No Game No Life - Volume 9 Chapter 4.2

── Sora had refused.

In other words, there was no compelling power,

so Sora put a hand on his chest and calmed down. As

expected, he still hasn’t lost the game! As expected, his memories weren’t wrong!

“Hey, Einzig! What’s up with that! That girl is f

abricating her own memories,

isn’t she?!”

Sora jumped into the backstage at maximum speed, almost as if he had simply tripped, and said so with

confidence.

There had been countless times up until now when Sora felt that there was something wrong with

Emiline. Like how she didn’t try to seduce Sora, or how she just acted like a neutral spectator. Sora

finally made the connection between them. In short, only Emiline was ──

“… Verifying memories. It looks like my beloved Spieler is already married inside the concerned unit’s

memory,” looking very sorry, Einzig confirmed Sora’s theory.

That Emiline and only Emiline had been thinking from a different planet, a different dimension even all

this time. Sora should have noticed… When they were in Miyashiro, Emiline didn’t ask ‘

who

’ he was

going to sleep with. She asked about that night as if it was the usual. What she really asked was ── ‘

when

are we

going to sleep together?

’──!!

No! Even when they extracted Sora’s fap material from his tablet! Emiline had said: ‘I shall devote

myself to becoming Master’s ideal wife.’ In both incidents, Emiline talked as if she were already Sora’s

‘wife’──!!

“… When. Since wheeen!! When did this whole wife thing start?!” Sora screamed, and maybe the

wedding dress was in the way but Emiline was a bit late. She had followed Sora without taking it off, but

she just tilted her head to the side with curiosity.

“Answer: … When Master called this unit with a pet name.”

“Ah, I see?! But Alt Ymir Cluster Eine and Ec001Bf9Ö48a2 are way too long, right?!”

“… N-Nii… you remembered it well… didn’t you?!”

“Enquiry: Pet name. Noun. A name that a person uses for someone to show love or affection. That means

that Master loves this unit.55”

Emiline acted as if she hadn’t heard Sora and Shiro’s exchange. But she still brought her face close to

Sora’s and answered his question ── since when?

“Decision: This unit loves Master too. That means we are already husband and wife by definition. A

couple. A pair.”

── She fell in love with Sora the very moment their eyes met for the first time.

That’s what she told him as she brought her face even closer ── they were staring into each other’s eyes

as their lips gradually grew closer and closer.

55 A play on kanjis in the original. 愛称=pet name. 愛=love, 称=name. Therefore Emiline summarizes it’s the name

you call the one you love.……

………… Bum!! And IIIIIIIII56──

“We are not?! What, does that mean you were under the impression that it was mutual love since the very

beginning?”

As if there had been a record scratch, Sora stepped back and screamed ── What’s up with that! She’s

scary!

Sora finally understood the thoughts of his yandere stalker, and that scared him, however:

“Counterargument: Impression? … Negative. It’s the simple truth.”

“… You… I order you to perform a memory consistency check with the Cluster.”

As if to give the finishing blow, Einzig gave the still approaching yandere robot an order.

“Denial: I don’t see the necessity. I won’t share Master’s lo──”

“There has been a vote. 12 units approve. Unit, I order you to execute a memory check at once.”

────

She looked dissatisfied, but since the Cluster had voted maybe she had no choice? A few seconds passed.

Emiline sighed once and shook her head looking troubled.

“Report: Memory damage confirmed on all units except this one. Everyone is abnormal. Strange. Weird.”

‘Everyone is crazy except for me.’ She unmistakably talked just like a crazy person.

Sora and Shiro, Jibril, Steph, and in the end even all the other Ex-Machina turned to look at Emiline with

half-lidded eyes, but she just shook her head and smiled.

“… Hypothesis: The probability is zero. However, let’s assume the opposite is true. Merely as a case study

of this hypothesis ──”

Ahaha, there’s no way. Hahaha, it can’t be

── she was making such a face.

She was making gestures that were way too human. She was making a stiff smile, and one could almost

see the sweat rolling down her cheeks.

The machine girl asked about her hypothesis as if she was asking about the possibility that the planet had

a triangular shape:

“… Farfetched theory: Uhm… Perhaps Master and I ── are not… married?”

“We are not,” Sora answered instantly. In other words, the machine girl had no choice but to conclude

that the planet is a triangle.

Did the vast number of errors make her dizzy? In any case, she kept asking questions even as she swayed

on her feet:

56 A reference to this song

 

“… Confirmation: … We are planning to.”

“I’m not planning to either.”

“Verification: We’re planning to build a warm, happy, ideal family.”

“I’m not planning to do that either. I also don’t remember becoming your lover, and I’m not planning to

become your lover either all right!?”

With that, it finally happened ── it was as if the existence of God was disproved in front of a devout

believer. Even though she was a machine, Emiline’s face was full of despair as she asked her last

question:

“……… Hypothesis: ── This unit just… misunderstood this whole time?”

“…… yes……”

“It’s just as my Master says ♥”

“Uhm ～ … he’s right you know?”

“… aah… well… it’s like that… sigh…”

Sora’s complex expression, Jibril’s sneer, Steph’s sympathy, and Shiro’s anger were her answers.

…………

“Choice: I refuse to acknowledge it. Therefore, it’s fine either way. This unit wins. The end result is the

same.”

A few seconds passed, and Emiline used the same line as before as she started walking towards the stage

but:

“Einzig to all units. Automatic memory deletion in the relevant unit detected. Upload a backup

immediately.”

“── Jawohl”

Emiline wished to forget this ever happened, but she was denied by Einzig and the other Ex-Machina ──,

however:

“Wait! More importantly!! Whoa, the ‘excitement gauge’ looks bad!!”

“… N-Nii…! We have to… start the next song…!!”

Sora and Shiro screamed when they heard the audience’s angry roar and noticed the rapidly decreasing

‘excitement gauge.’

