No Game No Life - Volume 9 Chapter 3.3

“… ha! Hahaha, as expected of my beloved Spieler… However, let me make a single correction──!!”

Einzig screamed. He had looked up and noticed something that brought him back from the abyss of

despair.

“This move isn’t just a double bind… it’s a triple bind──!!”

That’s right. It was very slow, but the ‘tension gauge’ was steadily decreasing. When he guessed what

that meant, Sora unintentionally gasped at the fearsome hypercomputers.

That’s right ── there is too much service…!!

Removing her clothes ── Since that had been nothing more than a coincidence, it was something to get

excited about!

Panty shots are precious because they are moments of good fortune! But just lifting the skirt up ruins

everything!

That principle was so deep it could be called abysmal, and yet those machines had understood it. When

Sora and Shiro realized that, they understood that they had no choice but to make a move too.

A ‘production hit’ to bring back Holou’s costume. A bad move on the endgame. A move that invited a

hopeless disadvantage!

Then, as if it had been waiting for those thoughts, a single square shined brightly.

But that square. That position. Sora and Shiro exchanged a look, and reached a conclusion.

── That move means certain defeat…

If they made it, they’d go into an inescapable check, no matter how hard they struggled, the only thing

remaining would be endless repetition, a tie ── or in this case, a loss.

They used the circumstances to transform their double bind into a triple bind. Their adaptability and

growth truly impressed Sora. He judged it worthy of praise and respect, so he said:

“….Aah. It looks like we have no choice but to lose this match.”

He obediently accepted it as he moved his piece towards the shining square.

“So let’s compromise and win the next game ── are you ready, Shiro?”

Sora said those profound words, and ignored everyone’s puzzled faces.

“… yes… I promised you… we’d find… new hope (fap material)… together right?” Shiro said, with a

small smile and a nod.

“── *sob* what a capable little sister!! Your brother is so happy!!” Sora couldn’t hold back his tears and

put his piece on the shining square.

He hit the ‘production hit’ that would lose them the match.

── And at the same time.Sora and Shiro’s initial velocity when they kicked their chairs and ran out ── surpassed the speed of

light. Everyone had that same hallucination when they saw Sora and Shiro do that, after all, that conduct

meant they were abandoning the game

. However, they weren’t given any time to try and understand it.

They were faster than the speed at which Sora’s production affected the scenery. Then faster. Faster than

anything!

Holou’s clothes were mended… No. It was changing into the costume for the next song ── and then!!

── *swiiiiiish* *riiip* *fwoooosh* *brrrt*

The unnatural sounds from when Holou’s costume was ripped ── resounded as a quartet.

“““……………………………..Eh?”””

The twelve Ex-Machina women, Steph, and Jibril ── the clothes of every woman except Shiro were…

Torn into tiny pieces and disappeared. Only the socks, and garter belts, and other important bits remained.

So their voices inevitably leaked out.

And after a single beat, something strange appeared in front of all the female Ex-Machina units’ eyes,──

“── Fear: … Eep!?”

There was a squirming piece of meat wearing a single fundoshi that fluttered even without wind staring at

their naked bodies with affectionate eyes. That’s right… it was the evil calamity commonly known as

‘Hatsuse Ino,’ and there was one for each unit.

They were twelve in total ── and even though they were fake productions that nightmarish sight was

about to make them scream ── but it was too late.

Sora with the smartphone, and Shiro with the tablet, were already taking photo after photo of Emiline’s

crotch!

With the pictures they took in burst mode in hand, they moved on to the next target…!!

── A

ll right. That’s an out ～. Is what you must be thinking.

An unaltered low-angle close up. A single one would get you a red card, you’d be suspended in F*FA45.

But, however, although, and yet! ── No. No, I’m not! Forget about a red card, the referee wouldn’t even

blow his whistle! Why? Because──!!

“M-Master!? How are you making this mysterious light!?”

“There are way too many things to retort, but ── why did you strip me!?”

That’s right. Jibril (let’s ignore Steph) was asking about the light that naturally floated around all the girls

──

It was coming from every direction, no matter what angle one looked from, the light barely hid their

private parts!

45 FIFAThat was because they were relying on non-Euclidean geometry to send ‘Mr. Mysterious Light’ on a

business trip!

Certainly, if it was ‘Mr. Mosaic’, it’d have the opposite effect and make it seem like there are

inappropriate things.

