 

Hearing the roaring Steph, Sora went Hmm…… and

 

scratched his jaw.

 

Within ten characters, now that’s a quite a challenge

 

——but.

 

“……I think…… it’s…… ‘Not doing it’……”

 

“Oooh, s.h.i.+ro! That’s exactly ten characters!! As

 

expected of the Crossword Master!!”

 

“You. Are. Super. Correct~❤——I’ll snap if you

 

don’t cut it out already!?”

 

Steph rioted by rocking and rattling the cart when

 

s.h.i.+ro immediately answered.

 

“Ahhhh wait, wait I say! That was obviously because

 

all that was absurd, right!?”

 

“Right, right, now that I think about it, it was obvious,

 

wasn’t it——!”

 

Steph shouted deprecatingly in a single breath.

 

“Even if Sora gathers the dice, you can’t be separated

 

from s.h.i.+ro, isn’t that right!? Only a fool would fall for

 

such a bait, right! And I’m the only one who did that,

 

right!!”

 

——Yes. From the start, Sora and s.h.i.+ro were a “rule

 

left untouched intentionally” ——In other words.

 

04: In the case of [traveling together], after

 

declaring so, the travelers will only move in accordance

 

to the outcome of

 

one person

 

the representative.

 

05. In the case the number of players moving

 

together surpa.s.ses two people, an [Overall Number of

 

Travel CompanionsxAttendants]’s worth of dice will be

 

removed from the number of dice used.

 

——If the [traveling together] rule isn’t used, they

 

cannot proceed.

 

Even more so when there’s a reaction to possessing

 

more than ten dice by growing older.

 

Everyone’s dice——he would be [115.2 years old] if

 

the sixty-four dice were to gather at Sora——normally,

 

he’d become senile.

 

That’s why they followed the rule and added the [9

 

dice] he got by deceiving Steph to s.h.i.+ro’s [9 dice].

 

After declaring they would travel together, they threw

 

twenty-eight dice——it decreased by six, two per person.

 

“……Cheer up, already…… We properly returned

 

your dice, right……?”

 

It was redistributed in a way so each person would

 

possess eight dice——but.

 

“Why did you make everyone betray each other!! I’ll

 

keep making a fuss until I get an explanation, you know!?”

 

It indicated Sora’s objective was consistently——[to

 

draw Steph over to his side].

 

……And——

 

————To have [her a.s.sistance in betraying the

 

others], none other than that.

 

It was the same as Sora had said, where they would

 

kill each other——a situation he wanted to avoid.

 

While Steph was shouting why it did it “lead to this”,

 

Sora——did this.

 

“Hyaah!? W-What…… are you doing?”

 

Sora held her cheeks with his hands and forcefully

 

made her face him, then he gazed into her eyes.

 

Forgetting her anger, her face was red without

 

realizing, Sora, with a gaze full of sincerity——

 

announced.

 

“Believe and just leave it to me. With the power of

 

love, courage, and friends.h.i.+p, everyone will——prevail.”

 

————.

 

“……You’re waiting for a retort, right? Can I ask you

 

to reflect on your own past?”

 

When asked by one who

 

lied

 

betrayed and made them betray intentionally, what would

 

be a sufficient reply to “please believe in me”?

 

Steph answered that question, that dilemma, while

 

looking down at him with an icy gaze.

 

“Wha…… Why, why don’t you believe me!? What are

 

you doubting about this purely-pure me who’s that pure!?”

 

“While I’m at it, I also want you to reflect on the

 

present, alright!? More specifically, where you’re

 

currently using me as a cart horse!!”

 

Sora’s expression was so filled with acting, Steph

 

continued pursuing.

 

He had held Steph’s head and spoke with sincerity

 

——Indeed, that sounded really good.

 

But in reality, he had forcibly turned her around and

 

was currently making her pull the cart so to speak.

 

——Her expression questioned whether there was any

 

element besides [distrust] in this.

 

“Right. That’s it. That’s the answer.”

 

But, Sora spread his arms out and——exalted.

 

“Did everyone agree on a game where you can win if

 

you trust and cooperate with each other? Even though I’m

 

here!? In a game with Miko-san’s life as the price, would

 

everyone readily agree and believe in stuff like love and

 

friends.h.i.+p? If the winner can only be the one that reaches

 

the goal, then would they definitely move so

 

we

 

[ ] end up

 

winning——even though I’m here!? Hmm~~!?”

 

——He emphasized it twice.

 

“Are you trying to say that everyone will believe in

 

me?” ——Using his own lack of trust as basis.

 

After being affirmed it was impossible to not betray,

 

Steph turned to the heavens and cried out.

 

“What should I do about this…… there’s nothing but

 

persuasion……”

 

This game held seemingly complicated rules and many

 

seemingly weird places——but, in truth, it’s quite simple.

 

Fifth of the [Ten Oaths] ——The challenged party has

 

the right to decide the contents of the game.

 

Since memories before the game aren’t there, they

 

don’t know whether the challenged one was the Old Deus

 

or not.

 

But, in any case, to begin the game——“everyone’s

 

consent” was a major prerequisite.

 

Did that lineup agree to a cooperative game with

 

memory loss and Miko’s death as compensation——?

 

——There’s no way such a prerequisite would be

 

accepted, right?

 

“If the premise can’t be accepted, then it’s a simple

 

story, right——?”

 

Rolling around in the cart once again, Sora put s.h.i.+ro

 

on his chest and laughed.

 

If it’s based on the premise that there’s an “improbable

 

prerequisite” among the rules, then——

 

“It means that there are falsehoods within the rules.”

 

“……Something…… that was in the first

 

explanation…… but wasn’t in the second one……”

 

“……The second one…… you say?”

 

“This is a game started by【Pledging the Oaths. 】It

 

started after confirming the rules, but the memories were

 

erased——There’s a dif erence between the rules

 

explained and the rules in the [Traitor]’s memories.”

 

Yes, Sora answered without care.

 

Purposely starting the game after [erasing memories

 

before the game] and only disclosing the rules after that.

 

On top of that, clearly stating someone whose

 

memories weren’t erased was a [traitor]——it’s hard to

 

not doubt it.

 

“But, well, frankly speaking——something like that

 

doesn’t really matter.”

 

——It didn’t matter who the traitor was…… No, to

 

be precise.

 

That lineup, everyone agreed and started the game

 

——and there were rusksacks on their backs.

 

The dif erence between the memories don’t matter,

 

since just that tells us everything. ——Sora laughed

 

fearlessly.

 

Everyone cooperating with each other was

 

something impossible, far more stupid than the premises.

 

——It was far more possible for things to go this

 

way, right?

 

“All of us started this game a.s.suming we all would

 

betray each other——and,”

 

If

 

we

 

that lineup were to agree to something, it would be

 

with this, right?

 

“——Every single one of us prepared a scenario

 

where we, ourselves, would be the ones to win……♪”

 

Sora laughed pretentiously in a loud voice——

 

proclaiming that he was clean.

 

“——Therefore! Cleanly, correctly and beautifully!

 

Overflowing with sincerity! This humble me named Sora,

 

a virgin and 18 years——due to having eight dice,

 

provisionally 14.4 years old! Took the liberty to make an

 

oath, as the representative of the Players!”

 

He spoke with a smile while standing up and moving

 

around his hands in a huge act——In other words.

 

“Oath. We, in accordance with the rules hereby swear

 

br>

 

/>——to betray fair and square, like that.”

 

——No trust could win against their confidence that

 

“they will definitely betray them.”

 

That’s why it was an oath to make them remember that.

 

Steph stopped and turned around without turning the

 

cart and yelled.

 

“I won’t accept, something like that…… In the end,

 

that’s just killing…… I won’t consent!!”

 

“Right? That’s why it also confirms the ‘falsehood

 

within the rules’.”

 

But, while still speaking like that, once again, he sat in

 

the cart and answered with a creepy, bitter smile.

 

Rules which not a single one of them would agree to

 

will all be [false]——In other words.

 

“We agreed on betraying each other. We even took the

 

initiative.”

 

——But.

 

“We didn’t agree to kill each other——that was all.”

 

——Once again, the sound of the wheels of the cart

 

rolling echoed.

 

Sora laughed on the inside at Steph’s silence, who

 

couldn’t refute but wasn’t satisfied, either.

 

It’s natural for

 

Steph

 

someone with common sense to be

 

unsatisifed with that——if Sora’s principle was broken

 

down, after all.

 

In the name of her grandfather, if one looked into it

 

with uncovered and clean eyes.

 

——[All the mysteries were solved; the culprits are

 

us!] ——it’ll be like this.

 

Indeed, certainly it’s a game that would be impossible

 

to trust and cooperate with these members.

 

But, for Steph, it was too much to simply say that

 

[betraying each other is the right answer], so……

 

“There’s no choice but to betray each other——It’s

 

impertinently putting on the airs of a [Prisoner’s

 

Dilemma].”

 

Sora commented ironically, Steph turned around while

 

pulling the cart.

 

“……Prisoner’s Dilemma…… you say?”

 

——If everyone cooperates and someone manages to

 

win, then maybe everyone’s lives will be saved.

 

——But, if you betray, then you can win yourself.

 

——The moment everyone thinks that, the chances of

 

everyone losing increases……

 

“It’s a famous example in our previous world, but……

 

To put it simply——”

 

————A detective brings a certain possible deal to

 

Prisoner A and Prisoner B.

 

【1】If both of them remain quiet, then, both of them

 

will receive a [prison sentence of 2 years].

 

【2】If one of them confess, the one who confessed will

 

be [released] while the other who remained quiet will

 

receive a [prison sentence of 10 years].

 

【3】But, if both of them confess, both will receive a

 

[prison sentence of 5 years].

 

If the prisoners believe in each other and remain quiet,

 

they’ll get away with the better result——a [prison

 

sentence of 2 years].

 

But as long as the prisoners pursue their own benefit,

 

it will definitely become a [prison sentence of 5 years].

 

If one of them betrays the other and confesses, the one

 

who confessed will be [released] and the one who

 

remained silent will receive a [prison sentence of 10

 

years].

 

Then the option of keeping quiet——in actuality,

 

doesn’t exist.

 

There’s no other choice but to bet on the possibility the

 

other will remain quiet while confessing. By doing that

 

At worst, the [prison sentence of 10 years] can be

 

evaded, if lucky, they’ll be [released].

 

——This is the reason it’s called a dilemma.

 

On top of that, in this game, the Old Deus had politely

 

told them——there was a [traitor].

 

Using that example, it would be the same as saying

 

[however, one has already confessed].

 

If someone had already betrayed before the game even

 

started, then believing each other was——“

 

meaningless

 

impossible”.

 

“So that’s why you said to betray? Isn’t that exactly

 

what the [detective] wants?!”

 

Indeed, it’s meaningless to believe in each other and

 

there’s no other choice besides betraying each other.

 

But isn’t doing that exactly what the [detective]——

 

what the Old Deus wanted?

 

——That “pointing straight out the heart of the

 

problem” att.i.tude really wasn’t like her at all.

 

But, she wasn’t even aware she was doing it so Sora

 

laughed——and corrected her.

 

“No, that’s exactly what we want. In truth, this

 

example doesn’t establish itself as a dilemma, you see.”

 

“………………What?”

 

“By betraying and believing in each other, instead of

 

the ‘better result’, we get the ‘best result’♪”

 

Sora and s.h.i.+ro gave a thin smile onminously distorted

 

——that is, and continued.

 

This game——No, this game, too.

 

Sora and s.h.i.+ro, Imanity’s strongest gamer,

 

Kuuhaku

 

[ ]’s,

 

policy, their existence itself revealed everything.

 

Both past and future, no matter the opponent, it was an

 

unwavering fact of the present——Namely.

 

“No matter what game it is, even before starting——”

 

“……We’ve already won…… that’s…… all.”

 

They pulled everything into their hands and all

 

attempts were within it.

 

Not even G.o.d was missing from the compilation thread

 

The eyes of the two who arrogantly said that,

 

fearlessly and irreverently, saw Steph’s trembling

 

shoulders and——

 

“…………Well, that’s only if we’re able to see the

 

end of the game, right…… hahaha, haa……”

 

“…………s.h.i.+ro…… can’t stand it, anymore……

 

want to…… go home……”

 

——The next moment, they could see her shoulders

 

dropping.

 

In Sora and s.h.i.+ro’s sharp and irreverent eyes——in

 

their eyes that moved unconsciously.

 

It was the hard truth they avoided looking directly

 

upon——Basically, it captured the [Game Board] in the

 

sky.

 

In an instant, they left behind a voice tired of a cloudy

 

life and sank into the cargo.

 

“……Ah, Uhm. If you’re going to act cool, then, could

 

you please do it until the very end?”

 

Strength suddenly left Steph and she panted with her

 

eyes half open, but, Sora declared inside his heart.

 

Defeat

 

Death]——through the loss of all dice is

 

——impossible.

 

Losing due to stealing and betrayal is——even more

 

impossible.

 

But——

 

“The stealing and betrayal ‘doesn’t matter’ you

 

know…… there’s a different cause of loss for us.”

 

With a raping eye, he threw away everything that

 

happened until now saying it “doesn’t matter.”

 

But, without giving Steph any time to process, Sora,

 

with a pensive expression——continued.

 

“……But really, this isn’t even funny; that really is the

 

most probable——

 

defeat

 

ending……”

 

Gazing at the interminably giant [Game Board], he

 

spoke.

 

It was——

 

“——————[Starvation.]”

 

——.

 

————It was urgent.

 

They felt inside a cruel and merciless silence…… but.

 

“……E~Eeehh? Ahm…… What do you mean?”

 

“Ha, haha…… I vaguely doubted it, but, you really

 

haven’t noticed? ……”

 

“…………Ignorance is bliss…… those are profound

 

words…… right……”

 

Towards Steph who was tilting her neck, Sora and

 

s.h.i.+ro smiled——but, with eyes of a dead fish——

 

“Ah, attention all pa.s.sengers~! Could you please look

 

to your left~?”

 

Even though the ones riding on something were Sora

 

and s.h.i.+ro.

 

Steph turned her gaze to beyond Sora’s left hand, who

 

was extending it like a bus guide.

 

What laid beyond it was “land” ——and the Eastern

 

Union’s countless islands visible on the ocean.

 

——It was on the left. Not below or above. There was

 

a land to their left.

 

“Continuing, could you please look to your right~?

 

——Now, I wonder what do you see?”

 

What she saw was what the Old Deus had created, the

 

absurdly huge——[Sugoroku] game board.

 

The

 

square

 

continent floated on air without any support, drew

 

a spiral, pierced the clouds, and stretched high into the

 

sky.