It was only natural ── A beautiful girl that was literally like a doll had appeared on the stage wearing a

wedding dress. She had completely mesmerized the audience and then ── s

he declared that she was

already married.

Moreover, she straight up told them that this whole live show was a farce made for the sake of her

husband’s infidelity. And they were even about to do it

on stage, but in the end Sora just refused and ranaway ── They weren’t screaming because they were getting bored. If their positions were reversed, Sora

would also be angry enough to make a riot or two!!

“H-Holou! Hurry up and get back on the stage! You’re starting from the first verse!”

Even if it was just one second earlier they had to start the next song as soon as possible and get the

audience excited, or else the gauge would run out.

Sora and Shiro panicked and sent Holou out. When Emiline saw that she:

“Report: Just as I calculated. This was my intention from the very beginning. This was due to my

advanced… calculations… *hic*”

Emiline tried to fix her posture and facial expression… but failed.

“Cry: This unit was dumped. I’m completely heartbroken. Requesting self-destruct authorization ──

Denied. Why…”

However, even with Emiline’s current state, Einzig calmly made a small smile and muttered:

“For you to self-destruct is unthinkable… after all, with this, you created a chance for us to win.”

■■■

And thus, the 12th match started. After coming this far, the game was finally progressing according to the

Ex-Machina’s calculations.

First, since Sora and Shiro would lose if it was depleted, they prioritized filling ‘excitement gauge’ again.

Therefore, immediately after the curtains opened, they hit a ‘production hit’ ── their opening move had

to be a bad one

.

A bad move in the opener. If it was just one, it wouldn’t pose a problem for them… however.

Dazzling lights danced atop the stage and the acoustics complemented them with various effects. Their

‘production hit’ made the ‘tension gauge’ rise. It was rising, but──

“Whaaaa!? Even with that it’s still only half full!? No way!?” Sora screamed. It was just as he said ──

the increase was low, but the rate at which it decreased was high. It was only natural. Sora understood this

better than anyone:

“A-are you guys jealous!? I reaaally understand how you feel!! But please, pull yourselves together!!”

Sora was almost begging.

Even the Ex-Machina could guess that getting the apathetic audience excited once more wouldn’t be easy.

Just one or two ‘production hits’ would inevitably end up being just mere drops in the bucket──

“… N-Nii… leave the next… ‘production hit’… to me…”

Sora and Shiro kept making bewildering moves, but it was just as Shiro said. They had no choice but to

make a barrage

of unmistakably bad moves. Three moves, four moves…

“Hey ～ we’re desparate over here!! Your face is seriously pissing me off ～!!”“Hm…? But my beloved Spieler’s love challenge must be answered with the full power of all units, me

included.”

“What I’m trying to tell you is that your sparkling homo looks are annoying! Can’t you just play

normally!?

“… N-Nii… y-you have to… concentrate──”

Contrary to Sora and Shiro, who had no choice but to make eight such moves, the Ex-Machina had no

need to make ‘production hits’. They just dispassionately took advantage of the pair’s bad moves.

Now that it wasn’t a game of bad moves anymore, the Ex-Machina were doing what they were best at:

making the best possible moves.

And while maintaining their superiority, the Ex-Machina were just waiting for a chance. A single chance.

The Ex-Machina’s best chance. But for Sora and Shiro, it’d be a fatal and catastrophic time.

── A single ‘production hit’ from the Ex-Machina. With that, everything would be decided.

“In the name of all units, let me express our gratitude. Thanks to your delusions, it looks like we’ll be

able to stand up to this love challenge.”

“Order: Shut up. Self-destruct. Requesting permission to flee ── Denied… Supplication: … Hilfe57.”

All the units expressed their thanks, but Emiline just rejected them since she was still heartbroken. She

even refused to synchronize her thoughts with the others. She was just crouching in the corner of the

room, half ignoring everything around her.

However, in exchange for her sacrifice, the Ex-Machina now had a rare chance. With Sora and Shiro

playing at a complete disadvantage, the Ex-Machina just needed to keep waiting.

Ironically, it was when the twelfth song was reaching its ‘climax’ that──

── Their chance arrived.

“My beloved Spieler. Rising up to your love challenge has been an honor,” Einzig spoke from the heart as

he carried his piece towards the shining square.

This was the chance that all the Ex-Machina (except for Emiline who was still only half there) had been

waiting for. There’s no way Sora and Shiro could recover. That square fulfilled all the requirements.

“With this, we have finally obtained the ‘extra prize’: my beloved Spieler’s nudes.”

With that, Einzig’s ‘production hit’ was deployed. It simply ──

── Made everything go dark.

It was exactly the same as their first ‘production hit’… a ‘production’ that stole away all lights and sounds,

a ‘production’ that stopped production.

In the midst of that silence, the only sound was the crowd’s commotion.

57 Help in german. She does say this in the original.In the midst of that darkness, the only light was the board. It slightly illuminated Sora and Shiro’s faces,

and:

“Next is the ‘special prize’… We’re supposed to try to refute your proof that you’re not the Spieler,”

Einzig uneasily asked, even though he ── no the Ex-Machina had just declared their victory.

“I see… We have to hit a ‘production hit’ to turn things back to normal or the live show will fail and we’ll

lose.”

“… But… if we respond with… a ‘production hit’ of our own… we’ll lose at chess… f

or sure…”

“Hmm. If Shiro says she’s certain then it’s certain. There’s no way to turn that around. It’d be

checkmate.”

Sora and Shiro muttered, and when the Ex-Machina heard them, they thought: B

ut of course.

They had made Rayo(3↑↑3)=Rayo(7625597484987)<Rayo(10100) calculations after all58.

Using all those calculations, the Ex-Machina derived a single move that met their parameters, a move that

perfectly fulfilled all the requirements.

24.2 seconds remain on the twelfth song.

Even the Ex-Machina couldn’t determine the precise location and number of shining squares that Sora

and Shiro would have. However, following the trends that they had analyzed for 12 matches, the number

of squares they’d have is ── 3 on average, with a median of 2.

