[Prologue]

[October 21, 2010 (Thursday) 01:44 am]

The apartment was in a residential area in Saitama Prefecture. The exterior of the two-story wooden building was cream-colored, and the dirty walls were illuminated by outside lights. The residents are already asleep, and the windows are not longer lit.

Heard the sound of going up the stairs, and a middle-aged man with a convenience store bag appeared. Watching his surroundings, the man took the key out of his pants.

He puts the key in the keyhole and opens the door. As he enters the room through a narrow corridor, he reaches for the switch on the wall. There was a faint sound, and the ceiling lights came on.

The room is about 6 tatami mats in size, and there is a wooden desk by the window. Above it lay a laptop and his silver attache case. The attache case was opened, and inside were several test tubes and a black metal box.

The man sat down on the chair in front of the desk and turned on the computer. hit the keyboard

.... Hearing a sound.

"... it's coming soon" Cracked lips transform into a smile.

"Karin-sama, please watch from the sacred world. I will change this world!"

The man turned his gaze to the ring he wore on his left ring finger. The ring was carved with a figure combining equilateral triangles.

"We... 'Reborn' will not perish. Be sure to bring eternal peace to the world! "

At that moment, the wooden floor made a loud noise. When the man turns around, someone is standing in front of him.

"You .… from where?"

A knife pierced the man's neck as he tried to get up from his chair. Dark red blood erupts, dyeing the man's sweater red.

"Ou.."

The man falls face down with his eyes wide open. A black shadow approached the computer, straddling the man's body, which was twitching and convulsing. A computer screen appears in their eyes.

The Nano Queen program was launched on the screen.

......

[Rule]

1. There is absolutely no way to quit the King's game before it ends.

2. Absolutely follow the order in the email sent by the King.

3. Everyone in the class is forced to participate.

4. There are penalties for disobeying orders.

[END]

......

Akaikeyama High School 2nd grade Class A : class roster

1 Yuna Ito

2 Iwashita Sakura

3 Miku Okuzono

4 Takeshi Oshii

5 Yumi Onodera

6 Souta Kamizuka

7 Sosuke Kido

8 Satoshi Kumagaya

9 Riko Kojima

10 Kanon Sasahara

11 Yumeto Sasayama

12 Noa Shimizu

13 Shirakawa Iori

14 Suzuki Wakaba

15 Ai Soeda

15 Seiya Takahashi

17 Junichi Takeoka

18 Shiro Tsurumi

19 Yohei Nakajima

20 Tokisada Nagayama

21 Takaaki Nonomura

22 Yoji Hamatani

23 Hideyuki Hayashi

24 Seiichiro Fujiwara

25 Miki Maeda

26 Narumi Makimura

27 Fuka Matsuzaki

28 Ryuji Matsunaga

29 Yoko Marui

30 Minami Yuriko

31 Hinako Muraoka

32 Hisashi Yukihara

Teacher Kazuyuki Iwamoto

......

[Order 1]

[Friday, October 29, 7:12 am]

Yumeto Sasayama was walking down a narrow school road surrounded by sawtooth oak trees on both sides. The morning sun shines through the gaps in the trees, mottled his school uniform. There are no people around him, only the chirps and chirping sound of birds.

Yumeto stopped and looked up. Beyond the winding slope, you can see a colorful mountain wrapped in autumn leaves. In front of it was Akaikeyama High School, where Yumeto attends.

"It's nice to have a lot of nature around, but are you going to climb this hill every day from now on?" Yumeto sighed and started walking.

It was yesterday that Yumeto transferred to Akaikeyama High School in Saitama Prefecture. Four months ago, the number of high school students had decreased to tens of thousands in the King's Game, and they were gathered in big cities. But those who wished, can be able to receive an education at a designated school in a rural area, Yumeto wanted it. It was because his single mother had fallen ill.

He moved from Tokyo to this town where his grandfather's house is, and takes care of his mother while attending high school. He never complained about her, but the change in school life caused by his transfer made him feel heavy.

Yumeto remembered what happened yesterday. After successfully completing his greetings on the first day of his new school, he took classes in the morning. During lunch break, several students called out to Yumeto. Yumeto was nervous as he chatted with his new classmate. However, the conversation does not last long.

In the end, on that day, I went home alone without making friends with anyone.

"If it's the first day of the transfer school, it will be like that.…"

He picks up his lightly wavy bangs and trudges up the slope leading to the school.

"Well, eventually we'll make friends..."

Yumeto's muttering stopped halfway through. His eyes reflected the figure of a girl standing on a road covered with fallen leaves.

She was a young girl wearing the Akaikeyama High School uniform. He wondered if she had been standing there for a long time, with fallen leaves clinging to her hair. Yumeto's mouth was half open when he saw the girl's slightly visible profile.