 

——It was something that’s seen a lot on television

 

games where the stage was set in a fantasy world.

 

A load of rock going against gravity and floating on air

 

——a field where one walks forward atop it.

 

Be it F〇9’s last dungeon or Ra〇n or Ji〇

 

Kingdom

 

[4]

 

, well, anything is fine.

 

Now then, walking above that rock, let’s slowly try to

 

turn it sideways by 90°.

 

If it obeys common sense, we would fall. But since

 

this lacks common sense, let’s a.s.sume we won’t fall.

 

That stupid load of rock goes around picking a fight

 

with gravity, pretending to be a [square]. After each of

 

them stretch itself to the size of a city, extending throughout

 

s.p.a.ce, overlapping a few hundreds of them in a spiral

 

——The boldness of it to pretend it’s a [Sugoroku Board]

 

——Well, you see the image, right?

 

The impression leaving your mouth, even though you

 

try to hide it, wasn’t [beautiful] even by mistake——

 

“……………… It’s an absurdly huge game board

 

That’s right, it’s absurd. It’s also huge.

 

“Ye~s it’s an absurdly huge game board! Now, what’s

 

our current position after we’ve walked for five hours!?”

 

“…………The second square, right.”

 

Yes, the second square——In other words, they were

 

on the [second rock].

 

“That’s~~ ri~ght~! Basing on the above——Now!

 

Let’s fully answer the question that you asked when you

 

broke through the house’s door a while ago!!——In other

 

words! ‘Why did we confine ourselves there?’!!”

 

After sucking in an incredibly long breath.

 

“It’s too uselessly huge and slowwwwww! If we

 

crossed a single square after walking for five hours——

 

Just how many days, how many months will it take until

 

we set foot on the dice’s outcome, the [62

 

nd

 

] square~!”

 

——aree, ree……

 

…… ee……

 

In the s.p.a.ce called uselessly broad.

 

Sora’s useless complaint uselessly piled up

 

echoes…… and uselessly disappeared vainly.

 

“It’s the Old Deus’ game, so, it’s obvious it’ll be

 

ridiculous……”

 

Indeed, Sora scorned at Steph’s cursing as she pulled

 

the cart.

 

“Haahn!! She must be a really s.h.i.+tty game maker to

 

mistake a map uselessly big and cool as something

 

interesting. Did she think replacing [

 

development costs

 

money ] with

 

[power] would complete

 

this

 

a spectacularly s.h.i.+tty game!?”

 

That’s exactly what you’d normally think of when a

 

capital is purposely created in the sky of a fantasy

 

world.

 

Indeed, it’s impossible to imagine how much power

 

was necessary to make something like that possible——

 

But.

 

Why! Especially! Must that continent! Float in the

 

sky!

 

To sell a good fight with gravity is definitely a [waste

 

of power] when there’s no need to.

 

Sora affirmed before the deed that could literally be

 

called a [work of G.o.d].

 

——Wouldn’t a virtual s.p.a.ce be enough?

 

“Moreover, even with all these fields, there not even a

 

‘straight road railway’, and as if that wasn’t enough, ‘the

 

road is long’ ……this is the worst landmine pretending to

 

be an open world……”

 

——In the end, it isn’t load-free.

 

About two hours ago——before Sora and s.h.i.+ro

 

declared it to be an [impossible game] and confined

 

themselves.

 

While aiming for the outcome of the dice——the

 

[62

 

nd

 

] square, they walked away for five hours.

 

After finally crossing the first square, at the square’s

 

end——he stood at the division of the land.

 

They moved onto the next square with the time used in

 

a cup noodles’ timer.

 

As they moved onto the [second square], s.h.i.+ro, faintly

 

breathing——murmured.

 

——[…… The number of footsteps, until here……

 

were 20,834 steps……]

 

Mathematics, too, were out of Sora’s area of expertise,

 

but, any words beyond that point was unnecessary.

 

s.h.i.+ro’s current height was 131cm——her step length

 

was about 0.48m

 

[5]

 

.

 

The size of one square calculated from there is——

 

surprisingly, about [10km

 

[6]

 

].

 

The several kilometers between each square is moved

 

through teleportation. The [ascending squares] are

 

excluded as crossing isn’t necessary.

 

This game board piercing the heavens in a spiral has

 

——[350] squares——In other words.

 

“……It’s [3,500km

 

[7]

 

] until the goal…… walking

 

with your own feet. Without any fast travel.”

 

Seeing Steph’s expression as if it still hadn’t hit her,

 

Sora turned towards her with a difficult smile.

 

Then, will she get it if I say it this way?

 

That it’s almost the same distance as crossing

 

America or making a full lap around Honshu in j.a.pan

 

——No……?

 

For an inhabitant of this world, I should make this

 

kind of comparison, huh.

 

“……It’s the same as going from Elkia’s western

 

border to

 

Kannagari

 

the Temple of the Priestess——do you get it this

 

way?”

 

After Sora said that, this time for sure, the lights

 

disappeared from Steph’s eyes.

 

There’s no way for Steph to not know about it when

 

she was in charge of politics, diplomacy, and trade.

 

It was a distance even Elkia’s open sea sailing s.h.i.+p

 

which took pride in its max speed would take on average

 

——half a month.

 

Naturally during that time, it’ll be on of -roads,

 

outdoors, in direct sunlight; furthermore, if the dice

 

decreases, with a child’s feet.

 

With such conditions, you’d ask ‘Why did you

 

confine yourself?’

 

If I had to say it, it was a question as stupid as

 

asking why do moles dive into the ground——

 

“……This game. If you have only one die left, you

 

cannot proceed any further. Basically, unless someone

 

ascends or everyone has only one die left without reaching

 

zero——it won’t end.”

 

It was a super drawn out war game continuing

 

endlessly……

 

The more it’s prolonged, the greater the probability of

 

everyone losing——besides

 

Jibril

 

that absurd living being who

 

needs no food or sleep.

 

Yes, he let out a dry smile that was almost giving a

 

rustling sound.

 

Why did Sora forget about it all, threw everything

 

away, and confined himself? ——He now announced the

 

reason.

 

“For starters, there’s no way we can

 

walk such a distance, right!? I’m a

 

flesh and blood human, you see!? For

 

a person, a living being who gets

 

hungry and tired, it’s a distance that

 

would normally and inevitably kill

 

him!!!”

 

——In the distant past, starting from the southern end

 

of Africa, humanity had crossed the majestic Eurasia.

 

It’s said they reached the

 

Americas

 

New Continent beyond the

 

Pacific Ocean by going along Indonesia on a wooden boat.

 

But, the strength of such a primordial humanity had

 

long since been lost by its descendants.

 

Much less when it led to the poster child of

 

civilization——the hikikomori gamer, there isn’t even a

 

residue left.

 

One square…… They almost died walking 10km——

 

this is the modern human. This is reality.

 

It didn’t matter if they already confirmed their

 

victories before the game even started.

 

That only applied if they managed to see it to the end,

 

right?

 

Low physical abilities, due to the time elapsed,

 

elements unrelated to the game itself——“self-

 

destruction”.

 

To Sora and them, this was the most unreasonable,

 

therefore realistic, hypothetical

 

defeat

 

conclusion they could

 

expect.

 

Once again facing despair with s.h.i.+ro, he glanced at

 

Steph who just now also fell into the same despair.

 

He smiled bitterly, suddenly, the protagonist’s speech

 

of that game floated once again in the back of his brain.

 

——[I wonder…… where did I go wrong……]

 

He answered Steph’s question about why he had

 

confined himself, but——it was different.

 

——They’re challenging a G.o.d.

 

——They’re in the middle of mutual betrayal.

 

——They lose their life if all their dice is lost.

 

——They lose their life if they get defeated.

 

Even if such fearful sentences were heard and lined

 

together——

 

——They’ll die if they get hungry.

 

Before this single too realistic line——and therefore,

 

easily understandable sense of danger.

 

Sora questioned that, which allowed him to put

 

everything else aside with just a “it doesn’t matter.”

 

——Just where did I go wrong to agree with such a

 

rule?

 

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

 

——Still on the second square.

 

Nine hours had pa.s.sed from the start of the game……

 

there was quietness.

 

Inside the long and continuing silence, all that echoed

 

were the rustling of trees and the chirping of birds.

 

The sound of the cart wheels rolling couldn’t be heard

 

anymore.

 

Before the irrefutable reality, even Steph had stopped

 

pulling the cart and crouched down.

 

Confronted with reality once more, Sora laid in the

 

cart and watched the dusk without moving an inch.

 

Contrary to the calm scenery, if that view was made

 

into a painting and a t.i.tle is added on——it’d be [The

 

End].

 

But, a small voice above Sora’s chest rejected

 

decorating a museum with it.

 

——Until now, it was only working endlessly.

 

The small hope was using the tablet PC the entire time,

 

with the resolution to exhaust the battery.

 

“………………Nii…… I finished, calculating……”

 

Saying so, she showed the dazzling tablet PC’s screen

 

to her brother——with a smile s.h.i.+ning several times

 

more.

 

——Showing to her brother a hope that released more

 

light than the stars.

 

“——Woaaaaahhhh d.a.m.n yeah!! Both the Old Deus

 

and Tet should just eat s.h.i.+t!!! Ah, whose line was it again?

 

——G.o.d is always in my heart——or more specifically,

 

on my chest!!”

 

“Hyaaaaah w-w-what’s going on! I-It hurts, you

 

know!?”

 

Sora had raised a strange voice from above the cart

 

while carrying his little sister, correction, a G.o.ddess, up.

 

The cart tilted and the handle had bounced strongly

 

and hit Steph in the face.

 

But, he was sure the “harm” would be treated as

 

“negligence” by the [Ten Oaths] ——therefore!

 

Sora splendidly ignored her protests, giving s.h.i.+ro a

 

piggyback ride, he smiled and turned the tablet to Steph.

 

——He should’ve apologized for the negligence but,

 

since those two were the antonyms of common sense,

 

Steph made a resigned face——

 

“……A ‘world map’? What are those…… red,

 

oblique lines?”

 

“The map of this game board——It’s the drawing of

 

the ‘part of the land the Old Deus copied’!”

 

The [first square] they crossed and the currently

 

[second square] ——

 

The two and the potential squares forming the spiral

 

were joined together as seen from the land drawn on the

 

map.

 

s.h.i.+ro indexed the distance ratio and the s.p.a.cing of all

 

350 squares and, just in case, the overall length of

 

3,500km.

 

It was a map that indexed this game board, copied

 

from the land, from its starting point to the end.

 

“……This…… Is it really something that great?”

 

Seeing such a pitiful and ordinary person who couldn’t

 

understand the feat of the G.o.ddess, Sora screamed

 

appalled.

 

“Y-You, look carefully——There are no mountains,

 

straits, or deserts!! Not to mention, this is a farming

 

region!?”

 

——Exactly, if one goes by the map s.h.i.+ro indexed.

 

This game board was the Eastern Union’s former

 

continental territory——north-northeast from the center of

 

the Lusia

 

[8]

 

continent.

 

Grazing the

 

Sanctuary

 

Inviolable Area, it crossed the territory of

 

Elven Garde and lead to Elkia.

 

With Sora and the other’s equipment…… the terrain

 

wasn’t “physically impossible for one to travel by foot”!

 

Even more so——this [second square] was Eastern

 

Union’s former territory that’s now Elkia’s farming region

 

on the southeast border.

 

“Then, we still have a

 

chance to win

 

survival route——!!”

 

Sora, who had overcome despair, was ready start

 

walking, jumped down from the cart while carrying s.h.i.+ro.

 

I see, it still won’t change that it’s a journey of

 

3,500km.

 

Although unfortunate, we don’t have any residue of the

 

old humanity’s strength——but.

 

“In that case, let’s just go like a modern person would.

 

With the method of making something else walk for us!!”

 

“It’s about me, right, it’s about me, isn’t it!?”

 

“Listen to me, cart horse! It’s about catching a ‘leg’

 

and making it pull the cart!”

 

“As expected, it’s really about me, isn’t it! You said

 

‘cart horse’ just now, didn’t you, so you already caught

 

one!!”

 

Putting aside Steph who making a fuss, Sora picked up

 

something stacked in the cart——In other words.

 

“Alright, s.h.i.+ro——Let’s go ‘

 

bag

 

capture’ a horse or

 

maybe a cow.”

 

“……Got it…… Understood……”

 

He let a dangerous smile float on his face as he held a

 

hoe and a rope.

 

“Y-You’re going to steal!? That’s——N-No, good or

 

bad thing aside, with the [Ten Oaths] it’s——”

 

But, the restricting voice of common sense was

 

answered with the smiling embodiment of the lack of.

 

“……Hey, how about you look back to our actions

 

until now?”

 

Property invasion, unauthorized use of equipment.

 

The presumption is——

 

“Even you ‘stole’ that cart and committed ‘property

 

destruction’ by flas.h.i.+ly destroying that door, right?”

 

“——Gahh! ……H-Huh?”

 

Steph finally seemed to have noticed and Sora smiled

 

bitterly.

 

——If the Old Deus created this

 

land

 

game board from

 

nothing, then——it’s not supposed to have a house.

 

But, “gouging it” from the ground wouldn’t end with

 

just an uproar on rights infringement, it’d violate the

 

[Oaths].

 

Even if it’s an Old Deus, the [Ten Oaths] are absolute,

 

then this place——

 

“It’s a stage the Old Deus ‘copied’ from the

 

ground…… everything existing here is a ‘replica’ of

 

what’s on the ground and as such, it’s no one’s possession

 

——That’s why the [Ten Oaths] didn’t apply.”

 

——Therefore, there aren’t any other

 

people

 

Exceeds,

 

targets of the [Oaths], in this place besides the game

 

partic.i.p.ants.

 

——Therefore, there are living beings exempt from

 

the [Oaths] here——like birds, trees, and since it’s a

 

farming region, cows and horses.

 

With the exception of the partic.i.p.ants——you’re free

 

to burn or cook everything inside this game!

 

“There~fore! Let’s first go catch a ‘leg’ to tie to this

 

cart and make it pull it.”

 

……Although, doing that isn’t as simple as saying,

 

but, he swallowed those words.

 

“Ah, so you really didn’t plan to make me pull it all

 

the way……”

 

“……Are you thinking that I’m the kind of person who

 

would make someone pull a cart for 3,500km?”

 

“I thought so without a doubt until a while ago. Now,

 

I’ve slightly changed my opinion of you.”

 

“You know…… If I did that, you would become

 

exhausted, right……”

 

——If he were to commit such a mistake——

 

“Then who would pull the cart

 

next!? You should try to think with

 

some common sense!!”