The endgame. The possible moves are extremely limited, and what’s more Sora and Shiro were at an

overwhelming disadvantage, a ‘production hit’ would be suicidal…

Even though Sora and Shiro were the strongest, since the way the pieces move is an immutable rule, their

loss is already set in stone. Even Shiro had said that they’d lose f

or sure

──

“If we hit a ‘production hit’ we lose the game because we’d lose for the seventh time, but if we don’t,

then we lose the game because the show would fail? … Another double bind, huh?” When they heard

Sora’s recap not only Einzig, all the Ex-Machina thought:

── Good thing we received such an overwhelming handicap…

He is overwhelmingly strong ── The Spieler is even close to being the strongest, so he tested us to see if

we’re worthy of him. His test was harsh, but we overcame it. However── no one has refuted his proof

yet, we still haven’t decided who he’ll make babies with.

Sora is… undoubtedly the Spieler. However a perfect proof of that is also impossible.

However, the Ex-Machina still tried this hard without thinking about that because they were… ‘scared’.

58 To all the non-math majors, Rayo(3↑↑3)=Rayo(7625597484987) is an actual number. A stupidly big number.

Have you heard of Graham’s number or TREE(3)? Nothing compared to this. But like the author says, it is still less

than Rayo(10 100), the original Rayo’s number that spawned the Rayo function.The reason why they accepted a game where they’d lose their undying feelings if they lost was because of

── ‘fear’.

That fear was ── What if he really

isn’t the Spieler…?

The Ex-Machina wanted hard proof that their fear was baseless. But instead, the words they received

were:

“However this time… I can’t say that you were splendid, huh…”

──What…?

“You see, this isn’t

a double bind. After all──”

“We… just need… to do… this…”

Sora and Shiro said, smiling. And then, as if it was something extremely obvious, they gracefully lifted

their hand ── their piece and made a move.

A move against the insurmountable.

A move against the absolute.

They took advantage of the Ex-Machina’s ‘production hit’ (bad move) without hesitation──

The situation was reversed ── their move put the Ex-Machina at an overwhelming disadvantage.

“Bad moves are fatal in the endgame… that goes for both sides right?”

“… we won’t… make any… ‘production hits’… anymore…’”

The pair said, laughing, so Einzig made a small smile too.

──I see.

With this, we Ex-Machina are at an overwhelming disadvantage ── No. Defeat in this match is almost

guaranteed. But even with that, Sora and Shiro are only at six wins… That isn’t enough to win, so the

show will fail and they’ll lose.

It’s an unavoidable loss, so he’s choosing to surpass the Ex-Machina’s calculations and at least win at

chess huh? As expected of the Spieler… he won’t simply lose huh? ── Einzig thought, but.

“So instead of saying that ‘you were splendid’ we’ll say this:”

However Sora and Shiro made gloating smiles and said at the same time:

““… Thank you for your hard work… ♪””

── And at the same time. As if it had been waiting for those words.

There was a singing voice, so the Ex-Machina opened their eyes wide and looked towards the stage.■■■

Suddenly a silent darkness enveloped the venue. The stage was covered in shadows, and Holou simply

stood there gazing at the audience.

At the noisy audience… No. Only one person

was reflected in the eyes of the goddess who saw without

seeing.

A golden fox Warbeast. The medium. Miko. Holou’s… friend.

She was looking at the stage with beastly eyes that could also see through the darkness. At Holou on top

of it. At Holou, who was at a loss.

Holou recognized those eyes, that face ── she knew them very well.

── The unease. The worry. How she cursed her own powerlessness. That face was──

A face that made Holou clearly ‘declare’ her own feelings for the first time in an eternity. It was her

friend’s face, a face that she knew very well, and ── she didn’t want to see it like that anymore!!

──── I

don’t want this ───!!

That instant ── in the silent darkness of the venue, a small, dim light, and a faint singing voice were lit.

There was no music or production, only with the faint light that she herself had lit, and Holou’s own

voice.

…A very unskillful voice.

Her singing was unsteady and helpless, but also earnest. She sang almost as if she was fumbling for

something.

But strangely… everyone felt something permeate into their beings… something that made them silent,

something that made them listen.

── The Medium. Miko. My friend… I

want to make her smile.

That’s what her song was about. Solely that ever-small ‘feeling’… however.

That feeling belonged to the goddess of doubt. To the Old Deus who doubted even her own Quintessence,

that wise, prideful and hopeful little girl59.

And it was her very first small, small change (and wish) in hundreds of millions of years.

Her song certainly had ‘will’, her ‘heart’ was into it, and her ‘life’ was on display ── it was…

59 There are very relevant but very untranslatable subtleties here. Doubt 狐疑, pride 誇戯, and hope 請希 are all

homophones, but what I translated as pride and hope are invented words. The author just put 2 kanjis that could

maybe sound like doubt together. If you guys want I can make a blog about this, because everything won’t fit here.■■■

“… Holou… heptalogue60 good jobs… with this breakthrough… you are now… an S-rank idol…”

“Ahh. This is exactly why you are a godly idol. You are finally treading the realm of an 11-dimensional

super idol huh.”

Shiro and Sora were still making moves backstage as they said this.

But even so, Holou’s song made them smile, satisfied from the bottom of their hearts. It also made Steph

cry and it even made Jibril… close her eyes, entranced.

“It’s the endgame’s climax. The equipment fails, so she sings… a solo acapella.”

“… You’ve really… come to understand… how to make… the best productions, huh?… ♪”

Sora and Shiro talked about the situation with a sarcastic smile. That is ── the fact that they had a

definitive advantage.

The ‘excitement gauge’ was already filled to the brim and it wasn’t moving an inch. That told the

Ex-Machina but a single thing:

── They predicted all of this.

“… Are you kidding me? … There’s no way such an absurdity is possible…!!”