However, it’s possible to transmit ‘Mr. mysterious light’ on terrestrial broadcast! Therefore, it’s definitely

wholesome!! Q. E. D. !!

…… And thus, Sora and Shiro took on a challenge.

They had already lost the seventh match, but there were at least 3.2 seconds remaining until it ended, and

8 more seconds until the eighth match started. 11.2 second in total!

Within that small window of time, they’d reveal their everything the Ex-Machina have with an angle that

didn’t include those evil projections (Ino)! They’d take more than one bust shot for each of the 14

persons, save a new hope on their cameras and return to their seats!…

Can we do it? Sora and Shiro asked themselves and exchanged a look. That’s a dumb question.

They

concluded with a smile.

It was like making a thread (shutter) go through countless needles lined up at the same time, just to hit

(photograph) a target (fap material) behind them, it was something extremely difficult──

But we’ll show you we can do it. Blank shall grant this wish──!!

…………

“A-all right～… With that, victory is assured for the eighth… match… haa…”

“… well, it was… their first… ‘production hit’… with initiative… huff…!”

… it was 11.2 seconds exactly. They sat at the table with satisfied faces, out of breath.

But that move was enough to make Sora and Shiro declare, without hesitation, that they’d win the eighth

match.

“── Order: Make a ‘production hit’ as soon as possible.”

“Wha…!? Unit, what are you saying──!?”

However, Emiline’s business-like voice didn’t even give Einzig any time to doubt Sora’s move. No. All

the Ex-Machina, excluding Einzig of course, were pressuring him with a glare.

“My beloved Spieler… is this what you meant when you said you’d compromise and win the next

match──!?”

It seems that Einzig finally noticed Sora’s intentions, so Sora just gloated silently.

That’s right ── Why did Sora hit this production?Well… Of course it was for his hobby (the fap material), but hobbies can be put to practical use too,

right? Even if he had to increase the difficulty. Even if he had to create an obstacle (Ino) too ── that

practical use was this.

“Vote: Twelve units in favor. Make a ‘production hit’ as fast as possible. Permanently remove the

observation-excluded object X. Destroy it. Kill it.”

“All units, listen this is a trap! We don’t need to answer

that ‘production hit’ with one of our own! It

would put us at a disadvan──”

“Warning: Letting our bodies be seen by someone other than Master is out of the question. Einzig, if you

turn this way, we’ll destroy your optical devices. Twelve units are in favor. Final warning ── Make a

‘production hit’ as soon as possible. That’s an order. Hurry.”

Einzig was making a perfectly rational argument, but it didn’t convince any of the Ex-Machina girls.

Emiline answered with a businesslike tone, but she clearly wasn’t calm at all ── in fact, she was pretty

mad.

── Making the Ex-Machina girls ashamed in order to force them to make a bad move in the opening.

Sora thought it was a pretty risky move. After all, he wasn’t even sure the Ex-Machina girls had shame in

the first place.

However, there were 12 apparitions of stirring uncultured muscles following them no matter where they

ran away to. They were making poses (focusing on their breasts) while wearing a single fundoshi, and

staring at the girls with affectionate eyes.

If that happened, even if you are a machine, as long as you have a heart… No, even if you didn’t have

one! According to the laws of nature, even flowers would wither and die! And by that same law, those

girls must be thinking this right now… that’s right.

── That no matter what, those things must be eliminated──!!

However… It looks like there was no risk after all. The Ex-Machina girls looked clearly ashamed,

moreover ── even with ‘Mr. Mysterious light’ present, they forbade even Einzig from looking at them.

Emiline and the other girls dispassionately continued:

“Vote: All units in favor. Einzig shall have his control rights stripped. This unit shall temporarily operate

your unit.”

To remove the mass of muscle that even the universe itself rejected. That was the Ex-Machina’s

consensus ── No, their decision.

“Whoaaaaaa! All units! Cease! You have to rethink th── whoaa!!”

Einzig’s resistance was futile. His own hand moved their piece to the very first shining square without

hesitation. And at the same time ── The ‘production hit’ reflecting the Ex-Machina girls’ image was …

erm…

… Well…. This.Using a method too dreadful to describe, they literally ‘slaughtered’ the 12 Ino apparitions.

Fortunately, Shiro had been focusing on the board at that moment, so she barely missed it. Then, with

relief:

“Smile: Please calm down. Productions are harmless.” Emiline muttered. She was covered in blood ── or

something like it ── while naked.