This is Yuna Ito.

The girl was Yumeto's classmate. Yuna was seated next to him, so he remembered her by her full name.

What is she doing? She hasn't moved since a while ago. Yuna raises her head and stares at the Akaikeyama High School building on the slope.

Her thin cherry-colored lips were tied in a straight line, and the hand holding her school bag seemed to tremble slightly.

Yumeto approached Yuna with a nervous look on his face and called out to her.

"Oh, good morning"

Yuna didn't react to Yumeto's greeting. Standing with her feet together, her eyes were fixed on the school building on the hill.

"Ito-san?"

Yumeto looked into Yuna's face. At that moment, Yuna moved as if the stopped time had begun to move.

"Wow! Yumeto-kun?"

Yuna opened her perfect eyes wide and stepped back. Her cheeks, which had been white until just a moment ago, are turning red.

"Why are you here?"

"Why can't I go to school without passing through here..."

Yuna's face turned even redder at Yumeto's words.

"That's right. What am I talking about?"

"Ito-san, what are you doing?

"It's Yuna."

Yuna raised her index finger and shook it left and right.

"Didn't Iwamoto-sensei say that our class calls each other by their first names, not their surnames?"

"Oh, that's right. But why do you call each other by name?"

"It's for class ties. By calling each other by name, we deepen our friendship and trust. Well, it's been two months."

"2 months ago?"

"Yes....There were many things. My class..."

Yuna's expression darkens.

"Hey... Yumeto-kun. What do you think of our class?"

"Huh? I think it's normal."

"I see. For Yumeto-kun, it is just transferred to another school."

Pursing her small lips, Yuna exhaled. That gesture caught Yumeto's attention.

"Is there anything in my class?"

"Well ... Noting, At least it's a fun place for me. To the extent that I need time to climb this slope leading to school..."

Saying so, Yuna slapped her brown thighs, which it was peeking through from her checkered skirt.

"Now, let's do our best again today. Let's go! Yumeto-kun."

"Oh, yeah"

Yuna and Yumeto also started walking. Yuna's expression was bright as she talked to me casually, and unlike before, she was lively.

....It's like a different person.

Feeling uncomfortable with Yuna's attitude, Yumeto went through the school gate where fallen leaves were falling.

......

[Friday, October 29, 7:45 am]

When I opened the door of the 2nd grade Class A, classroom on the 3rd floor, there was a girl with pigtails and glasses in front of my desk. She must have noticed the sound of the door opening, and she panicked and left Yumeto's seat.

Yumeto's eyes reflected a small vase on his desk. Several spherical white flowers are arranged in a vase. It looks like a white clover flower.

"Ah! This is not me."

The girl wearing glasses waved her hands around.

"It was already there when I entered the classroom."

"But why, at my desk..."

"that is....."

The girl mumbled her mouth and took her gaze away from Yumeto. Yuna, who was next to him, suddenly let out her breath, and she approached Yumeto's desk.

"Now... it's Yumeto-kun's seat right now."

Yuna picked up the vase and she moved it to the front of the classroom and placed it on teacher desk.

"Yes, that's OK. Umm... Yumeto-kun, this girl is Hinako Muraoka-san, a librarian. I don't think her name matches her face yet." "

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. Can I call you Hinako-san?"

At Yumeto's question, Hinako shook her head.

"Yes. That's the rule of this class."

After saying that, Hinako separated from Yumeto and sat in the front seat by her window. Unlike Yuna, she doesn't seem to want to talk to the transfer student, Yumeto. Seeing Hinako sitting on her chair and preparing for class from behind, Yumeto gave a wry smile.

Well, I don't think there are many people who want to actively talk to their transfer student.

Yumeto put his shoes on his seat and moved to the window. When he dropped his gaze, he could see his classmates walking toward the school building.

"Today, only our class has classes, so there aren't many people."

Before he knew it, Yuna, who was next to him, looked down at their schoolyard with a lonely expression.

"1st and 3rd years are volunteers cleaning the town, and 2nd year is just our class."

"Shouldn't we be doing volunteer work?"

"We finished last week. We were made to pick up trash on Mt. Akaikeyama"

"Mt. Akaikeyama is the mountain behind the school, right?"

"That's right. It's 311 meters above sea level, and there's a small pond near the top."

"Is that why the name of the mountain has a 'pond' in it?"

Yumeto turned his gaze to the side of the corridor where Mt. Akaikeyama was.

"But why is it 'Akaikeyama'?"

"It's because of an old legend. Sengoku warlords exterminated a serpent that was rampaging in the mountains, and the serpent's blood at that time became a pond."