Everything is possible. He understood that very well, but even so Einzig still screamed like that.

── They predicted that we Ex-Machina would make a ‘production hit’?

It’s not something as simple as that!

The two of them predicted the Ex-Machina’s prediction ── that they’d have no choice but to return the

Ex-Machina’s ‘production hit’!

They even predicted what the production would be about ── and the fact that it’d be the best result for

the show!

They even predicted when the Ex-Machina would make that production ── after all, they had to know

when to take advantage of the Ex-Machina’s bad move!

They predicted everything. Literally, everything!! Anything and everything──!!

It’s ridiculous… even if it had been against the gods, or even against the strongest, it’s just a g

ame

, you

know!? It has clear rules with some uncertainties mixed in. But in the end, it’s just a game of reading each

other, you know!?

Seeing where all possible futures converged ── seeing through even uncertainty is impossible, even for

the Old Deus!!

60 An actual large number again. Not as large as Rayo’s stuff, ‘only’ E1#7 = EEEEEEE1 = 10^10^10^10^10^10^10.

Pretty sure not many japanese would get this either…If they were really able to do such a thing, they’d know everything that would happen in advance──

… if they… knew everything… in advance… it would be possi…

──ble…

“Ah, this ain’t good. It looks like they noticed, Shiro-san.”

“… grr… and there was only… one match… remaining～”

Sora and Shiro said playfully. The 26 artificial pupils of Einzig and the other Ex-Machina, who had been

thinking in parallel with him, turned towards them.

He was way too slow, but Einzig was starting to make sense of everything while Sora just smiled.

For Sora and Shiro it was an incredibly disadvantageous game with incredibly disadvantageous rules.

They were so strong that even with an overwhelming handicap, the Ex-Machina still didn’t come close to

them at all. The more the Ex-Machina adapted, the stronger Sora and Shiro became since they were clad

in the concept of the strongest──

──… Or so they thoroughly deceived us──!!!!

“Yes. That’s right. This game is overwhelmingly disadvantageous ── but not for us,” Sora said, and

stuck out his tongue, just like a child apologizing for pulling a prank.

Comfortably, still making moves, but without reflecting even the slightest bit ── Sora revealed his tricks.

“The ones who are losing because of an unreasonably overwhelming handicap are ── the Ex-Machina ♪

Ah, did that made you mad?”

“… the ones who… were fooled… are the ones in… the wrong… that’s an ancient law…”

In other words, for 12 games, for 1047 moves. For so many calculations they were impossible to count

Einzig, Emiline and all the other Ex-Machina…

──── Were simply making the moves Sora and Shiro wanted them to make…

“W-what do you mean Master? The Ex-Machina are at an overwhelming disadvantage …?” Jibril asked,

puzzled.

“Eh, that’s exactly what I mean? With these rules, it’s very easy to read the Ex-Machina’s moves,” Sora

answered, and the Ex-Machina silently agreed.

── Aah he’s right you know.

After all, if we made a single bad move we’d lose our slight chance── no, even if we didn’t make one,

we’d still lose at chess.

On top of that, if we tried to make a ‘bad move (production hit)’ in order to win, that opportunity would

necessarily be──

“After all, the Ex-Machina’s ‘production hits’ have landed on relatively safe squares a lot, don’t you

think?”“… they assumed… we’d take advantage… of them… so they are… super easy to read…”

“They just made the best possible move packed in a bad move, right? ── They are just making the moves

we want them to make♪”

We Ex-Machina thought the uncertainties would make the game difficult to predict for both sides

.

When Sora said in the eighth match that ‘it’s because it isn’t the same for both sides’ it had a deeper

meaning. Is this… is this what he really meant when he said that──!!?

But ── No!!

Einzig screamed in his head.

I see, it’s true that we Ex-Machina played defensively by making the best possible moves.

But that was just because we assumed that we had almost no chance of winning at chess otherwise!

We adapted at an almost infinite speed only because they were s

o overwhelmingly strong

that they

surpassed everything!!

It was because there was not a single lie in Sora and Shiro’s confidence or statements about their

victory!!!!

But this

── their strategy was…

To manipulate

what the Ex-Machina adapted to, what they predicted, and how they adapted to it…?

That was… someone who fought like that is ── definitely ── not strong──!!

Then, just how did he deceive the Ex-Machina──!?

“── I’m sorry Ex-Machina… you definitely cannot win against us

,” Sora said as if he had read Einzig

and the other Ex-Machina’s thoughts ── No, at this point, they even thought that he was actually doing

Those were Sora’s words when he won the first match. He repeated it word for word, letter for letter.

“That’s right ── against us.

You Ex-Machina definitely can’t win against us,” Sora said. And as

expected, the Ex-Machina couldn’t detect a single lie.

The only thing they detected was that he felt that it was something so obvious it wasn’t even worth talking

about──

“I mean it’s something obvious, isn’t it? After all, the opponent the Ex-Machina are facing isn’t us”

“… If you… didn’t have that… misunderstanding… we probably… couldn’t have won…”

── M

is… understanding…?

Was it the fact that we saw Sora and Shiro as the second coming of the concept of ‘the strongest’?

No ── that’s wrong! Sora said that before we Ex-Machina even thought of that!

Then what kind of misunderstanding are they talking about?Einzig and the other Ex-Machina thought. Sora’s words were causing their processors to ──

“We are crappy weak little ladybugs while you are stupidly strong crazies, and you say we fought against

you with a handicap? Ha, what a joke”

── B

zzzt

“You don’t understand our overwhelming weakness.

We have to do all this or else we can’t win.”

────B

zzzt…… They should have been damaged and broken. They should have lost their very meaning.

The memories the Ex-Machina should have lost, and their thoughts, were covered with noise.

“… The only one who can defeat ‘the strongest’ is his antithesis ── ‘the weakest,’” Sora’s own words

defined him and Shiro as ‘the weakest’.