A moment later, all units were stripped of ‘Mr. Mysterious Light’, and were returning to their maid

clothes. Then, Einzig opened his eyes wide and screamed:

“All units! Have you gone mad!? Did you really trade j

ust

your nudity for our chance to win!?”

The Ex-Machina girls had scared Sora and Shiro a lot more than expected, so they silently thanked Einzig

when he said that, however──

“Directive: All units to Einzig. Self-destruct. Explode. Stupid. Idiot… Aus.”

Even though they were machines, Einzig had committed the grave crime of describing a maiden’s nudity

with a ‘just’, so the girls’ representative, Emiline, told him to ‘die’ in a roundabout way. However… as

expected, criminals are criminals because they don’t realize that what they did was a crime huh?…

“But why!? If it were me, I’d let anyone see me naked ──” Einzig said as he took off his clothes ── but

suddenly, he vanished from Sora and Shiro’s field of view.

“Obituary: The unit making the moves, Einzig, has unfortunately suffered an accident. Such a shame.

This unit shall take over the game. There’s nothing keeping us from continuing.”

As if she had been there since the very beginning, Emiline took Einzig’s seat.

… W-well. Blank’s opponents in this battle had always been the Ex-Machina ── all units linked up.

Even if they changed who was making the moves, the opponent was still the same. That’s not against the

rules… but more importantly. They couldn’t see it this time either, but Emiline must have kicked Einzig

again.

This time, he didn’t go through the wall. He just looked like he had made a crater on the wall, so Sora and

Shiro worried about his well-being for a moment ──

“… y-you units… a-are you all right with losing or something?…” Einzig said, his voice mixed with static.

And when they heard him Sora and Shiro put a hand on their chests, relieved.

“It’s all right: This unit shall obtain Master’s nude pictures. I’ll win without fail.”

“The motives behind your resolve are way too nasty, you know!?”

Sora was being confronted by Emiline once more. Seeing her resolve that was like someone sending

troops to defend their country, he unintentionally raised his voice. However, her following words made

Sora raise his guard a bit.

“Estimation: We have calculated a viable method to obstruct Master. Winning this match is still quite

possible.”“…………….Oh?”

That was a declaration

── they’d hit a ‘production hit’ again.

The Ex-Machina had already been forced to hit one, so their chances of victory were slim, and yet, they

were still going to make another bad move. That meant that they either had absolute confidence in their

plan, or that they were prepared to settle for a loss. Whatever the case may be, since it was Emiline who

said that, it wasn’t only Sora who raised his guard, Shiro did so too.

── Emiline.

Even counting the other Ex-Machina who didn’t take the reins ── she was the one unit Sora s

till couldn’t

read

. She wasn’t getting closer Sora, but she also wasn’t distant with him. She was neutral, or perhaps she

was acting like a bystander. That peculiarity combined with the eerie feeling she gave off made her

unique even amongst those unique machines. She put a smile on her doll-like face, and with a voice that

was like a harp she said──

“Truth: Master is a virgin.”

“Aaah that’s right! What, is that wrong or something!?”

She made Sora raise a very relieved and exhausted scream. But her next words ── were incredibly

ominous46:

“Necessity: You are not accustomed to women. But your interest in them is incredibly high. Your extreme

embarrassment when we tried to court you confirmed it. Plus, we have determined Master’s preferences

in both body figure and attributes with very high precision.”

Every time he produces a word it’s ── s

hit

.

Every time he adds another word it’s ── s

hit shit.

Blood drained from Sora’s face and he became pale ── s

hit. Shit shit shit!

With a head clouded with impatience, Sora thought:

I underestimated them! Are they really going to make the worst possible move!?

Sora kept making his moves as he stifled his agitation, but.

── When Emline saw the shining square appear, she moved her piece over it like a wave.

As if she was explaining a self-evident, invariable truth, she hit the ‘production hit’ ── That truth was:

“Conclusion: If we assign a large number of beautiful girls to Master it’s checkmate… you’ll become

unable to continue.”

If a girl sexily flirted with me, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the game, right──!?…

…………………

…Wha? Everyone except for Emline and Sora looked like they wanted to say this, but

they were all mute with amazement.

46 Untranslatable idiom. Literally: ‘leaves of saying (can also mean words) that fell down to the bottom of the earth.’Then, Sora saw the silhouettes of what appeared to be animal eared girls floating around him:

“Shit, they got me!! Shiro, please hold out on your own until we can make these disappear with the next

‘production hit’!!”