 

“Isn’t that right~❤ I knew it, let’s just say goodbye to

 

that change of opinion ♪”

 

——Everything was decided by games——It was a

 

world Tet reasoned was a utopia.

 

It was extremely unwilling the two hikikomoris

 

accepted physical labor.

 

——But, if it was to win the game, then, it couldn’t be

 

helped.

 

If it’s made into a demonstration in the previous

 

world, they wouldn’t even confine themselves, thinking

 

flexibly.

 

……Sighing, looking to the left outside the game——

 

gazing at the ground surface of the sea, Sora stood alone.

 

“Speaking of which, I wonder when Kurami and Fiel

 

will be joining this game.”

 

“What? It’s a game starting by ‘pledging to the oaths’,

 

right? They can’t join in the middle of——”

 

“I’ll be troubled if they don’t. Besides, intruding in

 

the middle of a game is a form of art, right?”

 

Steph asked dubiously, but Sora answered

 

meaningfully while only smiling——

 

“——Alright, I wonder which farm animal will

 

thereby become Imanity’s sacrifice?”

 

“……Nii…… s.h.i.+ro, likes horses…… but, like cows,

 

even more……”

 

Making the rope creak, Sora and s.h.i.+ro looked around

 

for a target not included in the [Ten Oaths]

 

——Essentially.

 

They were searching for a pitiful livestock stripped of

 

its [right to live], becoming prey for the

 

Exceed

 

Sixteen Races

 

——

 

“……s.h.i.+ro, s.h.i.+ro~…… won’t you wipe your

 

drool……?”

 

Steph’s eyes, seeing the

 

two

 

predators, changed into the

 

way one looks at demons, but——she was ignored.

 

Overwork them as legs, eat them when starving——!!

 

That was why it was limited to horses or cows.

 

This game, the first and absolute condition was to

 

live…… it’s time to show the humans’ dirty way of

 

living……!

 

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

 

A large flower bloomed in the open sea.

 

The giant flower spread its petals on the sea’s surface

 

as if to cover and conquer the waves——it was a [s.h.i.+p].

 

There wasn’t a mast or a paddle, not even the sound of

 

a propeller, much less a flag indicating its affiliation, but.

 

The flower bed’s carving trajectory on the sea’s

 

surface——That diverse scenic view eloquently spoke of

 

its affiliation.

 

——Elven Garde.

 

Woven with the magic of the Elves——riding on the

 

drifting “fragrance” instead of water——a flower.

 

Floating above the flower, the land, the sea, making

 

flowers bloom to further advance, the floating flower——

 

Vár Pullum

 

Flower Vessel

 

[9]

 

].

 

It wasn’t just a single s.h.i.+p elegantly and soundlessly

 

conquering the harsh ocean.

 

A countless number of

 

Vár Pullums

 

flower vessels from the west

 

turned toward the eastern sea and were now crossing the

 

ocean.

 

They formed orderly ranks, speeds aligned, and their

 

trajectory drawing multicolored flowers on the sea’s

 

surface.

 

They formed a

 

flower garden

 

giant fleet extending for dozens of

 

kilometers, from the first one to the last one.

 

Large, red roses was leading the fleet——a single

 

Vár Pullum

 

flower vessel.

 

On the bow of that vessel was a black haired human

 

figure.

 

The sea breeze disturbing her black hair and veil, the

 

dark girl glaring sharply at her destination was——

 

“………… *hik-choo*”

 

She was repeatedly letting out a cute sneeze.

 

“*Hi——hik-choo*! I-It’s cold…… it’s cold here,

 

Fii!?”

 

“Kurami—? Stop trying to look cool and come

 

inside~You’ll catch a cold, you know?”

 

She said towards the black-haired Imanity girl

 

trembling with her nose running——to Kurami Zell.

 

The golden-haired Elf girl, Fiel Nirvalen, hugged her

 

closer and spread her shawl.

 

While coming down from the bow, the black-haired

 

girl asked.

 

“Uu…… and then, Fii? Just how much longer it

 

looks like it will take?”

 

“Hm~ with this progress…… it seems it’ll take more

 

than half a month~”

 

“Ugh…… even though it’s a distance that normally

 

wouldn’t take even an entire day to reach……”

 

“It’s a

 

antique

 

flower vessel, you know? It took time to both

 

gather them and make them move~”

 

——I know that.

 

Going by air, not sea——The Elves’ principle

 

transport, any place on earth would be like their

 

“neighborhood”.

 

For Elves, something like a s.h.i.+p moving above water

 

was nothing more than an obsolete antique of a distant

 

past.

 

But now, these slow antiques were extremely

 

necessary——Kurami clicked her tongue.

 

——It must’ve been a few months since she started

 

acting separated from Sora and the others.

 

Meanwhile, she endlessly piled the collapse of Elven

 

Garde——the culmination was this.

 

The greatest marine trade port in the Elven territory

 

——Tilnog, where influential merchants and related

 

companies established a force in the province, reaching

 

even the Govenor.

 

She tricked them into a game then, gripping their

 

weaknesses, changed the leaders and silently attacked

 

them.

 

In order to transfer the Senate and make the province

 

move, she even took the majority of the guilds, the House,

 

and the Senate’s consent vote.

 

——Everything was for this moment.

 

——For this

 

timing

 

occasion when those two were

 

challenging the Old Deus.

 

For the sake of the siblings moving far beyond the

 

a.s.sumption, she too, had

 

had to accomplish quite the

 

impossible.

 

That also applied to the numberless dangerous bridges

 

she had to run through——But——

 

“……If we don’t make it in time, it’ll all go down the

 

drain——if that happens, then everything will——”

 

“It’ll be too late for anything…… I understand that,

 

Kurami……”

 

Fiel hugged Kurami, who was biting her nails from

 

impatience, as she replied as if to soothe her.

 

——That’s right. This game won’t end without us

 

——no.

 

Kurami glared at the giant land floating on the horizon

 

——the Old Deus’ game board and bit her lips.

 

The destination she was leading the huge fleet to was

 

below it——the Eastern Union.

 

In the spiral’s center——She won’t allow it to end

 

without her in the center of the game.

 

“……Fii, can you see what those two are doing right

 

now?”

 

“Yes I can~ Obviously, I can see it~♪”

 

At Kurami’s words, the irises of Fiel’s eyes and the

 

gem on her forehead glowed faintly.

 

Her tone of voice and smile spoke of her extremely

 

natural, yet, arrogant confidence.

 

——With her using

 

hexacaster

 

the Six Layers Formula, there’s no

 

event within the horizon she couldn’t see through.

 

……But.

 

“I ‘see’ them, you see~ but, I don’t really~ understand

 

‘what they are doing’.”

 

“……Huh? What does that mean?”

 

“Hmm, they’re stabbing a horse with a rod——ah,

 

they found a stray dog——now they’re running while

 

crying.”

 

“————————Really, those guys, just what the

 

h.e.l.l are they doing?”

 

Not even Fiel could see the answer for that question,

 

which Kurami accidentally let out.

 

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

 

——The 34

 

th square…… it’s been forty-two hours

 

since the start of the game.

 

[

 

This place

 

The square] the horse-drawn cart loaded with Sora,

 

s.h.i.+ro and Steph was running through a moist plateau.

 

According to s.h.i.+ro’s map, the duplicated surface was

 

a farther eastern surface of Elkia’s reclaimed eastern

 

territory.

 

The Forest of Spirits——a land virtually grazing on

 

the territory of the Elementals, known as the [

 

Sanctuary

 

Inviolable Area].

 

——Now. Sora had no way of knowing about the

 

murmur faraway on the horizon, but.

 

While the cart swayed violently, Sora started thinking

 

suddenly, just what the h.e.l.l am I doing?

 

I’m playing a game against an Old Deus? I’m

 

surviving? ——No.

 

If he had to say it, then——he would be

 

[philosophizing]. The theme was…… correct, it was

 

about “rights” ——

 

——The [Ten Oaths].

 

It guaranteed the rights, while forbidding all kinds

 

of killing and pillaging——basically, the [Violation of

 

Rights].

 

But——“living” by itself meant infringing upon

 

someone else’s rights.

 

…… No one can live alone. They cause trouble for

 

each other and protect each other.

 

By violating each other’s small rights, holding

 

others’rights, having their own rights taken——they

 

finally “live”.

 

And——there’ll be a time where they’ll definitely

 

reach a certain line which they must definitely protect.

 

The clash between that [contradiction]——those two

 

incompatible

 

claims

 

rights couldn’t be avoided.

 

That’s why the Oaths avoided it——That

 

conflicts

 

contradiction should be solved through

 

games

 

intelligence, not

 

war

 

force.

 

But, still——as long as one is “living,” that

 

fundamental contradiction cannot be solved.

 

The contradiction where one can’t live if they don’t

 

kill

 

eat——if one doesn’t violate the

 

life

 

maximum rights, one

 

can’t maintain the

 

life

 

minimum rights.

 

That’s why the Oaths solved it——The guarantee of

 

rights only apply to

 

Exceed

 

intelligent lifeforms.

 

That’s why the right to eat anything besides the

 

Exceed

 

Sixteen Races was guaranteed——it solved even that

 

fundamental contradiction.

 

Aah, just how wonderful the [Ten Oaths] are——!!

 

——But, I want to wait a little on that praising.

 

Aren’t the [rights] that are being guaranteed——

 

something that was worked out mutually?

 

Isn’t the [right] to not be harmed, at the same time, a

 

[duty] to not harm?

 

Then, wasn’t the [right] to harm, at the same time, a

 

[duty] to be harmed?

 

Ahh…… how profound, Sora indulged, deeply moved.

 

“Free will and rights carry responsibility and

 

duty”……in the

 

Earth

 

previous world, those words are still

 

being discussed.

 

But, in this world——if one puts it in a simpler and

 

easily understandable way.

 

It can be expressed with a single sentence——In

 

other words!

 

————[You can eat if you want, but, don’t

 

complain if you get eaten, alright!?] ……

 

“Uwooooahhhhhh! Hey, can’t you raise the cart’s

 

speed!?”

 

“It’s a cart made in a hurry, you know!? If the speed is

 

raised even more, it’ll flip and fall downnnn!”

 

“……N-Nii……! Fire, need more…… fire……!”

 

Behind the sprinting cart——was a swarm of

 

monsters in pursuit while baring their fangs and claws.

 

Sora——Maybe it was the last time he held that

 

philosophy in his heart.

 

He was swinging and throwing torches, struggling hard

 

while clinging to his life.

 

——They chased a horse, was pursued by a dog, and

 

after painfully managing to repel it, they captured the

 

horse.

 

While making full use of Steph’s riding skill, s.h.i.+ro’s

 

design skill, and Sora’s precarious Sunday Carpentry

 

skills, by the time they somehow managed to make a

 

subst.i.tute that could possibly be a cart, eighteen hours

 

went by.

 

At the end of the struggle worth a volume of a book,

 

they left the reigns to Steph and sprawled in the cart.

 

The sound of the cart’s wheels turning lightly acting as

 

a lullaby, they fell into a mud-like sleep——both of them

 

saw a dream.

 

They had broken through a hurdle they considered to

 

be an impossible game and a pleasant journey started……

 

Like the saying, “Dreams are fragile things”

 

——Really, it was so fragile, it already collapsed a few

 

hours ago.

 

The cause was what they saw when they heard Steph’s

 

scream and looked behind——it was due to “

 

that

 

h.e.l.l”.

 

Like the swarm of death crossing the [12

 

th square] in

 

pursuit and now——

 

“Hey!! Could it be if you take one step outside the city

 

in this world, it’s a world of serious swords and magic!?

 

I’ll complain about that Tet b.a.s.t.a.r.d to JAR〇

 

[10]

 

for such

 

deceptive advertising saying ‘A utopia where everything

 

is decided by games’ you know!?”

 

——Sora shouted after painfully experiencing the

 

[Fantasy World] for his first time.

 

But, it was a field where one’s heart seemed about to

 

break just proceeding through that square.

 

Even so, they thought there was still hope if it wasn’t

 

on a terrain impossible to cross by foot…… but.

 

They didn’t hear anything about “Monster Encounter:

 

ON” ——!!

 

The distance between the monsters and them were

 

closing in and the hastily made cart was making noises,

 

like it was about to fall apart.

 

If that happened, the only fate left for them would

 

be…… a dead-end route as [food]……

 

“Normally, there’s no such monsters like thissss! Just

 

where is this place!?”

 

“……We’re currently…… in the

 

Sanctuary

 

Inviolable Area……

 

near, the ‘Forest of Spirits’……”

 

“Ah! Good news, Sora! The reason they’re appearing

 

is because we’re on the outskirts of the ‘Forest of Spirits’!

 

If we leave this place, we’ll be fin——like I’ve been

 

saying, please don’t try to jump down from the cart!!”

 

“……Nii…… Nii, stay alive……”

 

Sora, due to having too much fear, was about to

 

unconsciously let go of his life and breathed roughly.

 

——Calm down.

 

When they were thrown into a super fantasy world

 

——How did the people from another world survive?

 

……The trend was use the ultimate cheat of fighting

 

with a chosen power or something similar…… isn’t that

 

right?

 

But…… Sora took a single glance at the monsters

 

pursuing them and smiled bitterly.

 

Here we have a hikikomori sheltered girl and a clearly

 

obvious NEET gamer.

 

They didn’t have any experience with such primitive

 

killing intent directed at them, much less being chased as

 

food.

 

In modern-day j.a.pan, just what kind of lifestyle

 

would one need in order to grow enough guts to face

 

these monsters head on?

 

——A cheat-like sword technique? Cheat magic? Or

 

was it superpowers? ——Wrong, right.

 

It’s wrong, isn’t it, it wasn’t like that, right, definitely

 

none!

 

Humans——we——aren’t a race that fights like that,

 

right——!?

 

Facing the oncoming death, Sora put more strength into

 

the hand holding his little sister’s.

 

“……s.h.i.+ro. If I return to Elkia…… I’ll make them

 

develop the technology of [sniper rifles] ……”

 

With distant eyes, he raised such a flag.

 

——It would from a distance, one-sidedly, without

 

allowing counterattacks, certainly, reliably——kill them.

 

That’s how the animal called human fought, Sora was

 

convinced of that——but.

 

“……Rejected……”

 

She instantly rejected her older brother’s proposal.

 

“……Nii, how about we burn this place……? Let’s

 

drop highly efficient explosives on it……

 

Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane

 

C6N12H6O12

 

[11]

 

, every day?”

 

Sora felt a s.h.i.+ver at the suggestion she made with her

 

eyes s.h.i.+ning unnaturally.