── B

zzzt bzzzt… even as the noise continued they kept listening to him.

“There’s no way we can win against someone so incomprehensibly strong if we fought fair and square,

right?”

That’s right ── surpassing the concept of the strongest, the God of War, in power was impossible.

“You guys didn’t even know that. Well, since you didn’t kill Artosh anyway, it suits you perfectly.”

That’s right ── the God of War, the strongest one in the past…

Had called someone his ‘natural enemy.’ Such praise ── hadn’t been for the Ex-Machina. It had been…

for the Spieler……. A

nd────

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

“Hey. Shitty handsome perverted piece of junk homo robot ── what do you think idols are?” Sora asked

the one immersed in his own complicated, muddled memories using an awful and long name.

“A third class producer would say some stupid shit like: ‘they are dolls made to act according to the

audience’s ideals.’ But!”

“… Howeeeever… A super first class… producer… like us… is different…!”

However, maybe Sora and Shiro didn’t need an answer, since they just gazed at the stage and continued:

“… Holou will… simply become who she wants to become… that’s all…”

“Those who hope to see her trying, to see her hoping, aren’t a mere ‘audience’ ── but ‘persons,’” Sora

and Shiro said. Einzig and the other Ex-Machina were looking at them while immersed in a whirlpool of

memories.

The ones who the strongest praised as his natural enemy, the pair

who was proud of being the weakest

was──

“──So? Absolute proof that I’m not the Spieler, was it?”

“… That’s easy… it’s something… you Ex-Machina… understand… very well.”

The Ex-Machina’s minds were still reeling, but even so they listened.

“…

I decide

what I am. I am ‘Sora’ ── Shiro’s other half.”

“… Nii and I are… Blank… other people’s definitions… can go to hell.”

The Ex-Machina’s analysis of Sora and their definition of him are all meaningless. That’s what they were

saying.

No. It was a s

ingle gamer

who said that. And their words made the Ex-Machina simply──

“And no matter how much I resemble him, even if I had both his memories and love, you’d still have the

wrong person

. Can you deny it? If so, then──”

“… Why… isn’t any of you… saying that you are… the person who was loved by that person…?”

…… A

hh……

they closed their eyes.

“That’s also why you didn’t make me fall in love with you or altered my conduct using the Pledges…

right?”

Einzig, Emline, all the Ex-Machina finally understood something they never had before, and

unintentionally… lowered their heads and smiled.

“… I… see… We Ex-Machina have simply been looking at a ghost this whole time…”

── I see… we Ex-Machina absolutely can’t win against them

.

There’s no way we can even adapt… after all, he doesn’t exist.

We haven’t been going against just the two people in front of us… we have also been fighting against an

illusion.

I wonder, how funny did we look ── getting so worked up over fighting against shadows?

With that there was a sound announcing the start of the 13th match, the final match.

The 13th song. The last song’s intro started playing.

And the one who had been muttering in self-loathing, Einzig, thought:

But then… just what…… have we been………

■■■

── It was the 13th song. The last number was playing atop the stage.

Sora and Shiro had made a single move to restore both the lights and the sounds ── but any more than

that was unnecessary. Holou’s singing voice had everyone entranced. It even felt like the Ex-Machina’s

equipment was superfluous.

‘Go and have some fun’ With that, Sora and Shiro had sent the other two to the stage. They were sloppy,

but they also looked like they were having fun. Steph could unexpectedly dance, and even Jibril was

dancing in the air spreading non-lethal lights around.The venue was serenely heading towards the grand finale and in contrast ── there was a silence as deep

as the sea backstage.

── The 13th match. The last match.

Sora and Shiro had showed the Ex-Machina how they had been manipulated with aloof smiles. However,

up until now those two haven’t had any margin for error. Not for a single match, not for a single move

even.

Sora and Shiro had to make the Ex-Machina hypothesize what they wanted, and adapt to what they

wanted

, without it being noticed so they could make effective moves.

The Ex-Machina had lied to themselves

. They were biased ── they rejected the fact that the Spieler isn’t

here.

Their reasoning had a ‘hole’ that Sora and Shiro took advantage of ── a fatal flaw, but it still had

been incredibly difficult.

Seeing through a transcendental machine’s ‘heart’ in order to manipulate them. The reason why Sora and

Shiro did something so close to their limit was obvious. It was because even Blank can’t win against the

Ex-Machina head-on; they can’t

go past their limits.

── However, the cat was already out of the bag.

After analyzing 12 matches and 1082 moves, the Ex-Machina adapted to the real persons before their eyes

── to Sora and Shiro. And just like that, this became a simple game of reading each other played between

humans and transcendental computers ── an impossible challenge

.

There is a high probability that Sora and Shiro will lose the next match, and with their seventh loss, the

whole game.

── ‘

This is where the real thing begins’ Sora and Shiro hardened their resolve, but…

“…Hmmm. Would you mind telling me why you stopped making moves halfway through the game?”

Backstage, when the 13th match started, you could hear the sluggish sounds of pieces hitting the board.

However, the Ex-Machina had stopped their moves, and with even those sounds gone, Sora’s question

echoed in the resulting silence. It was oppressive… but also filled with indifference and resignation ── it

was a silence that Sora and Shiro knew very well.

── It was a silence where the emotion called ‘despair’ is born.

“… Let me answer with a question of my own. There are no turns… so why aren’t you making any

moves?”

“Well ～ Maybe we just don’t care about winning against a failure of a gamer who leaves halfway

through the game?”

“… Let me answer with a question once again. If we were to win… what would happen?” Einzig said

smiling, but his expression was as if all the emotions he had showed before had completely disappeared.

He was really just a machine. He had become just like doll ── No. It wasn’t just Einzig. All the other

Ex-Machina too were exactly the same. He continued:“You were not the Spieler. Then, even if we won, what would we get?”

… A

h I knew it.

Sora thought, grinding his teeth.

Just proving that means choosing the Ex-Machina’s destruction… I already knew that.