“… N-Nii… is it really ok… for you to be incapacitated… just because of that…!?

Sora screamed in grief on his own, and representing everyone, Shiro’s voice of protest flew past him.

Hey, you’re supposed to be half of the self-proclaimed strongest gamer. Are you really okay with that?

That’s what their gazes were asking. However, Sora screamed internally: What fault do I have!? Aah is it

really like that? Is being a virgin my fault? Is it really so sinful!? If there’s a man who can stay calm and

serene while beautiful girls flirt with him, then they have attained Nirvana! It’s an insurmountable wall!

Sora concluded as he focused on the next plan. And sure enough, around him were──

“Producer-san ♪ Good work today too ♥”

“U-uhm by the way! I just took a shower… ♥”

“Please give me plenty of lessons inside

today too, okay♥”

A production reflecting Emiline’s image was built… that’s right.

“Certainty: Every idol producer wants to be asked to give ‘night lessons.’ We shall obstruct you with that.

Delay you. It will be extremely effective.”

Forty eight animal eared idol girls were saying that kind of things

to Sora as if it was a competition… but.

────

………..poof……

“Ah ～ such nonsense. You made me so flustered all for nothing… damn it, you really scared me. Shiro,

let’s continue.”

“… yes… well… of course… it’ll be like that…”

However, Sora just sneered at that spectacle and focused on the game once more. That surprised everyone

except Shiro and made them raise their voices:

“M-Master!? A-are you not feeling well today? O-or maybe you are overworked!?”

“You ── in that case, you are not Sora, right…!? Who are you──!?”

“Are you guys going to complain either way!? Just what do you want me to do!?”

With a trembling voice, Jibril worried about his physical condition while Steph was convinced he was a

fake.

Sora complained about that and thought: A

ah that’s right. The Ex-Machina’s strategy wasn’t bad.

However, the Ex-Machina made a mistake with the ‘situation.’ And what’s more ── it was an incredibly

unpleasant mistake!!“I’ll never stray from the way of the Producer. Night lessons, you say? Are you bastards laying your

hands on the idols you raise?”

That’s right ── Emiline had accurately stepped on one of Sora’s landmines, so he glared at her. She had

insulted his pride. That’s what his passionate screams were telling her:

“Are you saying that I’m the kind of son of a bitch who’d run a lowly business like that…? Don’t

underestimate me, you Ex-Machina!!”

Even the atmosphere itself shook. Everyone caught up with that impression gasped.

It was true that Sora and Shiro were playing at working as Producers. However, whenever Sora and Shiro

play

, they always…

── Do it more seriously than the real thing!

To make everyone remember, or maybe to make them understand, Sora took his piece and raised it over

his head──

“What I’m telling you is that I’m going to produce everyone equally, without doing something distasteful

like ‘sleeping your way to the top’!”

Directly towards the shining square

. He put it down, and the sound of hitting a ‘production hit’ surprised

Emiline and everyone backstage, then──

“Everyoneeeee!! Aaaare you getting excited────!?”

They were Introduced with an explosive sound, and the cheers of 48 animal eared idols resounded on

stage. Accompanied by smoke of various colors, the Warbest idols that had been around Sora were

teleported on stage. Their sudden appearance made the audience no, it even made Holou, freeze in

surprise for an instant. However, they smoothly integrated behind Holou and started dancing ── as

backup dancers.

A large quantity of excellent beautiful idol girls had appeared. When the audience realized that their

enthusiasm was ──

“Excuse me!? J-just now you could have made my clothes come back too right!? Right!?” Steph said.

That’s right ‘Mr. Mysterious Light’ had gone past his regular hours and was now working overtime.

There was a scream that incidentally reminded them that Steph and Jibril were still naked, but no one paid

her any mind. Not even Jibril, who was also naked. She was looking at Sora and Shiro making their

moves.

As for Emiline, she was still facing Blank and making moves, but strangely, her face was dyed in the

same emotions

as Steph’s.

──Surprise. Discomfort. Doubt. Those were dying her face more and more, and in response:

“Why did I go out of my way to change the idols you created into backup dancers?”

Without stopping his hands, Sora spoke on behalf of those feelings. With what had happened after

Holou’s costume was torn, the ‘Excitement gauge’ was already completely full. Plus, with theEx-Machina’s second bad move, this match was pretty much a guaranteed victory for Blank. And yet,

why? Why did Sora make an unnecessary bad move? Why did he hit a ‘production hit’ when it put him at

a disadvantage?── Also,

“And on top of that, ‘

why are we still losing?