 

——Don’t say something as naïve as firearms.

 

——Shall we burn down this forest every day from

 

now on?

 

——Let’s just bomb this area with an aircraft, plow it

 

and turn it into an empty land?

 

She’s really a genius, huh——As expected of my

 

prided little sister.

 

Right, that’s exactly how humans——

 

————An impact.

 

His thoughts escaping out of control were brought back

 

to reality.

 

The reality where the claw drawn by one of the

 

monsters teared through the wooden cart like b.u.t.ter.

 

Hmm, it seems like it really won’t end up simply as a

 

joke, he thought.

 

“My bad, s.h.i.+ro…… seems like I messed up somehow.

 

It really seems to be ‘Game Over’.”

 

Murmuring that, Sora started a.n.a.lyzing the result, the

 

reason of their defeat with no light in his eyes.

 

——Where did I go wrong?

 

For challenging G.o.d? Did he take the handicap

 

known as survival too lightly?

 

Or was it that he dared to be born even though he

 

was just a mere virgin? ——

 

While Sora was fading into dusk with a dry smile,

 

s.h.i.+ro quietly spoke.

 

“……Nii…… how does it feel…… to die, while still

 

a virgin……?”

 

“Ah~…… It’s a regret so huge, it makes me feel like

 

dying, to say the least…… haha……”

 

Aaah…… humans are weak.

 

They lose and lose again, keep losing, then they bite

 

the dust in disappointment, just to look back at the cause

 

of their loss, full of regret.

 

Even so, they still think “next time, next time without

 

fail” and keep walking forward——until the day they

 

finally win arrives.

 

Sora collected his reflections and problems——

 

Next

 

In the next world, first, let’s aim to graduate from being

 

a virgin.

 

I have no clue how I’ll do that, but…… well, let’s

 

entrust that to the me of the next world. Fight.

 

——Sora threw out his limbs with no strength,

 

finis.h.i.+ng the

 

result

 

conclusion of his life.

 

“Nii……”

 

Sitting across from Sora, s.h.i.+ro whispered thinly.

 

With a distance so even her breathing could be felt,

 

she lowered her face to hide her red-dyed cheeks.

 

“……Then…… before dying…… since it’ll happen,

 

anyway……”

 

s.h.i.+ro exposed her white skin underneath her clothes

 

while her moist eyes were burning——

 

——Now, then. Sora the virgin, age of death: 18

 

years old.

 

What should be done normally in this situation——

 

his immediate reply: do nothing.

 

It’s s.h.i.+ro. His little sister. 11 years old——right now,

 

she’s down by two dice so, provisionally 8.8 years old.

 

Would there be an uproar over how she’s out of

 

elements for that role or drop into a preach about a

 

maiden’s skin?

 

But——facing real death before him, Sora a.s.serted

 

without even noticing he was confused and confirmed.

 

——It was in a weekend movie theater.

 

Those s.h.i.+tty people satisfied with their real lives

 

deliberately have s.e.x when under extreme life or death

 

situations.

 

The mood breaking behaviors of the viewers and the

 

production, Sora was doubting for quite a while.

 

It would be fine if they just died like that, or so he

 

thought——but, he was the one who was wrong.

 

I see——Those guys…… everyone——

 

——They were all virgins——!

 

If I’m going to entrust it to the next world, then,

 

certainly, I would think about it before dying, right!?

 

Sympathizing with Hollywood more than ever, Sora

 

extended his hands towards the warm skin before him.

 

“Hey, you thereee! What are you doing in the rear at

 

such a time————”

 

It happened in an instant.

 

Twice——a roaring sound resounded, making the cart

 

jump as the group dance in the air.

 

What happened——without even being granted time to

 

consider the question, he hugged s.h.i.+ro on reflex.

 

Falling to the ground, rolling with the momentum……

 

he raised his head while in pain and saw.

 

——The real monster was here.

 

A huge crater was drawn in a perfect circle in the soft

 

humus

 

[12]

 

ground.

 

In its center——there was a single monster exhausted,

 

breathing heavily.

 

It was a young, small, and cute beast with the

 

appearance of a human on all four limbs with their head

 

tilted——

 

“……I won’t share Izuna’s meal, desu! S-Sora is the

 

one at fault, desu!!”

 

The little girl was dressed in a kimono with fennec-

 

like ears, shouldering a rucksack while swinging her big

 

tail.

 

Facing their way while glaring with her eyes half-

 

closed while in a bad mood was——Hatsuse, Izuna, but.

 

…………

 

“……Hey, let me hear about the reason you said such

 

monsters shouldn’t be here?”

 

He confirmed the safety of s.h.i.+ro in his arms with her

 

eyes spinning, then checked his own body.

 

That he was almost unharmed was almost a miracle,

 

considering he fell off a running out of control cart.

 

Seeing Steph hadn’t suffered any big injuries, either,

 

Sora——asked a question he could already guess.

 

“……Nearly all large animals became extinct during

 

the [Great War] ……The rest is just like you’ve guessed

 

——”

 

——As for what happened, the current situation

 

explained it all.

 

The “one step” Izuna took——the ground shook.

 

Next, a single punch——no, a “one stroke” ——made

 

the ground roll up and changed into a crater.

 

Most likely, she attacked what she called a [meal],

 

although——it no longer retained its original form.

 

The swarm of monsters ran away without even a single

 

one left behind——just like how small spiders scatter.

 

That was only natural, so long as the peak of the food

 

chain——[

 

Izuna

 

the predator] was there.

 

“Excluding Imanity, the other races…… predations

 

and defenses, various outbursts of anger——yes,

 

well……”

 

Indeed, said Sora, looking up at the sky.

 

[Rights] are something that worked out mutually,

 

and, at the same time, it was a duty.

 

But——as for whether those rights and duties were

 

guaranteed or not, without the Oaths——

 

“……Nii, this world…… isn’t gentle…… with

 

anyone, other than…… the

 

Exceed

 

Sixteen Races, right……”

 

As the ones who escaped from becoming prey, Sora

 

and s.h.i.+ro thought——Humans are calculating living

 

beings.

 

To think they would feel pity for the ones threatening

 

their lives just a little while ago.

 

Would that be the ego of the survivors, they

 

wondered……

 

“I-I really don’t get it, desu! I-Izuna is angry, desu!?”

 

……Though, if you really insist, it’s not like I can’t

 

share it.

 

Seeing Izuna’s eyes wavering like that, Sora and s.h.i.+ro

 

raised their thumbs with a smile——

 

“……It’s, fine…… Izuntan, is…… our savior……

 

and besides……”

 

“To eat something like this——as a human, let’s think

 

about it when we’re on the brink of starvation, alright?”

 

They refres.h.i.+ngly refused the creature that was

 

something out of a bio〇zard.

 

[13]

 

——A few minutes ago.

 

While lifting up the cart, Sora questioned Izuna sitting

 

formally in front of her prey.

 

“……Hey Izuna. Why did you kill only a single one?”

 

——Just like Sora and the others, starvation was also

 

a danger for

 

Izuna

 

the Warbeasts.

 

You would want to secure even a bit more food,

 

wouldn’t you, Sora asked so.

 

“It’s forbidden to hunt for more than you need…… it’s

 

a bad thing, desu.”

 

Saying so, Izuna——It must be an etiquette of the

 

Eastern Union.

 

She politely joined her fists and bowed, deeply

 

thanking the life she took.

 

Seeing that appearance, both s.h.i.+ro and Sora, and even

 

Steph——they honestly felt ashamed.

 

Those who lived surrounded by civilization tend to

 

forget that meals were the ingestion of another life.

 

Was that girl just really attentive to her food education

 

or was she a saint——

 

“*Spit*!? Y-You, you taste so d.a.m.n bad to an

 

unbelievable degree, desu!? Just what did you eat to grow

 

into this【*BEEP*】’s【*BEEP*】of a taste that’s almost

 

like【*BEEP*】, desu!?”

 

——A single bite.

 

They really would’ve thought like that if it weren’t for

 

all the booing and spitting ruining everything.

 

“H-Hey…… as expected, no matter how you look at it,

 

it’s not edible, right……”

 

“I-If you hunt it, then you must eat it all no matter

 

what, desu! …… *sob*……”

 

Yeah, while Izuna’s face distorted with large tears,

 

let’s at least do this much as thanks for saving our lives.

 

They sorted out their feelings and took out some spices

 

from the luggage bag——

 

“Let’s cook this…… wait, for starters, just what

 

would this be!? W-Where should I start considering

 

——Rather, is it really fine to eat this!? Hiiiih, S-Sora!

 

Some weird, blue liquid has——!”

 

——They made Steph do it and heard screams raised

 

for a long time.

 

If a Warbeast’s sense of smell determined it was

 

edible, then it must be——Sora and s.h.i.+ro were feeling

 

sorry about it, but……

 

Thus, Steph handled grilling the skewered meat around

 

a bonfire.

 

“……Anyway, Izuna, why are you still in this kind of

 

place?”

 

Their current position was on the [38

 

th square], almost

 

380km

 

[14]

 

from the starting position.

 

Around Izuna’s chest were nine dice——though her

 

age decreased by one-tenth.

 

With that overwhelming physical ability…… to them

 

——it’s unthinkable her speed was inferior to a horse’s.

 

Izuna, who was supposed to be much further ahead,

 

just growled at the question with her eyes half-opened.

 

“……Izuna is angry, desu…… [Answer the choice

 

Sora playfully took when picking a bride during his first

 

playthrough of Dragon F5.] ……It’s obvious, Sora was

 

the one who wrote this task, desu!!”

 

Ahh…… understanding, Sora and s.h.i.+ro laughed.

 

The【Task】that Sora wrote——In other words, it was

 

placed “

 

here

 

on the 38th square”.

 

Naturally, it meant she hadn’t been able to answer and,

 

in the end, was [forced to wait seventy-two hours].

 

And after seventy-two hours have pa.s.sed, one die will

 

be stolen by

 

Sora

 

the Question Master——

 

Maybe her anger came back after remembering it since

 

Izuna stood up and suddenly growled intimidatingly.

 

“I don’t get it at all, desu! Give me the rules and

 

follow them, desu!!”

 

12: However, all【Tasks】that include any of the

 

following will be considered invalid:

 

12b: Instructions impossible to accomplish by

 

anyone besides the Question Master or impossible

 

for any of the Players.

 

That’s right, the rules certainly defined it like that——

 

but.

 

“O~iii, oi…… you failed, it’s a real failure, you

 

know? Oh dear kemonomimi. s.h.i.+ro~?”

 

Giving a nod, s.h.i.+ro took out her cellphone——

 

answering while typing in a way Izuna wouldn’t

 

understand.

 

——[Ludman].

 

“Super correct!! s.h.i.+ro also knows——that’s why

 

this【Task】is valid, you see♪”

 

——Any task that cannot be accomplished by anyone

 

or only by the Question Master are invalid.

 

For example, if Jibril were to write something like

 

[Perform a spatial s.h.i.+ft with your own power].

 

Or maybe [Answer your

 

future

 

year of death] and so on, it

 

was a rule forbidding impossible instructions.

 

But, on the other side——It meant it’ll be valid so

 

long as it’s possible for at least one more person.

 

“Ah, putting it simply!? The other【Tasks】I wrote——

 

like [Answer the name of the three MODs where you kill

 

the f*cking b*tches who ordered to kill Paarthurnax

 

[15]

 

]

 

or [Answer the t.i.tle of the first exciting and heart-

 

pounding

 

eroge

 

landmine Sora purchased in commemoration of

 

his 18

 

th anniversary]!? Without knowledge of the other

 

world——no, even if you had the knowledge, it’d still be

 

super improbable you could answer are all OK!!

 

Under~stand!?”

 

Sora answered, dancing with a face similar to as if he

 

had smacked Siddartha

 

[16]

 

once with the palm of his

 

hand.

 

“……Nii, you’re so dirty…… super, cool……”

 

“——You’re the worst…… it’s just obvious for Izuna

 

to be angry……”

 

Looks of admiration and gazes as if seeing something

 

filthy poured onto him——But.

 

“It’s following the rules——it finished grilling, Izuna.

 

I hope it’s a little better, but.”

 

Seeing Izuna’s pouting face, Sora laughed and

 

extended out the skewer——in an instant.

 

“……It’s a little better now, desu. It changed from

 

d.a.m.n bad to simply bad, desu.”

 

After she stuffed the skewered meat into her mouth, her

 

mood became better and her tail started swinging.

 

Steph furrowed her eyebrows dubiously while Sora

 

noticed it observantly and laughed.

 

——Sora understood like the palm of his hand why

 

she was found it so mysterious inside her mind.

 

Following the rules or not, it was certainly a cruel

 

pattern for the【Tasks】.

 

After seventy-two hours have pa.s.sed, what Sora will

 

steal from Izuna will be a dice——her [Life].

 

Sora “killed one-tenth” of her life, yet even so, no

 

matter how you look at it——Izuna helped him.

 

Why could Izuna stay in such a good mood without

 

watching him get killed?

 

Why did it become just like Sora suggested, even

 

though they betrayed, they didn’t kill each other——

 

“……Sora, s.h.i.+ro. Izuna——haven’t lost, desu……?”

 

Izuna declared in a “question form” ——as if she was

 

asking to confirm something.

 

But, Sora and s.h.i.+ro extended out all the remaining

 

skewers and answered.

 

“We returned the favor of saving us, you know? Don’t

 

expect an admirable repayment like letting you win,

 

okay♪”

 

“……Izuntan, too bad, but the ones…… who will

 

win, the prize…… will be us……”

 

“It’s incredible how you guys can say it like you’re

 

better than her when she’s the one who saved us from

 

dropping out not only from the game but, from life……”

 

Steph went past amazement and groaned, impressed,

 

but.

 

“…………Yeah! Bring it on, desu!!”

 

——Maybe Izuna saw the answer she wanted in their

 

faces.

 

Instantly, she stuffed all the skewers inside her mouth

 

and gave a full smile.

 

“*chomp chomp* ……I’ll pa.s.s you guys soon, desu!

 

Prepare yourselves, desu.”

 

Saying that with her stuffed cheeks, she hugged her tail

 

and curled up.

 

Since Izuna implied she would sleep as she waited for

 

seventy-two hours to pa.s.s, Sora and s.h.i.+ro stood up again.

 

“Then, shall we hurry up? Does the cart look fine?”

 

“Eh, yes, somehow——wait, are we going to leave

 

Izunsan here and go on!? It’s dangerous!?”

 

“Yeah…… It’s really dangerous, isn’t it——for us.”

 

After Sora murmured that, Steph’s face changed in one

 

turn.

 

If they strained their ears——they could faintly hear it.