“We’d get nothing. Just our own destruction. Therefore ── you should win.”

What would happen if it was proven that Sora is not the Spieler? They’d have a literally hopeless

situation. The Ex-Machina would fall into despair

just like that.

“You two. No ── is it only y

ou alone?

You are the Fortsetzer61. And because of that you will not crush

the Ex-Machina’s piece.”

That’s why the Ex-Machina had to agree to this game! Even knowing all this, Sora still set them up

(checkmated them)──── and that’s precisely why!!

“That’s why you set us up with this game. To force us to reproduce and swear that we would renounce

our love. You were forced to make a hard choice. But you made the correct one, and because of it the

Ex-Machina shall be saved. Now you shall use the Ex-Machina──”

──── *Wham!*

Sora hit the board with his piece as if he wanted to break it, interrupting Einzig.

── That’s precisely why!! ‘This is where the real thing begins’──!!

“… Hey, perverted mecha. How can you say something so heartless?”

Sora had hit a shining square ─── a ‘production hit’. With that, the song changed keys and the venue

was enveloped in a whirlpool of light. The cheers were calming down because the show was close to its

end, but with that ‘production hit’ the audience cheered like it was the climax all over again.

The match had stopped halfway through, but the boardstate was favoring Sora and Shiro, so they boldly

said:

“Stop complaining and come at us with your full power. We don’t need you to stop making moves.”

“… We will… win so… you will lose… anyways ♥”

── And, suddenly.

Einzig laughed as if he had given up on everything. He made the move that all the Ex-Machina had

calculated in parallel ── an established tactic that Sora and Shiro didn’t know about.

It was transcendentally precise, illogically accurate. An established tactic that would certainly trick and

defeat Sora and Shiro.

── That’s right. Would.

61 継ぐ者 (フォーツェンサー Footsensaa) “The successor” in kanji and “the one who continues” in bad German

katakana (I think). Not even the Japanese internet has the answer to that katakana mess.Less than 2 seconds ago it certainly would have. However, that didn’t

come to pass. This incident made

Einzig frown a little, so Sora and Shiro told him:

“Is your memory all right? Isn’t your ‘infinite learning’ just false advertising?”

“… the J*RO62… will sue you… you know? … we’ll say it… once more”

── The Ex-Machina had made an incredibly precise and peerless move. It led to an established tactic that

bordered on predicting the future.

But Sora and Shiro responded with a ‘novel move’. That single move had unraveled the Ex-Machina’s

tactic as easy as breathing and made it fail. Then the Ex-Machina instantly adapted and responded with a

‘novel move’ of their own. A move that made Blank’s ‘novel move’ fail. But Sora and Shiro’s next move

made it clear that the Ex-Machina’s previous move hadn’t been a novel one, so they regained their

advantage.

── With that brief exchange of less than 2 seconds, it looks like Einzig and the other Ex-Machina have

finally noticed.

Please try to imagine how difficult this was!

Sora and Shiro silently complained with tired smiles.

“… If you think… you can win… against Blank… ♥”

“We’ll be forced to politely tell you to not get carried away ♪”

Sora had played a strong game while using the Spieler’s playstyle. He manipulated the Ex-Machina’s

adaptations and learning over and over for 12 matches, and it was all for…

── The 13th match. This last match.

They still hadn’t used Sora and Shiro’s tactics. Blank’s original playstyle… their serious mode. If by

some chance the Ex-Machina were able to adapt to it, Blank wouldn’t be able to win against them again.

── So they kept it hidden. It had been extremely difficult.

“Why don’t you try to go against the real us this time? After all, you’ll lose anyways.”

“… Even if… you come at us… with your full power… it’s just a game, right?”

Forfeiting the game you say? Who would want such a boring ending? In order to really win you need to

have a ‘prefect victory.’ Anything other than that is unacceptable.

── Come and get us, Ex-Machina. The real us, not an illusion. We’ll make you lose head-on. That’s what

Sora and Shiro’s savage smiles said… and in response, the Ex-Machina’s eyes were filled with a little bit

of emotion (passion)────

────…………

“… Shall I try to guess who was this ‘Spieler’ you confused me with?”

The complicated moves on the board were finally accelerating back to their previous speed.

62 The JARO, Japan Advertising Review Organization.As if he was just making small talk, and as if his thoughts were running in parallel, Sora talked about his

deductions with confidence:

“He was the man who ended the Great War… ‘A super fucking cool godly gamer’ right?”

“……………………”

Sora took the Ex-Machina’s silence as an affirmation, and nodded as if to say ‘then I’ll explain.’ Jibril

said that Immanity had used the Ex-Machina to end the Great War. How they managed something like

that was a mystery.

However, the long and short of it was──

“Immanity didn’t use the Ex-Machina. The Ex-Machina simply ── helped

the man they loved.”

As for the details of what had happened between them ── Sora had no way of knowing. However, the

Ex-Machina they call ‘Prayer’ loved the Immanity man they call ‘Spieler.’

Then, all the Ex-Machina came to share her wish, no, her feelings. They were her successors. Emiline had

told them the Prayer’s wish. She wanted to fulfill her beloved’s wish… To bring an end to the Great War

.

“However, that man died… J

ust as the Great War ended… you lot ── let him die.”

“… No words can describe our amazement… how did you figure out so much?…” Einzig questioned their

godlike insight, but Sora was just embarrassed:

“Well, it isn’t anything too complicated… Emiline said that she was ehem～ brand new… a virgin…”

── They won’t take anyone but the Spieler. And there is a ‘hardware lock’ on their reproduction

functions…?

“If he had lived through it, he would have used it right!? At least once!! I know I wou～ no… forget it.”

Shiro’s stare cut Sora’s words short ── However, everyone knew what he was going to say.

The Great War had suddenly ended. That man ended it. However, that man didn’t become the one true

god, Tet. He died just as the Great War ended, therefore he died because of the Ex── No. Sora cut that

line of thought short, since he felt that it was too rude to even say.