’ Your face is telling me you can’t help but wonder that…

am I right?”

“──── Affirmation: … cannot understand…”

The ‘production hits’ that appeared at random on the board ── the bad moves ── were, of course, more

and more lethal the closer to the endgame they were.

Sora’s bad move had completely cancelled the Ex-Machina’s two bad moves and put him at a

disadvantage. However, the balance on the board tipped towards Sora again in the blink of an eye.

That’s right, even though he made a bad move.

Emiline groaned in bewilderment. Sora and Shiro had s

urpassed the Ex-Machina

.

── Chess. A two-player finite zero-sum deterministic perfect information game.

However, due to the introduction of the random shining squares, the game became nondeterministic

.

Just like Sora had declared, it became a ‘game of bad moves’ ── the calculations became complicated to

the utmost limit.

When can you hit one? They couldn’t accurately predict even that.

Where do you hit it? Until the square shined, they couldn’t predict the risks.

When do you hit it? Even knowing the square, the risk is still enormous.

Do you really hit it? Would their move be predicted and countered?

Thus, there are 10120 possible moves in chess, but now that number approaches infinity. However, the

greatest problem ── isn’t that

, right? Sora smiled and continued.

“In these 8 matches there have been more than 700 moves. But you guys still can’t understand our

playstyle… no?”

Sora finished his sentence there ── had he already finished decrypting a machine’s psychology? It was a

challenge that made his heart throb, both as a gamer and as a person. He spoke the words to confirm it:

“The more you analyze us the stronger we become… Is that what you can’t understand?”

… A moment.

It was a moment that lasted less than an instant, but ── Emiline’s hand had certainly… stopped. That was

proof that all the units, even Einzig who was still buried in the wall, had literally frozen.

It looks like there’s proof that Sora is winning the challenge ── so he tried to imagine the machines’

thoughts:I see. Uncertainty makes this game incredibly difficult to calculate. However. In that case. Sora and Shiro

are under the same conditions ── predicting is difficult for both sides.

No matter what kind of existence it is, by analyzing and adapting over and over, we can grow infinitely.

That’s what our race does. However. Why? ── Why do we keep unilaterally losing, and why is it that no

matter how we adapt it’s still not enough to surpass them──!?

It must be something like that right? Sora put his piece down with a pop, and said:

“Because that’s what the Ex-Machina do

. And also because it’s not the same for both sides

.”

He calmly said. His words made Emline and all the other Ex-Machina open their eyes wide at the same

time. I

did it. I actually did it! He was well aware that his delight had been analysed, but that’s fine.

Sora screamed ‘hell yeah, I finished reading them!!’ with a triumphant pose in his head. Let’s brag to

Shiro later. Even if she tells me I’m not letting it go, let’s still brag.

Did she guess what Sora had just decided? Shiro had already narrowed her eyes as she ──

“…‘We Ex-Machina, no matter what it might be, so long as it exists, can adapt to anything’…”

Repeated what Einzig had said without changing a single letter or word.

Then, the pair stopped their hands and thought: there is no falsehood there.

Originally, they were an opponent that even Blank wasn’t sure they could win against even once. That

fearsome race had but a single opening they could take advantage of ── a ‘hole.’ If it was the original

Ex-Machina… they most likely didn’t even have that fatal flaw (hole).

── “Checkmate ── Winner: Blank. Three wins.”

The chess board made the call and announced it, then Sora spoke:

“… so you can’t adapt to things that do not exist, right…?”

They heard the sound signalling the end of Holou’s eighth song. The time until the next game started…

was very short. The Ex-Machina’s silence seemed to be asking what Sora’s words meant, so Sora and

Shiro──

“Well, you see ～ If the Ex-Machina were as the rumours said, then we predicted that even Blank would

have only a small chance of winning～”

“……………………………..buuut we were wrong… the Ex-Machina are… too strong…”

Answered very lethargically as if they were trying to take a break no matter how small.

“── If you had really killed the strongest, Artosh, then you shouldn’t have tied against just me alone～”

That’s right. That was the consistent sense of wrongness he had felt since the first game.

With a face and voice that were like melted cheese, Sora prepared to talk about a suspicion that by now,

had already turned into a conviction.

── However, his words left Jibril more speechless than anyone else.

“It’s impossible for you, Ex-Machina. The ones who killed Artosh ── weren’t you, right?”