 

The presence of

 

the monsters

 

those guys who scattered with the

 

arrival of

 

Izuna

 

the strong, waiting for her to sleep.

 

And their target, of course, wasn’t the sleeping

 

Izuna

 

tiger. It

 

made no sense for them to go after the predator.

 

The ones they must want to hunt, naturally, are the ones

 

borrowing the tiger’s authority——

 

“……Let’s indulge in Izuna’s kindness——let’s get

 

out of here while she’s still awake.”

 

——Yes, while a sleeper’s breathing isn’t raised,

 

Izuna overpowers the surroundings, who gave a small

 

smile.

 

Seeing her smile——Sora’s voice could be heard

 

trembling slightly.

 

The three of them jumped onto the cart without

 

hesitation——and departed.

 

——The 59

 

th square…… It’s been seventy-eight hours

 

since the start of the game.

 

The horse-drawn cart holding the three people was

 

running along the edge of a grand cliff endlessly.

 

According to s.h.i.+ro’s map, the

 

square

 

terrain reflected the

 

earth’s surface beyond the edges of Elkia’s northeastern

 

border.

 

Everything——seemed to be

 

Disboard

 

this world’s greatest

 

canyon known as [

 

Oblivion

 

Star’s Rift].

 

The azure fissure extending into the sea and the two

 

continents in the great war’s final stages——was said to

 

be an after-effect of the [Decisive Battle].

 

Traces of the power to mow down a star——Listening

 

to the thunder roaring at the bottom of the ravine even now,

 

Sora thought.

 

——It’s been 21 squares since we parted from Izuna,

 

the Forest of Spirit’s outskirts seem far behind us

 

already.

 

According to Steph’s information, besides the Forest

 

of Spirits, the monsters don’t seem to inhabit anywhere

 

else.

 

In other words, it seems we’ve escaped the danger

 

zone a long time ago. It’s probably safe now.

 

Seems to, appears to be, probably seems to——!!

 

“Don’t believe it won’t believe it!! Where are the

 

pursuers! …… No~ne——Trying to put me off guard!?

 

Aaah!?”

 

“……s.h.i.+ro, won’t be, deceived…… Where? Where,

 

are they…… hiding……!”

 

——Continuing to be vigilant, but with teary eyes like

 

a new gamer playing a horror game.

 

Fearing immobile corpses endlessly, it was a template

 

that didn’t change itself at all.

 

The two kept fighting against an enemy that can’t even

 

be seen with a cellphone camera’s zoom above the cart

 

“……I know how you feel, but it’s already a day and

 

a half, you know? Even if you aren’t alert for

 

monsters……”

 

That’s right, it’s been thirty-six hours since they last

 

noticed a monster.

 

They ran day and night since they’d be attacked on

 

both sides when resting or when the horse and

 

Steph

 

the cart-horse reached their limit.

 

When that happened, both Sora and s.h.i.+ro took turns

 

staying awake and patrolling, but the monsters didn’t

 

appear.

 

Nevertheless, seeing the two still jumping at shadows,

 

Steph just about had enough and was about to complain

 

“——s.h.i.+ro, what do you think? I feel it won’t be that

 

bad to think it’s already safe but, how about you?”

 

“……s.h.i.+ro, will…… believe, in Nii’s,

 

judgement……”

 

——Hmm. Then, the conclusion.

 

“——————We survived, s.h.i.+ro”

 

Murmuring that, Sora and s.h.i.+ro, the two embraced

 

each other and fell into the cart.

 

With a huge amount of large tears dropping, they

 

nodded as if confirming their lives.

 

……Ahhh, the sky is so blue.

 

Even that hateful sun only felt lovable right now as the

 

two people narrowed their eyes.

 

“I allow it, everything——All living things, may you

 

be blessed……”

 

“……Hallelujah…… Sleepy……”

 

“Wai, eeh, hey!? I’ll be troubled if you just follow the

 

flow and go into a deep sleep, alright!?”

 

Steph was bewildered by the extreme mood swing and

 

proceeded to shout while steering the cart.

 

“After three squares we’ll reach the

 

destination

 

62nd square, you

 

know!? A different danger——a【Task】is drawing near!”

 

——Danger? 【Task?】——Hmm, Sora tilted his neck.

 

I

 

neck.

 

I see, so we’ve proceeded going after the outcome of

 

the dice——until the [62

 

nd] square.

 

If we stop at that square, a【Task】that someone wrote

 

will be activated, but——

 

“……Compared to being chased by monsters, no

 

matter what【Task】it may be, it’ll be an easy game,

 

right……”

 

Sora declared so with a serious face after pondering

 

about it, with s.h.i.+ro nodding in agreement.

 

Indirectly killing each other by stealing their [

 

dice

 

Life]

 

——it was this game’s greatest danger…… the【Tasks.】

 

But for

 

them

 

Imanity, compared to starvation, overwork,

 

and predation, it was probably a third or fourth

 

danger……

 

“…………Even if it makes sense for me, it still

 

doesn’t change it’s a danger, right!? Because——”

 

Immediately after, their vision blackened out as if to

 

interrupt Steph’s voice.

 

Maybe the cart crossed the edge of the 59

 

th square

 

because it was swallowed by a weird s.p.a.ce filled with

 

black mist.

 

——It was the first reason for Sora to call this game a

 

s.h.i.+tty game——the [

 

loading

 

Square Movement].

 

It must be for the sake of forbidding illegal movement

 

and withdrawing from the game through magic.

 

If they touched the “invisible wall” in games existing

 

at the

 

square

 

land’s edge, they would be moved to the next

 

square

 

land.

 

Not being able to turn back, all they could do was

 

obey the outcome’s value and continue onward.

 

As if that wasn’t enough, they made this d.a.m.n long

 

load

 

reading happen during the square movement.

 

It was a power that killed off Jibril’s spatial s.h.i.+ft,

 

unilaterally coordinating the transfer.

 

Surely a highly sophisticated,

 

absurdity

 

ridiculous power must

 

be at work for that, but——

 

“……Nii…… I finally, remembered…… this……”

 

“Ah~ what a coincidence, my little sister——This this

 

loading’s slowness and sound. There’s no doubt”

 

Much less magic and spirits are outside the

 

understanding for

 

them

 

commoners who can’t perceive s.p.a.ce.

 

However, the scratching noise couldn’t be heard as

 

anything but “the sound of a disk spinning”.

 

If they silently starred at the undefined distorted view,

 

an illusion of [NOW LOADING] with “juggling monkeys”

 

could be seen at the edge of their view——Sora and s.h.i.+ro

 

murmured quietly, remembering even the killing urge.

 

——[This is Neo Geo].

 

[17]

 

“……C-Can I continue…… the talk?”

 

To the two people were clicking their tongues and

 

tapping unconsciously, Steph timidly——

 

“I-If the【Task】——if [Die] is written on it, we’ll

 

die……won’t we?”

 

Her body trembled as she asked perhaps just noticing

 

that danger in the rules.

 

“Oh? ……How unlike Steph…… aren’t you wide

 

awake?”

 

07: The Dice Holder who’s stopped on the square

 

will be forced to follow any instructions

 

the【Task】holds

 

——Any kind of instruction is permitted.

 

Yes, even instructions designating to throw away their

 

lives or similar can’t be denied——but.

 

“This game has ma~ny mysteries, right? One of them is

 

this【Task】rule.”

 

Although irritated, seemingly giving up, Sora

 

explained dispa.s.sionately.

 

“I said it, right. We didn’t agree to kill each other.

 

Even if you don’t worry, a death task——no one will

 

write it”

 

“J-Just why is that so, because——”

 

12: However, all【Tasks】that include any of the

 

following will be considered invalid:

 

12a: Words limiting the【Task】to a specific

 

target

 

“Targets can’t be specified. Writing an unconditional

 

instant death【Task】, what happens if you step on it?”

 

“——————Ah.”

 

Smiling wrly at Steph, perhaps she felt embarra.s.sed

 

for being told with a smiling face, who lowered her face.

 

——That wasn’t all, Sora continued in his mind.

 

Indeed, this game is [Sugoroku]——[one person can

 

ascend] no matter what happens.

 

Not to mention, if no one ascends, then the only one

 

who would be saved is the [Leading Player].

 

Thinking it with common sense——It’s a good a thing

 

there’s only a few opponents to compete with.

 

Killing all the other players would be the promising

 

and certain option.

 

——Big miss, Sora laughed.

 

Since killing means——we can’t steal their dice.

 

Much less when it’s impossible to ascend without

 

stealing dice——

 

“For example, if a【Task】indicates an instant death,

 

[the task is accomplished] when they die, right. The

 

Question Master loses one die, moreover, they can’t

 

collect the dead guy’s remaining dice——a poor move

 

going in the opposite direction from victory.”

 

In the rules, this【Task】rule forces any kind of

 

unreasonable possibilities upon others.

 

But in fact, “in order to win” ——the things one could

 

write were restricted.

 

“Directions only you can do are invalid——If

 

written【Tasks】are somehow doable, then the

 

chances

 

possibility

 

to steal a die will also be a

 

risk

 

danger to have one stolen

 

instead——If it’s ‘instructions stealing but not be stolen’,

 

then——”

 

——The [

 

loading

 

Square Movement] making even cup

 

noodles become soggy ended,

 

“……【Tasks】like that will be the limit.”

 

Sora gave a small laugh, pointing ahead to the empty

 

field of vision.

 

At the 60

 

th square’s starting coordinate——At the

 

continuously changing precipitous cliff’s edge was a

 

billboard.

 

Glancing at the sentence written there, Steph muttered

 

quietly.

 

“……What is it, that”

 

…………

 

“Hey, we’ve moved through dozens of squares until

 

now, you haven’t noticed it even once?”

 

10: Each【Task】will be described on a billboard

 

arranged irregularly on the square’s board

 

“They were always around until now, weren’t they!?

 

Those billboards with【Tasks】written on them!!”

 

“Was there even a single free moment to worry about

 

that tattered billboard until now!?”

 

…………Hm, well, frankly speaking, there wasn’t.

 

It wasn’t just Sora, even s.h.i.+ro readily accepted

 

Steph’s reb.u.t.tal.

 

Even the two in question, with all the escaping and

 

sleeping, could only read a few books.

 

In any case, this was what was written on the

 

billboard Sora pointed to.

 

——[Count all the strands of hair on your body,

 

including the tail, and answer the correct number of

 

strands, desu.]

 

……Izuna, even in writing, you have this way of

 

talking, huh, Sora said pleasingly.

 

“It’s a【Task】anyone can do——but the ones who can

 

actually do it in seventy-two hours are really limited.”

 

——In the first place, the only ones who have a tail

 

are Ino, Izuna, and Plum.

 

With the

 

bunch of absurdities

 

five senses of the Warbeasts, they could

 

probably immediately count their body hair.

 

But, for the ones without a tail, let alone those five

 

senses——more specifically for them, they have no

 

choice aside counting all the stands of hair from even that

 

horse tied to the cart, including its tail, one by one.

 

Doing so for seventy-two hours——it would grow

 

instead, there’s no way they could do that.

 

……That’s quite a harsh【Task】 you wrote, huh,

 

Izuntan.

 

“In any case, regardless of the【Task】, [stopping the

 

target for seventy-two hours to steal one die] is the limit.”

 

Would it be like Sora and s.h.i.+ro’s, stopping them for

 

seventy-two hours with questions only answerable by a

 

few.

 

Or would it be like this one, giving instructions only a

 

restricted amount of people can do in seventy-two hours.

 

——As long as someone’s trying “to win,” it’s a fact

 

they can’t write anything besides those two patterns.

 

“……The, tasks…… until now, too…… were mostly,

 

like that……”

 

s.h.i.+ro listed some of the tasks she had memorized.

 

——[Complete a hundred laps on this square, from

 

one edge to the other, with your own feet, desu.]

 

This was also Izuna’s【Task】——It meant go walk

 

2,000km within seventy-two hours.

 

Though, too severe even for a Warbeast…… to begin

 

with, there’s no need for Izuna to complete her own tasks.

 

It’d be easy for Jibril, insanity with the risk of death

 

for Ino, and the others are slowed down by seventy-two

 

hours.

 

——[If there are two or more people present besides

 

the target of the task, immediately pledge to the Oaths and,

 

according to it, be victorious in a game.]

 

This must be Jibril——Normally, it would be

 

[invalid] without any coercive power at all.

 

So long as there isn’t a third person, the conditions

 

can’t be met and becomes a “task impossible to do.”

 

But if the conditions were met, then it’d surely be

 

a【Task】of the highest difficulty, but——In any case.

 

“Well, one more mysterious thing. 【Tasks】only the

 

Question Master can do are forbidden——Why?”

 

“……Hah? Isn’t it because the game can’t be

 

established otherwise……?”

 

I see, a common answer, Sora laughed.

 

In the quiz programs, if partic.i.p.ants were to design

 

only questions they could answer, what would happen?

 

Surely, that s.h.i.+tty program would immediately cut

 

and the one in charge would be fired.

 

But Sora, with a nice smiling face towards Steph who

 

spoke of such common sense——responded irrationally.

 

“So? Why is there a need to establish the game?”

 

“…………Wha~at……?”

 

“This game, if the Old Deus is the [host] aiming for [us

 

to kill each other], a

 

rule

 

binding like this would be in the way,

 

right? Letting us force unreasonable demands, or even

 

impossible tasks and instant deaths is better, right?”

 

Then, what’s the reason for not doing so?

 

——At that moment.

 

Sora and s.h.i.+ro, on both their chests——like growing

 

from the void, the dice increased by one.

 

From Izuna who stepped into Sora’s task, one die

 

moved to Sora after seventy-two hours have pa.s.sed.

 

Likewise, someone who had stepped into s.h.i.+ro’s task

 

must’ve lost one die after the time limit.

 

Obeying the number of dice increasing to nine, their

 

limbs extended slightly.

 

While Sora (provisionally 16.2 years old) and s.h.i.+ro

 

(provisionally 9.9 years old) gloated together——he

 

declared.

 

“I can even affirm it. 【Tasks】which only you can do

 

are invalid——The one who said that was me♪”

 

“……………………Whaaaaat~?”

 

Sora said with not a single trace of guilt——exactly

 

why his smiling face was a devil itself.

 

This【Task】rule, although restricted to Sora and s.h.i.+ro

 

alone, was too much of an advantage.

 

Just like Izuna said——only

 

those two

 

[ ] moving together

 

can make tasks impossible for anyone but

 

those two

 

[ ].

 

……W-Well.

 

When you consider this

 

survival

 

journey, it’s still a tepid

 

“handicap,” but let’s put that aside.