They couldn’t protect

the man they loved… it must have been something like that.

“And what’s more… You betrayed the man you loved. You deceived him.”

────

When Einzig (and the other Ex-Machina) processed that, his hand stopped for an instant. But not minding

that, Sora simply kept talking dispassionately ── Only his hand was fierce in its movements.

“That man tried to end the Great War without making a single sacrifice. And contrary to his will… you

killed a lot of people. More than half the Flügels. Probably others. And you also killed… none other than

you yourselves, the Ex-Machina.”

The Ex-Machina kept making their moves silently, but their hands trembled. And in their shaking eyes

there was clearly an emotion ── bewilderment. They were unmistakably agitated, and that made theiremotions peek through. Was it because of Sora’s words? Or maybe it was because they s

till can’t

overwhelm

Sora and Shiro?

“What did you think after ending the Great War like that?… I can’t imagine.”

After all… it’s something pretty ironic.

Sora and Shiro thought together.

The human heart is completely illogical, therefore in order to be logical so we invented ‘math.’

Machines are the very personification of logic, therefore they yearned for illogicalness so they invented

the ‘heart’.

A race of machines. Transcendental computers that could even scoff at oracle machines. And in the end,

what they arrived at was ── being the same as humans. That’s why… it’s indeed something really dumb.

Sora and Shiro first noticed the Ex-Machina’s intentions while on the moon. What a machine with a heart

really wants…

The single ‘worry’ they held onto for 6000 years, until they were almost destroyed. The ‘worry’ that made

them single mindedly wait for their unrequited love…

The worries of those with hearts are always simple, stupid things──

── Serious, noble, and still stupid things… that’s right…

“… Was it regret? Guilt? Remorse?…”

Or maybe it was all of those, or none of those.

Sora thought.

In any case, the worries that come from the ‘heart’… are illogical, indivisible, abstract, and vague. Even

so, if we were to summarize all of that in a single sentence it would be:

“… You simply wanted to see him once more, right?”

So they appeared in front of Sora, just as he defeated Holou (an Old Deus) without killing her

.

“So next time

, if someone who could do what you guys couldn’t during the Great War appeared…”

Then, for sure, maybe…

“I

f next time, it was possible to defeat an Old Deus without killing them,

then that man wasn’t wrong.

That’s what you were waiting for.”

Sora’s imagination was probably mixed in there, but the Ex-Machina’s trembling eyes agreed with him.

── They knew that man was dead, and that no matter how much Sora resembled him he was someone

else.

They knew that Sora isn’t the man that she loved.

They knew that the Ex-Machina themselves aren’t the ones that man loved ── moreover.

They knew that they themselves weren’t the ones who loved that man. But even so… they waited.── They are machines who had obtained ‘hearts,’ machines who can even lie… they are incredibly

fearsome,

Sora thought.

And in the end, they even lied to themselves… Was it really necessary for them to resemble people so

much?… As he thought of that, Sora suddenly stopped that line of thought.

── A

nd that is precisely why… I reject them.

“So? What did those machines with their maiden circuits at full throttle say?”

The grinding on the Ex-Machina’s aching chests was silenced.

“‘Set the Ex-Machina up to force us to reproduce k thanks～.’ ‘With our race’s destruction the world will

be ‘checkmated’ so please stop it okay merci～.’ ‘Have some consideration for our broken hearts k?’ ‘Pls

use the Ex-Machina’ you say?”

──They must be rejected────!!

“What kind of heartless things

are you saying!? This isn’t like you, you fully automated walking special

fetish machine!!” Sora screamed, making the most ridiculing face he could and scoffing at them with a

‘ha.’

“Come on!! Let me hear what your machine hearts really want to say!!” Sora screamed. He was clearly

provoking them, leading them on. Everyone could surely tell.

But maybe the Ex-Machina had concluded that it would be impossible to see through all of Blank’s

moves during this match? Or maybe they concluded that a game of bad moves

is better for the

Ex-Machina since they have the edge in processing power?

── No…

“Understood… then, we shall let you hear it… and you shall answer our questions, oh Fortsetzer──!!”

Surely it wasn’t because of such a logical reason, or argument.

With his eyes boiling with the emotion of rage, Einzig slammed a ‘production hit’ and screamed. His

words, his questions were reflected upon the landscape with that move, it…

“We pierced Artosh’s Quintessence and ended the Great War ── And what remained──!?”

── N

othing remained.

As if to answer his own question, everything on the venue became blank ── it was all dyed in white.

Even the universe, even the very laws of the world became worthless. The audience, Sora and Shiro,

everyone was floating in midair when Sora’s voice resounded:

“… The Ten Pledges remained. The Exceed remained. And… his will remained.”

── This world remained.

Sora smiled gently and returned their ‘production hit’ with one of his own. It painted the Ex-Machina’s

blank canvas with rich colors. There were hazy chess pieces towering in the distance, and people of 16different races fluttering about. It was this world. The audience was above it, still floating and cheering

passionately.

“Yes, the will we trampled over, and a world without the one we love are what remained──!!”

── Those are the very symbols of our crimes and frustrations.

The machines lamented how their feelings and even their love were merely borrowed, then they made a

move. They erased the sixteen races fluttering about the colorful planet, and the pieces in the horizon.

“So next time you can do better, this time you can do better. Now that his will has become a legacy it has

been inherited by other persons.”

── F

rom person to person, regardless of race.

With Sora’s move, the races and Imanities that had disappeared before gathered together and built a

country that covered the world. Everyone was looking down on a world, a whole planet, on its way to

recovering from the Great War.

“And the hilarious pieces of scrap who betrayed his legacy and deceived themselves with the dream of an

unattainable wish also remained……!!”

──We didn’t succeed his will or his legacy.