"The blood of the serpent.."

"Of course, it's a fairy tale. I can't believe there's a giant snake that can make a pool of blood. Well, recently, such an improbable creature has appeared in reality."

"Child... huh?"

"Yes. Child."

Yuna's eyebrows twitch.

"Millions of people died because of the Child and King's game. Hokkaido is still under lockdown and it's really scary."

"But the Childs have already been wiped out. The Keludo virus may still be in the bodies of those who survived in Hokkaido, but the government has announced that there is no danger."

"I hope so....."

Saying that, Yuna tied her lips in a straight line.

"Yuna-san?"

At that moment, the door opened and several classmates entered the classroom.

"Oh, You are right. See you soon, Yumeto-kun"

Yuna rushed back to her seat and started writing her note. Yumeto also moved to his seat. There was no one around.

Before long, the homeroom teacher, Iwamoto-sensei, entered the classroom at the same time as the chime rang. Iwamoto was in charge of physical education as he had just turned 30. He is tall and has a long, chiseled face.

"Good morning! Everyone, take your seats!"

Iwamoto stood on the podium and looked around at his students. His gaze overlapped with Yumeto's.

"Oh, the transfer student came too. Didn't you get lost?"

"No. It's a straight road."

Iwamoto showed his white teeth and smiled at Yumeto's reply.

"This area is the countryside, isn't it? Is it possible to get lost? Well, the countryside has a lot of fun that you can't find in the city."

"Can I look forward to it?"

"Oh. For example, mountain climbing. You can climb the mountain right from the back gate."

"Iwamoto-sensei, I'd rather go to Tokyo than mountains!"

A female student raised her hand towards Iwamoto. All the other students started talking at the same time.

"That's nice. Let's all go to Tokyo next Sunday. After all, the city is more interesting than the countryside."

"Maybe I should go too. I have the game software I want."

"What? Is it an eroge?"

"No way! Erotic!"

"It's not erotic! It's a normal action game."

"Iwamoto-sensei, anyway, let's go to Tokyo now! Today is just Iwamoto-sensei at the school, isn't he? The principal and vice principal seem to be volunteering."

"Hey hey, don't say stupid things."

Iwamoto looks at the male student who made the remark with an exasperated face.

"The principal and the vice principal will be back in the afternoon, and Mr. Kadokura, the clerical worker, will be at the school before noon. Or rather, even if no one comes, there's no way you can do that, right?"

"But can Iwamoto-sensei, who is in charge of physical education, teach mathematics and English?"

"Don't worry. I have received the test paper for self-study properly." Iwamoto put the test paper in his hand on the teacher's desk. The screams of the students echoed through the classroom.

"Well, if it's the students in my class who are seriously preparing and reviewing, it's easy, right?"

Iwamoto's smiling expression changed.

"Hmm? What happened to Sousuke? Hasn't he come yet?"

Everyone's eyes are focused on the unmanned seats on the corridor side. Yumeto remembered the figure of the boy who was sitting in that seat.

――If I remember correctly, he was a thin, fair-skinned boy. His surname must have been Kido.

"Are you late? You can't help it."

Iwamoto sighed as he touched his short-cropped hair.

"Well, that's fine. Let Sousuke take a test after school..."

It was at that time.

The vase that was placed on the lecturer's desk made a squeaky sound.

"Hmm? What's that sound?"

The moment Iwamoto was about to pick up the vase, there was a sound like a popping balloon, and the vase shattered.

Fragments of something shining were scattered around.

"Wow!"

At the same time as Iwamoto raised his voice in surprise, the students in the front row got up from their chairs and left the teacher's desk.

"Wait, something flew by. Glass?"

"Dangerous! Why did the vase explode?"

"It sucks. You might have a piece in your hair."

"Anyway, calm down."

Man approaches the lecturer's desk as Iwamoto removes the shards of a vase from his shirt. A white flower with a broken stem lay on the lectern along with a shard of broken glass and a small machine.

The chairman, Hideyuki Hayashi, lifted the machine with his fingertips.

"Hey, Hideyuki. It's dangerous."

"It's okay, Iwamoto-sensei."

Hideyuki brought his face closer to the machine in his hand.

"It's a simple clockwork mechanism. It seems to put it inside and broke the vase from the inside."

"So you mean it's a prank?"

"Yes. It seems to have put a glass container in the vase, so it's vicious. Is this a test tube? Well, I don't think this kind of mechanism will scatter much even if it breaks."

Hideyuki shifts his gaze to the rounded piece of glass.

"It looks like it was empty inside, so in a way, it was fine"

"Fine?"

"Yes, If it had been packed with gunpowder, someone nearby might have been seriously injured. In this day and age, you can easily find out how to make bombs on the internet."