 

“N~ow, let’s ima~~gine, commoners!!”

 

Sora stood up exaggeratedly above the cart.

 

“Our memories before the start of the game are erased!

 

Let’s imagine, after confirming the rules, we seem to cry

 

out, ‘You’re f.u.c.king kidding me, that’s like Jibril writing

 

“use spatial s.h.i.+ft” kind of impossible game, right!?’”

 

After Sora shouted that loudly, everyone gathered——

 

and thought about it.

 

——I wonder why, even Sora thought that.

 

“Following that, ‘Tasks only you can do are forbidden,

 

banned an~nd prohibited’——Can you imagine it!?”

 

——That should have been the erased memories.

 

But…… they could easily imagine it as if they had just

 

seen it.

 

s.h.i.+ro nodded deeply as if saying that’s how her

 

brother was while Steph’s eyes were wide opened.

 

“Thus, I changed it to an advantageous rule only for me

 

and s.h.i.+ro——but”

 

Sora was in a good mood, but——boldly continued.

 

“Let’s recall again, shall we? This game started after

 

everyone consented. There——”

 

It had a condition everyone was unlikely to agree with.

 

Therefore, clearly there were fake rules among them——

 

“No matter how you think about it, there are rules

 

prepared by me…… Absolutely interesting, right?”

 

If this game wasn’t about making them kill each other

 

with the Old Deus as the host——then.

 

“This game, on whose circ.u.mstances, who began it, on

 

what intentions——Who do you think holds the

 

initiative?”

 

Saying that, Sora played with the dice in his hands and

 

laughed, but.

 

Steph, dissatisfied, muttered quietly.

 

“……But, if you’ll die once the dice reaches zero,

 

then…… isn’t it the same thing?”

 

If the dice keeps being stolen, eventually that “

 

zero

 

death”

 

will be forced on someone.

 

In the end, isn’t it the same as killing each other by

 

ordering death——Steph’s eyes appealed so.

 

“Certainly, you’ll die if you lose. On the contrary,

 

you’ll die from starvation, or get eaten by reliable

 

gentlemen

 

monsters, conversely, if you eat carelessly, you’ll die from

 

attempting

 

poisoning without exception, an instant☆Go to Heaven,

 

right?”

 

“……Nii…… for, us…… it’ll probably…… be h.e.l.l,

 

instead……”

 

Sora replied in an easygoing manner to the bitter end,

 

Steph’s face turned into a frown——

 

“But even so, it won’t become a killing spree.”

 

Turning, Sora announced with a tight face, Steph

 

faltered with a “Why?” while staring at him.

 

Indeed, there’s a coercive force working on the rules

 

surpa.s.sing our own wills.

 

It would be the same as if we had consented into

 

betting [our everything] and putting it on the plate.

 

We may easily die, even if you put aside the tasks and

 

the dice as something irrelevant——But, even so.

 

“——After all, s.h.i.+ro and I will win anyway♪”

 

…………

 

“……………………Fufu…… yes, that’s right!”

 

——Winning absolutely naturally, in our scenario

 

——there’s no such plot.

 

A rather refres.h.i.+ng arrogance bursting into laughter,

 

before long the anxiety disappeared on Steph’s face.

 

The natural swindler that was Sora and s.h.i.+ro who

 

unconditionally believed him——But just one thing.

 

For this reason, Steph also had faith in them and felt

 

proud of it.

 

That, for sure, was the reason why Steph entrusted her

 

dice to Sora before the game started.

 

——

 

Kuuhaku

 

[ ] does not know of the word defeat.

 

And because winning means [perfect victory] ——

 

therefore, they won’t recognize anything less.

 

Someone’s death or sacrifice as a condition——they

 

won’t permit a “victory inferior to defeat” and so forth.

 

“……It’s the 61

 

st square soon, just one before our

 

destination. Let’s carefully look for the billboard.”

 

——Sora turned his face away from the embarra.s.sing

 

gaze, pointing ahead of the cart that kept running.

 

Pretending to not notice the tepid mocking gazes from

 

s.h.i.+ro and Steph,

 

“In that case——I’ll show you how I instantly find out

 

who wrote out the【Task】ahead.”

 

Saying with a posed look, at the same time.

 

The continuously running cart was, once again,

 

enveloped by the thick fog.

 

From the 60

 

th

 

to the 61

 

st square——Ignoring the

 

grating noise, they waited for their view to clear up.

 

Thus, after the long

 

load

 

transition ended, as expected, at

 

the square’s boundary before the transfer point——

 

As expected a sentence——a【Task】was engraved on

 

an old billboard, standing as if discarded.

 

Yes, such a sentence was written, the

 

billboard…………,

 

——[Pluck out your pe〇is while smiling and die

 

refreshed] ……

 

————————.

 

……*swagger swagger*…… *roll roll* ……

 

On the precipitous cliff’s greenery, under the clear

 

skies, only the horse’s hooves and cart wheels resounded.

 

“Sora~It seems I’m a little tired~♪ I just saw a word

 

denying everything we just talked about❤”

 

Behind Steph who asked with a bright smiling face

 

singing as if rejecting reality.

 

In a poised state with a face wearing a tepid gaze——

 

was Sora and s.h.i.+ro whose time was stopped.

 

——Well, well, well.

 

Wellwellwell, c-c-calm d-d-down.

 

Calm down, Sora, virgin, nearly 18 years old,

 

provisionally, 16.2 years old!

 

Eh~, for now there’s something that must be done

 

first, right? Right…… just like the billboard declared

 

——

 

“Geezeer!! I hope you’re listening this

 

is definitely your’s right! What the

 

h.e.l.l are you writing did you finally go

 

senile! Rather even if you don’t open

 

your mouth isn’t there something

 

besides dirty jokes you doggg!?”

 

Guessing the offender right instantly, Sora’s roar

 

resounded to the heavens.

 

——A reply came from behind the giant game board

 

forming a spiral.

 

The offender’s reply resounded on the game board in a

 

straight line from a nearby distance.

 

[Oooh what good news! To think Sordono would

 

stop at my【Task】and——what!?]

 

They couldn’t see his figure. However, perhaps the

 

Warbeast’s eyes captured them.

 

[What……To think s.h.i.+ro-dono and Stephanie-dono

 

are also going together……I’m sure it must be painful

 

sight to see a gentleman drawing something out with a

 

smile as he dies invigorated……But!! Not only for the

 

sake of

 

Sordono

 

pest control, but for the sake of world peace!!

 

Please somehow understand this isn’t a way to sacrifice

 

“We didn’t stop at it~ We’re pa.s.sing by! b.a.s.t.a.r.d, what

 

did you plan to do if you stepped on this square, huh!?”

 

[I was prepared for the worst? But for you to be

 

pa.s.sing by——*tsk*, d.a.m.n stubborn c.o.c.kroach……]

 

……*swagger swagger*…… *roll roll*……

 

The cart continued advancing as Steph rode with a

 

hollow smile while time was stopped for him and s.h.i.+ro.

 

Sora, the only one who could still think, enduring a

 

headache, groaned as if wringing it out.

 

“……Geezer. If I died to this, you understand you

 

would lose, right……?”

 

He just said instant death【Tasks】are the worst moves,

 

the farthest from victory.

 

But the returned reply was——plain and simple.

 

[I wonder? If the [

 

Sordono

 

Traitor] who screwed us and killed

 

Miko-sama were to drop dead, it’s obvious this game

 

would work out somehow——I’ll fulfill my

 

revenge

 

duty as a retainer and crush

 

you b.a.s.t.a.r.d

 

the world’s enemy…… how is

 

that a loss?]

 

“……Sora. Sora~. Of course, this is also within your

 

expectations…… isn’t it? Right?”

 

Sora replied to the imploring-like voice, but in his

 

mind——It’s clearly unexpected.

 

Ordering death meaninglessly, the justifiability of

 

betrayal, etcetera……

 

But all of that was——“the case only if everyone

 

considered it upfront.”

 

Either he was a real idiot or Miko’s death greatly

 

shocked him——No, it was probably both.

 

At any rate, what he really wanted to snap at was the

 

fact his brain’s fuse seems to have completely flown away.

 

Despite having the five senses to see through lies, even

 

Steph could see through Sora’s [

 

big lie

 

traitor declaration]——

 

He still accepted his words of all things as the truth

 

“……I, I see, that’s quite the admirable resolution you

 

have there, I’m no match for it”

 

But——There’s no problem.

 

Regaining composure, Sora secretly wiped his

 

perspiration and spoke for revenge as well as self-

 

interest.

 

“To go as far as risking your ‘

 

Izuna

 

grandchild’s death’……

 

must be the extremity of loyal retainers.”

 

[…………What?]

 

In a suspicious voice, he had used his remaining scant

 

reasoning to come up with——“tasks where only males

 

die.”

 

Targets cannot be specified——but while he wants to

 

kill Sora, he won’t let Izuna die.

 

Thus he wrote a

 

task

 

death utilizing “something only males

 

have”——or so he intended.

 

——Good grief, it’s too much.

 

[18]

 

“If a female——and I mean Izuna, were to step onto

 

this【Task】, they’d have to extract something suitable from

 

an animal as they smile and die invigorated……It’s a

 

harsher idea than me dying by doing so, I’m amazed……”

 

……The writing for this task cannot be restricted to a

 

target.

 

Just like how Izuna’s task must have [including the

 

tail].

 

——If it doesn’t exist on oneself——it’ll simply bring

 

in something else.

 

…………

 

——In the long silence, an idiot interrupted, crossing

 

the interval within.

 

The scream ripped through the sound of the still

 

running horse-drawn cart without caring about anyone

 

[S-Sordono what should I do!? Izuna carries no sin

 

please show mercy on Izuna! Make use of the normally

 

meaningless unscrupulous fiend’s wisdom! Please a plan

 

to save Izuna——!!!]

 

The pathetic pet.i.tion tembling with tears uselessly

 

resounded as an echo in the sky corridor.

 

“……I guess it’s fine. Spit out what other

 

stupid【Tasks】 you wrote without exception.”

 

[Yes~~and also~~~blahblablahbah]

 

——And so.

 

Done listening to Ino’s confession thoroughly, Sora

 

nodded seriously.

 

“——Yeah, I see, I understand now. Relax, I found a

 

countermeasure so Izuna doesn’t die.”

 

[Oh, ooooh……!! There was meaning in the error that

 

was Sordono’s birth! Ooh, I’m really grateful!!]

 

With the same understanding——s.h.i.+ro took out a sack

 

from a bag and wore it on her head, they nodded——

 

“But I won’t tell you, b.a.s.t.a.r.d——!!!! s.h.i.+t yourself

 

and sleep!!!!”

 

“……Geezer……go count, your sins……aside

 

from, being born……”

 

Just like Gedo and

 

Rider

 

f.u.k.u.men

 

[19]——The two people

 

thrust their middle fingers out as they replied.

 

A BGM of an abusive language with unclear meaning

 

was above the advancing cart.

 

“Wai, you two!? Y-You won’t teach him the

 

countermeasure!? If someone were to step on it——”

 

“……Plucking ……Nii’s, nii…… Geezer, ten

 

thousands of deaths, won’t be enough……”

 

Steph’s mouth closed at s.h.i.+ro’s slur holding about

 

four-tenths of real killing intent——but, as for Sora.

 

He laughed after drawing out all the【Tasks】from one

 

player and, in Imanity, carved such words on the cart.

 

——[It was a lie to make him reveal his tasks. No one

 

would die with his tasks]

 

Ino’s【Tasks】were all——subjective, objective, and

 

directive.

 

All phrases were incredibly lacking indications about

 

target and period——There wasn’t any coercive power to

 

it.

 

It’s the same as contracts that don’t specify things

 

like who will, by whom, what, when, and how.

 

It’s fine to wait seventy-two hours, you can

 

accomplish it if you’re a male by dying, only Ino’s dice

 

will be plucked.

 

The guy who did something so stupid is the Eastern

 

Union’s high of icial? ……He should be dismissed.

 

[T-Then, let’s make a deal! I’ll introduce you to a few

 

cute girls!!]

 

While the proposal resounded——Sora breathed

 

deeply and ridiculingly disregarded it.

 

“…………Nii, ni-ni-nii, wha, wha, what’s,

 

wrong……”

 

“Sora, are you alright!? Did you hit your head when

 

you fell from the cart!?”

 

s.h.i.+ro and Steph, with a face like they saw a ghost,

 

gasped as their voices trembled.

 

But Sora, with a gentle smile, shook his head elegantly

 

and replied.

 

“Both of you calm down…… Men are beings that

 

grow up every day, you know?”

 

That’s right, until a little while ago, I’d have bit into

 

the bait in zero frames.

 

But now the Eastern Union has merged! There’s as

 

many kemonomimis as lights in the skies to take

 

advantage of!

 

Sora, 18 years old, still a long way——But! He’s no

 

longer a man hooked by cheap baits!

 

[There’s a fan club infatuated with

 

Sordono

 

Elkia’s King who

 

call themselves “I want to be embraced by Sorsama”

 

a.s.sociation that’s puzzling the Eastern Union with some

 

incomprehensible testimonies about——]

 

“Oooh friend, don’t be so cold!! We’re comrades who

 

pledged eternal friends.h.i.+p just now, aren’t we!!!”

 

——But if the bait is expensive then it’s a different

 

story.

 

Biting into the bait in zero frames, Sora exalted while

 

thrusting his palm pa.s.sionately and winding the air.

 

All the while, he received Steph and s.h.i.+ro’s amazed

 

——no, relieved, gazes upon himself.

 

“If it’s my unworthy silly wisdom, then I will share it

 

as much as you want and as such, come on, hurry up and

 

let me hear in details about it please, oh my soul mate

 

But, Sora’s voice continued without caring while he

 

shouted overly pretending to be some kind of actor——

 

…………*silence*

 

His answer was only a calm silence——no.

 

There was only the sound of the disk spinning and the

 

darkness, which already became something usual after

 

being repeated 61 times in a row.

 

The running cart had crossed the 61

 

st square and,

 

before they noticed it, they reached the edge of the square.

 

“~~~Now, it’s ‘Event Load’!? It’s aiming too much for

 

the KOTY

 

[20]

 

right!!!”

 

Sora was breathing coa.r.s.ely through his nose while

 

growling at the [

 

Loading

 

Square Movement] that ignored the mood

 

and Steph questioned him.

 

“……More importantly. You haven’t forgotten the next

 

square will be the one with the【Task】, have you?”

 

“You, don’t make me repeat! I just said that something

 

like that hardly matters, didn’t I!?”

 

“But, I also just happened to see your prediction

 

getting wrong and having a task written ‘die’, didn’t I!?”