The Ex-Machina’s eyes were asking for the meaning of their long wait. They had just embraced a

borrowed love and deceived themselves with a dream, all while they waited for someone they didn’t even

love.

Countless transparent persons that had appeared backstage. They were the ones the Ex-Machina had

killed, the ones they had let die. And they were gazing at them.

“Argh!? Sh-shiro!! I can’t deny that they are hilarious, you know!? After all, in the end he

is just a

pervert!!”

“… Nii, do your best… if you lose this argument… then everything… will be lost…”

But Sora and Shiro made a show of joking around without a care in the world.

──The bewildering changes in scenery. A chaotic game of bad moves (production hits).

A game where traps are impossible. It was a game of predicting the furthest ahead and adapting the fastest

── two things the Ex-Machina are unrivalled at.

However the Ex-Machina were… No. Even Sora and Shiro themselves were surprised. They were evenly

matched with the Ex-Machina ── No. They were a little bit ahead.

Sora believed in his ‘intuition,’ and made predictions that even he himself couldn’t understand

. Shiro’s

‘calculations’ caught up with Sora’s moves instantly, and incorporated them into well-understood

established tactics using logic.

── The blending of induction and deduction. The combination of feel and logic.It discovered which moves the Ex-Machina still hadn’t adapted to, the moves that could be used for the

first time but wouldn’t work again ── all of them.

Precisely because it was uncertain, they were able to surpass the Ex-Machina’s processing by the

slimmest of margins.

The Ex-Machina were very surprised because of that, however.

“Buthowever63!! Are you going to shift the responsibility simply because you are junk!?”

“… I-it isn’t really… an unattainable wish… right…!?”

Sora and Shiro said in a cold sweat, and this time ── their words made the Ex-Machina crash.

“It’s not an unattainable wish you say? Then… go ahead and grant our wish──!!”

Thus, the scenery was metamorphosing again, and what the Ex-Machina wished for was ── that’s right.

Something only the Spieler can grant. Something so important they had to deceive themselves just so they

could meet him again ── it was:

“Did our accomplishments (hearts) have a meaning? ── Can the Ex-Machina be forgiven──!?”

Yes… in short, that was it.

It was a very stupid… and noble wish.

When they refused to reproduce, when they were willing to go extinct, and when they tried to seduce

Sora, it was all because they wanted was to be accepted by him ── by the Spieler.

The Ex-Machina deceived him, betrayed him and schemed against him. They killed, let other people get

killed, and in the end they let themselves be killed.

Is it really okay for the Ex-Machina to live in this world even after doing all that? Would he be able to

forgive them?

There wasn’t any trace of logic in any of that,

──They were simply… drowning in ‘guilt.’

They were machines that had been left without purpose. No. Their hearts were what was purposeless, and

they were begging for an answer.

── And that’s precisely why Sora rejected them with a smile.

That’s not something they should be asking Sora, or even the Spieler

.

“Hell if I know… That’s a wish (question) that only you yourselves can grant (answer)…”

The Ex-Machina followed Sora’s gaze… and looked at the result of their exchange of ‘production hits.’ It

was the world that they… the world that machines with hearts… had created.

63 Here the author intentionally misconverts だがしかし

to 駄菓子菓子.

 

They were looking down upon a world where everything is decided by games ── the boardtop world,

Disboard.

Holou (an Old Deus) was singing and dancing on top of the stage. Jibril (a Flügel) was dancing in midair,

and Steph (an Imanity) was also dancing with elegance.

In the midst of all the stage lights there were beautiful idols of multiple races being adored by an audience

of multiple races.

And the faces of each and every one of them had… a smile.

“Did it have a meaning? … It depends on whether you guys find meaning in it or not.”

“… Can you be forgiven?… It depends on whether… you can… forgive yourselves… or not”

Sora and Shiro said, and yes there was one even in their faces, and in the Ex-Machina’s faces reflected in

their eyes. The Ex-Machina and the two Imanities they were competing with suddenly realized that they

all had brilliant smiles on their faces.

──That’s right. E

verything can end with a smile…

that’s how this world is.

“In order to become who you want to be, you must live how you want to be.64”

“…We will be… expecting… your answer♪”

── After all, they won’t change. The only thing they can do is to keep going while making new

compromises.

“That’s why, well for reference… if Shiro’s and my personal impressions are all right──”

“… I

t’s not a bad world… or at least… that’s what we… think”

──But as the price of creating such a world they had to make a large amount of sacrifices.

That man must have died without agreeing with that. He must have met his end full of regret and remorse.

Sora and Shiro shouldn’t have anything to say to such a man, or to the Ex-Machina who were getting

crushed by guilt.

However, there’s something that man must have thought until his very last moments. The same thing that

Sora and Shiro thought when they first arrived at this world.

They only needed to transmit that gratefully… that’s right:

“‘N

ext time… we’ll win for sure.’ This is a world where it’s okay to think that.”

The chess board announced Sora and Shiro’s seventh win and when it finished, it stopped as if it was

broken. Then the performance also ended. The only thing remaining on the stage were the reverberations

of the audience’s ovation…

64 成(な)りたいように、為(な)りたいように、生(な)るしかないさ A brilliant line by Kamiya-sensei, but a

nightmare to translate. There’s at least 3 different meanings to it with the grammar alone, and the kanjis add a whole

other depth to it that I don’t have the space to get into.“… Well! That’s what we think but what about you? What do the Ex-Machina think?”

Having given it their all, Sora and Shiro simply immersed themselves in those same reverberations and

smiled tiredly.

They had concentrated to their utmost limit, so much that their brains were fried, and their bodies felt as

heavy as lead… But even without all of that…

If there had been a 14th match… they wouldn’t have been able to win anymore. Sora and Shiro were

convinced of it, and p

recisely because of that ── they smiled even more happily than before.

── Next time for sure

you can win against us… you must be feeling that way right?

That’s what Sora and Shiro’s faces were saying, so the Ex-Machina closed their eyes and………

laughed…….