"Don't say such a scary things"

Iwamoto's body shook violently.

"Who brought this vase and flowers?"

Librarian Hinako timidly raised her hand.

"It's been in the classroom since this morning."

"Yes. It wasn't placed there, but on Mr. Kitamura's desk." At that moment, everyone's eyes focused on Yumeto.

"Um..."

Yuna, who was sitting next to him, looked at Yumeto.

"A boy called Tomoki-kun used to sit in Yumeto-kun's seat. He's already dead..."

"Death...?"

Yumeto's heart thumped. When he sits down, his chair feels cold and the palms of his hands on desk are sweaty

"What... why did he die?"

"... Suicide. Two months ago, He hung himself in this classroom."

"Suicide...."

"Yeah. Put a rope on the curtain rail..."

Iwamoto suddenly clapped his hands.

"Yuna, that story is fine. It's nothing to do with the transfer student."

"But Yumeto is also a classmate, so I think it's better to know the circumstances."

"Anyway, let's leave that story for later. Who else knows about vases?"

No one answered Iwamoto's question.

"Does anyone really know?"

"It's no use, i think."

Hideyuki, who was next to Iwamoto, said.

"I don't think they'll come forward soon after playing this kind of prank. I think it will be difficult for us to find the culprit. Besides, They might not be a student in our class."

"Yeah. It's true that it's not a good idea to be skeptical."

Iwamoto looks around the students from the podium.

"Anyway, if the culprit is one of us, don't do this again! Even a small prank can lead to serious injury."

After saying that, Iwamoto ordered the students to clean up around the lecturer's desk. A few students gather the scattered debris with their chirito and broomsticks.

Yumeto stared blankly at his classmates as they moved around.

Did a student in our class commit suicide? Moreover, in this classroom....

He felt the air around him grow cold. I feel as if the student who committed suicide is sitting in the same chair with me.

―Did Tomoki Kitamura sit in this seat? But why did he commit suicide? I looked down and saw a white object in the desk.

"Huh?"

It was a folded white paper. Yumeto took it out of the desk and casually opened it.

Something is written in red characters on white paper. My eyes followed the letter.

(I will tell, the students of Akaikeyama High School 2nd grade class A, and the homeroom teacher Kazuyuki Iwamoto. They killed Tomoki Kitamura. We all killed him. We must be punished. I will be king and punish us. No more verbal apologies. Pay it with our own life)

"What is.... this?"

"What's wrong?"

I heard a man's voice in my ear. When he turned around, the boy behind him was standing there with a puzzled look on his face. The boy had tanned skin and had his hair cut short. His eyes are narrow and the bridge of his nose runs through. Yumeto said the name of a classmate he remembered yesterday.

"Nakajima…Yohei-kun?"

"Oh! You remembered my name properly."

Yohei put his hand on Yumeto's shoulder and showed his white teeth.

"Being a transfer student is tough. I only need to remember your name, but you have to remember the names of all your classmates, .…Yumeto"

"It's Sasayama. Yumeto Sasayama."

"Oh, that's right. Well, anyway, our class is basically called by name, so surnames don't matter. Besides, what's wrong? You were mumbling something."

"Yeah. There was a strange piece of paper in the desk." Yumeto handed a white piece of paper to Yohei.

"Paper? Did you get a love letter right away?"

Yohei's smiling face froze as soon as he read the words on the paper. His half-open lips begin to tremble slightly.

"We killed .....Tomoki...."

"What does this mean?"

"Ah...no. That's...."

"What's wrong, Yohei?"

Iwamoto wrinkled his brow and approached Youhei.

"Hmm? What's that paper?"

"Ah, this looks like it was inside Tomoki's... No, Yumeto's desk."

Youhei gave Iwamoto the paper he was holding.

"Tomoki's..."

Iwamoto's eyes follow the letters on the paper.

"...This is"

"Hey, teacher. Isn't this dangerous?"

"Bad? What do you mean?"

"Yeah, I don't think it's a prank."

Yohei peered at the paper Iwamoto was holding. "And isn't this written in blood? It's not your usual red, is it? It's red and black!"

"Wah, don't say stupid things."

Iwamoto twitched the corner of his lips as he folded the paper he was holding.

"If it's not a prank, what are you thinking about? I'm sure the vase trick was punishment."

"That's fine, but..."

"What's wrong? Sensei."

A baby-faced girl near him pulled Iwamoto's shirt.

"Somehow, your face is scary. Did something happen?"

"Ah...no. It's not a big deal."

Iwamoto pats the female student's head lightly, and he returns to the classroom.

"Come on, let's start the test! Everyone, hurry up and take your seats!"

The students panicked and moved to their seats

......