 

——Sora stopped laughing and ridiculed it as

 

“something trivial.”

 

Just having one person in charge of being a fool was

 

already good enough, but, they even found out his entire【

 

Fool

 

Task】was completely harmless.

 

No matter what kind of task it may be, it’ll just slow

 

them down by seventy-two hours——In other words.

 

There’s too much time for him to inquire with more

 

details about the interesting organization known as the “I

 

want to be embraced by Sorsama” a.s.sociation——!

 

And like that, the cart that had Sora, who was in high

 

spirits, and the other two riding, finally reached the square

 

of the outcome of their dice.

 

——The load——correction, the movement to the [

 

destination

 

62nd square] finished——and, in their view was——

 

…………

 

……………………Erm, yeah.

 

“Aha, ahaha~ hey, Gramps? About the details about

 

the girls that want to be embraced by me——”

 

“……Nii…… Nii……! Look at…… reality——!”

 

——Reality. What about it, Sora laughed with a

 

troubled face.

 

Occasionally, s.h.i.+ro, who was his prided little sister

 

and a genius girl, would say weird things too far from the

 

understanding of commoners.

 

It was her brother’s duty to strive to understand it, but

 

——He would often be troubled by it…… well then.

 

——He was riding the cart. Or so he was supposed to.

 

And yet.

 

He had been thrown out, abruptly, without any context,

 

and, on his own, far up into the sky.

 

He was literally in the middle of a bungee jump

 

without any rope and was currently falling towards boiling

 

magma.

 

Could this realistic situation, that’s lacking the letter

 

[re], really be called [reality]?

 

…………Hahahaha, no wayyyyyyyyyyy——

 

His thoughts ran idle but the【Task】being read

 

mercilessly hit Sora’s earlobes.

 

——【The task’s target should instantly be

 

teleported into midair, fall into the magma below, and

 

burn. 】

 

“Ah, I see♪ Sora, Sora~? As expected, I’m not an

 

idiot~”

 

The voice continued, right by his side.

 

“It seems like you can just make it so that they will die

 

if they can’t accomplish it——just like this❤”

 

Hearing Steph’s words, laughing while taking a walk

 

in the middle of the air alongside him with eyes reflecting

 

no light, Sora smiled.

 

“Hahaha, you really are an idiot, huh. That way there’s

 

no change to the fact it will become impossible to collect

 

all dice but one, right. By the way s.h.i.+ro, listen to your

 

brother’s great deduction…… won’t we die with this!?”

 

“……Welcome back, Nii…… but, soon…… it’ll be,

 

bye bye……”

 

——It’s said when people are right before their

 

deaths, they’ll see a revolving lantern.

 

They would search through each and every memories

 

and knowledge, looking for a way to escape the

 

predicament.

 

It was said to be a phenomenon which caused an

 

aberrant activity——making the brain overcome its limits.

 

That, it even stopped time.

 

An enormous amount of memories crossed Sora’s

 

accelerated brain.

 

The kemonomimi girls hugging Sora saying with a

 

shrill voice they want to be embraced by him.

 

The geezer——making a muscular pose while making

 

the muscles of his chest move and twitch.

 

His own smiling face tellingsmiling face telling the kemonomimi girls

 

fighting over him “you girls, please get along.”

 

The geezer——enthusiastically showing his muscles

 

while prostrating with his fresh uniform with an afterglow.

 

The geezer——making the kemonomimi girls curl near

 

his loins while he puffed a cigarette…… *fuu*.

 

The vermillion-colored cloth waving.

 

The loincloth swaying with the wind…… red——

 

geezer——

 

(Are you stupiddddddddddd as if I’ll allow myself to

 

die with such a revolving lantern, you s.h.i.+tty geezerrrrrrr!)

 

Using those forged memories that I now want to

 

erase, just what the h.e.l.l did this head of mine planned to

 

save me from?! He was completely confused at the

 

turbulent waves of flashbacks, but.

 

“……Nii……”

 

A single drop——just like a drop of water.

 

It was a faint voice and the hand holding his wasn’t

 

trembling——The eyes looking at him also didn’t think

 

they would die.

 

——The older brother won’t allow that to happen.

 

Her eyes were certain of that and with the words that

 

followed.

 

“……Calm, down……?”

 

While time was still stopped, his rippling thoughts

 

became calm.

 

He roared once at his instincts that raised a scream at

 

the heat of magma burning his skin.

 

——Disappear, you’re in the way, Sora ordered.

 

He got an answer from the warmth of the hands and the

 

light of eyes that looked at him.

 

In order to instantly uncover the [meaning] of this

 

magma——this unnaturally slow death——

 

You are

 

Fear is a hindrance——!!

 

Sora clenched his teeth hard enough to break them——

 

and, sure enough, he reached the answer in an instant.

 

——Originally, he would’ve found the one who wrote

 

this【Task】through process of elimination.

 

And from there, he would list and test the methods for

 

breaking through and uncover the moves he could make

 

——But, there weren’t even a few seconds left until the

 

magma and, if someone could do that in that small amount

 

of time, it would be s.h.i.+ro not Sora.

 

As such, Sora undid the string in his own way——In

 

other words, he shouted towards the boiling and bubbling

 

magma which was approaching…… towards the “malice”

 

floating and could be seen there——

 

“——That’s quite the nerve you got there, huh, you

 

b.a.s.t.a.r.d!! I’ll remember it, alright!?”

 

It was the young boy who once induced them without

 

telling a single lie, used them and, in the end, planned to

 

turn them into food.

 

The Dhampir——who simply harbored pure harmful

 

intent, deeply etched into his pale face’s smile.

 

——Having decided on his own it was Plum’s thin

 

smile, he postponed proving his intuition and——

 

“Give me your panties.”

 

“————Huh?”

 

“The panties, I’m talking about your panties!! Panties,

 

shorts, scanties!! Your panties——It’s a panty made of

 

linen with 0.8mm of thickness of a natural light pink dye

 

with a red frill ribbon attached to it, right, isn’t that so!?”

 

While baring his canines, he asked——no, he simply

 

confirmed it.

 

——The view was etched deeply into his heart since

 

he did a continuous loop to [remember] it——confirmed

 

everything.

 

That instant, where s.h.i.+ro had lowered down Steph’s

 

panties.

 

The way it stretched, the shape of the wrinkles, the

 

sewing and even the string used to sew it——without a

 

doubt, he remembered it all!!

 

“You keep up with the s.e.xual hara.s.sment even on your

 

death bead…… it’s wonderful how you keep being

 

yourself until the very end——”

 

“……Nii…… even though, you’re a DT

 

[21]……

 

why, do you have, such…… knowledge, for identification

 

Amid the sensation of boiling magma burning their

 

skin, with resignation and consternation flying about——

 

he answered inside his heart, it’s because I am a DT.

 

“Enough——Just shut up and give me those easily

 

burnable panties already——!!”

 

Sora roared with a face befitting of a crisis but before

 

Steph could even reach, much faster than her——

 

“Hyaaaaaaah!?”

 

s.h.i.+ro noticed Sora’s intention and inserted her hands

 

inside Steph’s skirt, plucking out her panties.

 

The remaining force made Steph spin around——but,

 

he couldn’t afford to mind it.

 

s.h.i.+ro took out some food from the pouch and wrapped

 

Steph’s panties around it——then, she threw it down at

 

the magma right before their eyes with all her strength.

 

——It seemed so slow, it was abnormal and it was

 

clearly visible inside their view.

 

After the reason finally caught up to the intuition, Sora

 

lined up the basis for having “decided that by himself.”

 

——Why did it have to be Steph’s panties?

 

——That’s because it would be bad if it wasn’t

 

something that “burned” faster than they were falling.

 

This【Task】made the target of the task get teleported to

 

midair, and inevitably, fall——but.

 

But, that sentence didn’t restrict “what had to fall into

 

the magma and burn” ——!

 

At the same time the panties touched the magma——

 

no, before it even touched it.

 

The fibers made of thin linen got engulfed by the heat

 

raised from the magma’s surface, which easily surpa.s.ses a

 

thousand degrees Celsius.

 

*pow*——and in the instant that a small fire lighted

 

on the panties (packing a meat) ——

 

——【The task has been accomplished. 】

 

The magma disappeared along with the echoing of that

 

voice, and, in its place, the watery surface of a lake

 

appeared, where the three of them fell.

 

While he was sinking in the water, Sora laughed

 

ferociously at the last basis——Plum’s intention.

 

——The degree of freedom for this【Task】rule,

 

contrary to the words, was incredibly low.

 

Designations only one can complete are invalid, so

 

what will happen if one were to write it in a way one

 

would only steal while not having any stolen?

 

As long as one’s trying to win, they cannot write

 

anything besides those stopping others for seventy-two

 

hours.

 

But——what if “you’re not trying to win.”

 

They would give【Tasks】which, when noticed, anyone

 

can instantly accomplish——so, there’s only two

 

possible intents behind it.

 

So, did he fool around like always and ended up

 

messing up, or would it be——

 

(I won’t wait for seventy-two hours, so please just

 

hurry up and steal my dice…… or something like that?)

 

Right——while making face like it was saying [Or

 

else you’ll die~] while adding a heart mark to it.

 

That Plum surely must’ve written those tasks while

 

making that annoyingly thin smile on his pale face, Sora

 

smiled bitterly.

 

——Just him. Just for Plum alone, having the dice

 

stolen from him was more convenient——

 

“——Puhaa! Haa…… haa…… are…… are we

 

saved!?”

 

Hitting the water, Steph asked while peeking from

 

above the water’s surface.

 

But, Sora grinned at the voice he could only hear

 

faintly and answered inside his mind.

 

——[NO.]

 

ababababbababababegobobobobabagah——!!

 

The bubbles surging violently on the water’s surface

 

were saying things beyond translation.

 

“D-Don’t bother with me! Please, at least save my

 

little sister, s.h.i.+ro!!”

 

“……s.h.i.+ro…… until the very end, wants…… to die,

 

together…… with Nii……”

 

Those two were the strongest when it’s about games

 

and the weakest when it’s about anything else.

 

Their lives were thinner than j.a.panese paper, as if

 

they were the embodiment of [fragility].

 

But, they were steadily sinking towards the bottom of

 

the lake, as if they were, literally, heavier than a

 

hammer……

 

“——s.h.i.+ro, I promise…… I won’t run away from

 

reality anymore. That’s why……”

 

“……*nods*…… yeah…… Nii, s.h.i.+ro, too……

 

won’t, ever, run away again……”

 

The two had sunk, but, barely got salvaged thanks to

 

Steph’s desperate salvaging operation.

 

Hugging each other and filling their drenched faces

 

with tears, they firmly pledged to stand against reality

 

together.

 

——Let’s learn to swim.

 

“Now, Sora! What kind of repet.i.tive talk you’ll distort

 

saying I got it wrong!?”

 

While being completely drenched, her breathing

 

disturbed by weariness and exhaustion, Steph suddenly

 

stood up and shouted.

 

She pulled up not only the drowning Sora and s.h.i.+ro,

 

but, even the sunken luggage at the bottom of the lake——

 

Her amazing lung capacity and inexhaustible stamina

 

that still let her shout raised even a sense of respect for

 

her.

 

——But, if respect recovered stamina, then, they

 

wouldn’t be having such a hard time.

 

“……No, it’s fine like this…… it’s just like I

 

expected——”

 

“Are you really saying that you expected yourself to

 

spit out water from your mouth like a fountain while

 

trembling together with your litter sister, raising a crying

 

voice!? Was it also within your expectations to turn into an

 

artificial fis.h.i.+ng reef decorating the bottom of the lake!?

 

You really think about nature, right~!?”

 

…… Maybe she really snapped this time, her

 

criticism is many times sharper than usual. But. Sora

 

grinned——and, while lying on his back and spitting out

 

more water, he laughed.

 

“Why would you create a fis.h.i.+ng reef in a freshwater

 

lake…… if it’s about protecting nature then you should

 

create it in the ocean——”

 

“It’s-not-about-thaaaaaat!! How is there anything

 

‘expected’ about this disastrous situation!!”

 

Steph firmly pointed that out so Sora thought about her

 

so-called “disastrous situation.”

 

——He was lying on his back, s.h.i.+ro was lying on top

 

of him and Steph was screaming.

 

The rucksack had sunk in the lake as they had before

 

——but that, too, got pulled up by Steph.

 

Most of the contents should be safe.

 

It was a waxed

 

rucksack

 

water-proof bag since he a.s.sumed

 

from the very start “this kind of thing” would happen.

 

Their smartphones, tablets, and the like, too, were all

 

water-proofed products that could be used inside the bath.

 

And, since they accomplished the【Task】——the dice

 

floating around the three’s chests increased one by one.

 

——That’s all of the current situation called

 

“disastrous.” I wonder, what’s wrong about it——

 

“They are killing each other, aren’t they…… just

 

which mouth was saying that it’s within

 

expectations……!”

 

Steph said so with a regretful voice, as if blaming him,

 

although Sora noticed it a little late.

 

Sora said they wouldn’t end up killing each other——

 

and yet.

 

She called it “disastrous” ——“this” situation where

 

both Ino and Plum had nearly killed them.

 

“……. Hmm, even if you ask me ‘which mouth,’

 

unfortunately, I only have one mouth, so……”

 

Sora murmured so and stood up and turned to Steph,

 

who was glaring at him accusingly.

 

He said it as carefree as always——but.

 

“Regardless if I spit out water or fish from this mouth,

 

I’ll say it as many times as necessary——it’s all within

 

my expectations.”

 

He declared with a gaze that didn’t waver in the

 

slightest.

 

Steph faltered involuntarily but Sora continued,

 

completely aloof, while squeezing his wet s.h.i.+rt.

 

“This game started after everyone consented…… with

 

improbable conditions.”

 

——That’s right, with improbable premises.

 

They’d believe in each other, they wouldn’t betray

 

each other, they’d kill each other, and the price was

 

Miko’s death.

 

There were many improbably conditions to be

 

accepted——and there’s one more thing at that.

 

“‘A game with an Old Deus’…… me and s.h.i.+ro would

 

partic.i.p.ate unconditionally. Jibril would partic.i.p.ate——

 

either due to obeying us or by curiosity, I guess. If it

 

involves Miko-san, then Ino and Izuna would also

 

partic.i.p.ate. Steph, well~ I guess maybe you would

 

partic.i.p.ate by going with the flow.”

 

Sora once again wore the s.h.i.+rt he had wringed and,

 

while showing a thin smile——he spoke.

 

“——And? Why would Plum be partic.i.p.ating in this

 

game?”

 

……Those words made Steph choke.

 

It was a game with improbable conditions——but

 

started with the consent towards the ones that were,

 

probably.

 

But then, what about Plum who from the very start

 

didn’t have any reason, motivation, or obligation to

 

partic.i.p.ate?

 

“In this game,

 

Plum

 

a Dhampir’s survival is more

 

endangered than

 

our

 

Imanity’s. Every place in this field are

 

open plains, after all. It’s a long-term battle where the sun

 

is fatal. Forget about bloodsucking, there’s no way to even

 

replenish the bodily fluids.”

 

Since it was almost impossible to ascend, there

 

wasn’t even any significance for Plum to partic.i.p.ate.

 

“What did he aim for and under what conditions did he

 

consent to partic.i.p.ating? ——It’s simple, right s.h.i.+ro?”

 

Every one of them, at the very least, wringed out and

 

dried their clothes——Sora had pointed to the dice that

 

had increased by one——due to accomplis.h.i.+ng

 

the【Task】prepared by Plum which anyone could do.

 

Seeming to have finally caught on to her older

 

brother’s thoughts, s.h.i.+ro answered happily.

 

“……Plum’s…… aim, is to…… ‘win without

 

ascending’……”

 

Saying that, the two of them played around with the

 

dice they stole——No, that Plum made them steal.

 

Imanity’s strongest gamer,

 

Kuuhaku

 

[ ], showed a thin smile,

 

fearlessly, irreverently——and declared.

 

——If you forgot, then, we’ll say it as many times as

 

it’s necessary.

 

——

 

Kuuhaku

 

[ ] does not know of defeat.

 

Just like this declaration, everything was within

 

expectations.

 

Everything lined up correctly towards victory, just like

 

the inevitable——

 

“…………That’s right. Fufu, that’s how it is, right!

 

Then——”

 

There was no longer anxiety spilling from Steph’s

 

face.

 

Her face broke into a relieved smile as if she had

 

remembered something she was about to forget.

 

She took a deep breath and then pointed at Sora and

 

s.h.i.+ro——No, to behind them, in other words, “beyond

 

them.”

 

“……Would you please let me hear about the scenario

 

Elkia’s prided two Wise Kings expected? About what will

 

happen from now on…… and along with it, what I should

 

do about my underwear so I don’t end up with my heart

 

breaking ❤”

 

——Steph pointed out with an empty smile, her eyes

 

still dead.

 

The scenery got temporarily overwritten due to the

 

task and, on top of that, everyone got teleported high in the

 

sky.

 

Maybe it ran away, since both the horse and the cart

 

they were riding in earlier had disappeared without a

 

trace.

 

They have no other choice besides to walk on foot,

 

through the pathless fields still extending far into the

 

horizon.

 

While they were making a posed look…… the single

 

teardrop running down on the yet silent and immobile Sora

 

and s.h.i.+ro’s cheek silently spoke it all.

 

It’s like a lie.

 

It’s the first move and yet, something like this

 

happened.

 

The [62

 

nd square] ——this place, where they were

 

standing on after going through hards.h.i.+ps and dying

 

experiences.

 

The place they were aiming for was after more [289

 

squares], after throwing the dice many more times and

 

piling up many more hards.h.i.+ps.

 

——This place was about one sixth of the total……

 

he cursed at the him who agreed to the rules.

 

Couldn’t he do something more about it!? At least

 

about the means for moving, you know——!?

 

“~~~A journey of a thousand miles begins with a

 

single step!! Come on, gather the dice at me one more time

 

and let’s [travel together]!!”

 

Sora roared as to inspire his heart which seemed it

 

would easily break down if he were to lose focus.

 

And just like the first time——they [traveled

 

together].

 

Leaving [one die] with Steph and s.h.i.+ro, all the

 

remaining dice were gathered at Sora.

 

04: In the case of [traveling together], after

 

declaring so, the travelers will only move in accordance

 

to the outcome of

 

one person

 

the representative.

 

05. In the case of the number of players moving

 

together surpa.s.ses two people, an [Overall Number of

 

Travel CompanionsxAttendants]’s worth of dice will be

 

removed from the number of dice used.

 

When [traveling together] as three people, six dice

 

will be lost per move, but——it can’t be helped.

 

The number of dice thrown will be greater that way,

 

the outcome would also be bigger, and the number of

 

squares with a【Task】they will have to stop at decreases.

 

Steph grabbed eight of the dice floating around her

 

chest and handed them over to Sora’s extended hand

 

——Or so she was about to, but, she halted.

 

Noticing something, she lowered her face and asked.

 

“……It might be a little too late for this, but…… why

 

are you bringing me along?”

 

——————Wh…… at?

 

“M-My bad…… to be honest, I looked down on

 

you…… are you saying that, on your first look of the

 

game, you wanted to [play it by traveling alone while

 

being the weakest character and without raising any

 

levels] ——!? d.a.m.n you! You must be a pro m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t,

 

right!?”

 

“……Nii, that’s, just…… because, it’s a series tagged

 

with uploader missing……”

 

[22]

 

“I-I don’t understand what you’re saying!? I-It’s not

 

that……”

 

In the first move, Steph was borderline intimidated

 

and was forced to [travel together], but, her face distorted

 

in doubt and said.

 

“This [travel together] rule…… it would be far more

 

ef ective if you left me behind, wouldn’t it……”

 

——So why did you force me into traveling together

 

with you?

 

Maybe she finally noticed it, since she spilled that

 

fearfully while feeling something was wrong.

 

Sora and s.h.i.+ro turned and looked at each other.

 

…… It really was too late for that, they exchanged

 

smiles, amazed.

 

At first, they intimidated Steph, stole and used the

 

[nine dice] ——but.

 

If they brought Steph along and [traveled together],

 

each one would lose two dice per move——a total of

 

[six] dice would be consumed.

 

Furthermore, if they failed on accomplis.h.i.+ng a【Task】,

 

it would decrease by one for each person——at worst,

 

they could even end up consuming it all in a single move.

 

Even if the value of the outcome increases along with

 

the number of dice, if the consumption also increases then

 

the result would be negative.

 

Let alone that——

 

“……If it was only Sora and s.h.i.+ro then——you could

 

get away with just having [two] dice consumed, couldn’t

 

you?”

 

That’s right——Going by the rules, the consumption

 

would increase if the number of people moving together

 

“surpa.s.ses two.”

 

Surpa.s.sing two people——it’s “exceeding.”

 

It’s not “two or more” ——so two people aren’t

 

included in that.

 

If it’s Sora and s.h.i.+ro [with just the both of them], they

 

could get away with having only one die consumed for

 

each of them, totaling only two.

 

But, if they add one more person to that——from that

 

moment on, the consumption would triple.

 

“Basically, me and s.h.i.+ro have no other choice besides

 

[traveling together], but, with this rule, there’s little

 

meaning for anyone else besides us to use it. In addition,

 

just me and s.h.i.+ro is fine, but, it would be disadvantageous

 

for us if we were to add one more companion. Our

 

chances to win would be come thinner, so we should leave

 

you behind and go on——is that what you’re trying to

 

say?”

 

“Y-Yes……”

 

Steph said troubled, but, the voice that answered was

 

From the one who was in possession of [27 dice],

 

having received nine from s.h.i.+ro and eight from Steph.

 

“——Then, too bad, but, you’re [wrong]…… isn’t it

 

regrettable?”

 

It was a low and sharp voice laughing fearlessly——

 

in the late 40s.

 

“This [traveling together] rule, too——The one who

 

attached it was undoubtedly me. Then——”

 

——This [traveling together] rule was completely

 

meaningless for everyone besides Sora and s.h.i.+ro.

 

There’s a [traitor] weaved in, so even if two people

 

moved together, there weren’t any advantages to it.

 

If they moved together with three or more people, it

 

would simply be disadvantageous…… it was a rule

 

meaningless for anyone to use.

 

But——Since that rule was essential for Sora and

 

s.h.i.+ro, Sora must’ve attached it.

 

——If you say it’s something convenient like “like

 

there won’t be any penalty if it’s just

 

two at most

 

Sora and s.h.i.+ro,”

 

then basically, it means that there are “those kinds of

 

circ.u.mstances,” right G.o.d?——

 

“Rather, I see it as you can’t win if you don’t travel

 

together——please [declare] it.”

 

He antic.i.p.ated it——at the end of this giant game

 

board, far beyond the horizon.

 

The words Sora spoke while laughing, as if mocking

 

and inciting the Old Deus that awaited there.

 

He would bring down a G.o.d with only a human body

 

——he said so with his

 

aged

 

future voice and face as if he had

 

already shown it many times.

 

Both s.h.i.+ro and Steph’s faces involuntarily turned red.

 

While still being prompted by Sora, they took his

 

hands——and declared.

 

——They’re [traveling together] ——

 

As the words echoed, Sora grabbed the [

 

dice

 

Life] from his

 

chest and threw them in the empty s.p.a.ce.

 

From the moment they all rolled on the ground and

 

revealed their numbers——they could only proceed until

 

that value.

 

The lives of those three——At the price of two-tenths

 

of their lives.

 

The place they would reach after proceeding while

 

consuming their life, their existence time, their age——

 

just where would it be?

 

Sora and s.h.i.+ro laughed.

 

Steph trembled.

 

Then, they looked at the destination that their

 

dice

 

lives

 

revealed——……

 

——Thirty minutes have pa.s.sed ever since they stared

 

at it.

 

“I also asked the same thing during the first move,

 

but…… what are you doing?”

 

“I think I also answered the same thing during the first

 

move, but!!——It’s a ‘ritual’!!”

 

“…… ‘Random number a.n.a.lysis’……”

 

——The nervousness and the like had already became

 

a distant memory.

 

Steph (1.8 years old) asked while sitting in a triangle

 

while Sora and s.h.i.+ro answered instantly——in other

 

words.

 

It was a situation where a nearly 50-year-old NEET

 

virgin hikikomori gamer was doing a handstand with his

 

upper half naked while taking along two little girls.

 

If the police pa.s.sed by, then in one shot, with just the

 

circ.u.mstantial evidence and the boiling smell of an

 

offense, he would be arrested and certainly charged for it.

 

It was a bizarre situation that would surely charge him

 

as guilt.

 

“……Nii, next…… keep moving the torch, to the left

 

and right, while making squats…… then throw it.”

 

“No, erm…… can I ask you to explain it in more

 

detail?”

 

——His figure had looked like that of a reliable and

 

stern father for a moment, but, when one looked attentively

 

like this, it was just

 

Sora

 

an older brother with a sorry odor

 

drifting around.

 

“The invalidation of tasks that can only be done by

 

yourself and this travel together rule. I told you that I was

 

the one who made both of them, but——”

 

02: The Dice Holder can only move across the same

 

amount of squares as the outcome of throwing all the

 

dice they possess.

 

03: The result from throwing the dice is random

 

and, after throwing it, [one] die from the used ones is

 

removed.

 

“These dice rules were probably also designed by

 

me.”

 

“……Nii, next…… return, one step…… and throw

 

it…… while making, a bridge.”

 

He made a bridge, looking pained, just like s.h.i.+ro

 

instructed and once again threw one dice.

 

——All of them were showing [six].

 

“Anyone can do a

 

technique

 

hand movement of this level…… to

 

manipulate the outcome, right!”

 

……Like h.e.l.l they can.

 

s.h.i.+ro seemed to have heard the voice in Steph’s heart,

 

but, actually it really was something anyone could do.

 

Like those with paranormal five senses, Izuna and Ino,

 

and those with magic, like Jibril and Plum.

 

It was unclear as to who was the first one to say that it

 

was forbidden, but——the older brother continued.

 

“But, if the manipulation of the outcome was

 

forbidden, and you were to leave something as ambiguous

 

as [Random-san] up to that Old Deus, the outcome would

 

be manipulated in a way that no one would be able to

 

ascend. It would be a cheat impossible to prove and we’d

 

surely lose. As if I’d overlook it.”

 

“……Nii, next…… make a dent, on the, ground……

 

and throw……”

 

Just like she instructed, Sora stuffed his face to the

 

ground and threw another dice.

 

“On top of that, even if you say [random], there’s

 

someone who can concretely specify that [Random-san].”

 

He said while turning his gaze to s.h.i.+ro.

 

“——Here, without fail.”

 

He said while staring at the surface of the dice, where

 

the floating numbers were shown before rapidly

 

disappearing.

 

s.h.i.+ro replied with a smug face while raising her

 

fingers and making a V.

 

If the manipulation of the outcome was forbidden so

 

that “even the Old Deus wouldn’t be able to do it,” then.

 

Then, we have no choice but to specify the random

 

function——through a specific pseudo random number

 

sequence.

 

If the erasure of memories is the initial condition,

 

then it’s a fact they’ve made a random no one can

 

operate on.

 

“However! If s.h.i.+ro could specify it, then——certainly

 

it was specified under ‘some certain conditions’!!”

 

“……If you, calculate…… the ‘reference value’……

 

you can adjust the random value…… and specify it, to get

 

the number you want……”

 

And so, this is the basis for saying it was something

 

we prepared, the older brother laughed wickedly.

 

“Proceed by throwing all the dice you possess——but

 

there’s no rule saying to throw all of it at the same time,

 

is there?”

 

Then——by altering the conditions and throwing it

 

one at a time, you can calculate the reference value.

 

“I already knew it, but…… as charlatans, you both are

 

so reliable that it’s even tiring.”

 

“……Then, Nii…… Next, undress your bottoms,

 

too…… take a step back……”

 

“——s.h.i.+ro, I think it’s about time for me to question

 

it, but, is there really a possibility the lack or possession

 

of clothes are part of the reference value?”

 

Sora let that out with his eyes half closed, s.h.i.+ro

 

answered in her head——There’s no way that’s true.

 

The [random] s.h.i.+ro specified had the same deviation

 

characteristics of Ro〇Saga3’s

 

[23]

 

random number

 

routine.

 

The [reference address] also had a [number of steps]

 

and [elapsed time] s.h.i.+ro could completely memorize. But

 

“……There is…… because of…… s.h.i.+ro’s

 

taste……”

 

“Just what kind of taste is that…… what do you think

 

would happen if the random number adjustment required

 

me to be completely naked!?”

 

“……? It would be fine, if you just stayed, fully

 

naked……?”

 

“If a middle-aged man was fully open while bringing

 

around two little girls, the police would go crazy, right!?”

 

…… It might be too late for that already, s.h.i.+ro

 

thought quietly.

 

Maybe she had already given up, but, Steph, after

 

plucking out some gra.s.s, was blowing a gra.s.s whistle

 

while gazing at the blue sky; the only thing echoing was its

 

languorous sound.