..............
"Ha... Haha. So the group was meaningless."
Tokisada let out a dry laugh and leaned into the chair.
"Either way, I could only find one card, so I was certain to die."
He sigh as he look at '5 of spades' in his hand.
"As expected, '5' won't help..."
"I'm '4' "
Fuka said with a pale face.
"Youhei miscalculated, right? Only me and Tokisada will be punished. If Yumeto, Seiya and Yuna keep their cards as they are, they won't be punished because they have 16."
"Yes. Three people will be punished, so I don't know who the other one will be."
"It doesn't matter anymore"
Yumeto approached Tokisada and Fuka, who were sitting with their shoulders down. Yumeto opened his lips that had been completely closed.
"I'm sorry, Fuka-san, Tokisada-kun."
" 'I'm sorry?' Why are you apologizing, Yumeto-kun?"
Fuka slowly raised her head.
"It was Yohei who betrayed us, not Yumeto-kun, right?"
"Because I was the one who divided the cards. Besides, Youhei-kun said I was the leader."
"Hey...leader. Well, there's no doubt that you were a kind leader. We're become kind too."
Fuka's hand holding her card trembles slightly.
"So, as a leader, will you take responsibility?"
"Yeah. That's what I mean."
Yumeto puts the '9 of diamond' card in Fuka's hand.
"Huh…..."
Fuka rolls her eyes and looks at the card she received.
"What... is ....this?"
"What?, it's a playing card. Ah, Tokisada-kun too."
Yumeto hands the remaining '6 of spades' and '1 of clubs' cards to Tokisada. Tokisada's expression changed when he received the card with his dumbfounded face.
"Hey! What do you mean?"
"I gave my card to Tokisada-kun and Fuka-san."
"No, but you..."
"Now that Fuka-san has a total of 13 and Tokisada-kun has a total of 12, it's possible that you won't be punished."
"In return, you're 0!"
Tokisada's angry voice echoes in the room.
"Do you want to die?"
"No. I gave you a card to make me live."
"I don't understand. You had 16 number cards in total. You weren't 100% be punished. Why are you giving us cards anyway?"
"It's for the future."
In a calm voice, Yumeto answers.
"The next order may also be easier to clear if you have friends. At that time, if Tokisada-kun and Fuka-san aren't there, isn't it a disadvantage?"
"As for the next order, you don't have any cards, you know? How are you going to clear the current order?"
"There's still more than 30 minutes left."
Yumeto turned his gaze to Yuna and Seiya.
"I want Yuna-san and Seiya-kun to look for my cards until the very last moment. Tokisada-kun and Fuka-san look for their own cards until they reach 16 or higher."
"You think you can find a card in 30 minutes?"
"Well ....I hope everyone is serious."
"....You're an idiot."
Tokisada looks down at Yumeto with an astonished face.
"Do I really not have to return the card?"
"Yeah. That card is already Tokisada-kun's. You can't take it back by force."
"Okay. 30 minutes left, I'll look for your card desperately!"
Tokisada quickly walked to the door.
"Wait! I'm going too."
Fuka got up from her chair and moved in front of Yumeto.
"Yumeto-kun, I won't thank you right now. I don't have time for that."
Saying that, Fuka runs to the door. After that, Yuna followed.
The remaining Seiya stood in front of Yumeto.
"Why...why did you give the card to Tokisada-kun and the others?"
"That's what I said earlier. The more companions you have, the easier it is to clear the next order."
"That's crazy!"
Seiya's voice grows louder.
"Aren't you afraid to die?"
"I'm scared"
Yumeto moved his fingertips while recalling the feel of the card he was holding.
"But I didn't want Tokisada-kun and Fuka-san to die because I wasn't strong enough. I was the one who split Yohei-kun's card without checking it."
"So your classmates are more important than your own life?"
"Not everyone. The lives of my friends are important."
"Friends?"
"Yeah. You guys became my friends as a transfer student, that made me happy"
Yumeto's expression softened slightly.
"Perhaps we can become friends."
"Friend...."
"Almost of my friend died in the last king's game. There is no substitute for a friend, but I would like to make new friends with you guys."
"New....friends..."
"Of course, I want to be friends with Seiya-kun."
"I'm not qualified to do that."
Seiya averted his eyes from Yumeto's gaze.
"I betrayed Yumeto-kun...everyone."
"Betray? What do you mean?"
"That is..."
Seiya took out a playing card from his pocket. Looking at the card, Yumeto's eyes opened wide.
"The '8 of spades'? Why do you have this? It wasn't there when I split the cards a while ago."
"..... I found it before you invited me to join the group."
Seiya's face contorted as if to endure the pain.
"At that time, I didn't trust Yumeto. I thought maybe you were just trying to use me like Seiichiro-kun and the others."
"That's why you hid your card..."
"I'm a coward. Even when the group couldn't collect cards, I was the only one trying to save myself."
"I know how you feel. No one wants to die."
"But Yumeto-kun tried to save his comrades rather than save his own life."
Seiya gave Yumeto the '12 of club' cards.
"It's too late, but I want you to receive this card."
" '12' ? Then Seiya isn't 16, is he?"
"Yeah. With this, I have '8 of spades' and '4 of spades', so I'll have total number 12, the same as Yumeto and Tokisada."
"With total number 12, you could be punished."
"That's fine. I can't forgive myself unless I'm in the same position as Yumeto-kun and the others."
"..... Thank you, Seiya-kun."
Facing Seiya, Yumeto lowered his head.
"Now you have a better chance of surviving."
"Will you forgive me?"
"I am not in a position to forgive. Instead, look for cards! Increase your chances of survival!"
Yumeto hit Seiya hard on the shoulder.
................
Order 5
[November 2 (Tuesday) 11:55 am]
Yumeto opened the door to the conference room next to the staff room. Long desks are lined up in the conference room, and cardboard boxes are piled up in the corners. As if someone has look for the card, the test papers and materials that would have been in the cardboard box were scattered on the floor.
Yumeto moved the cardboard box onto the long desk and took out the stack of papers inside. Everywhere someone has look for a card. But it must have some cards that didn't found yet. I won't give up until the last minute. I will increase the total number of cards even a little.
As I was laying out test papers on long desk, I heard a small noise behind me. I turn around and see two girls standing in front of the door.
"Kanon-san, Riko-san..."
Yumeto muttered the girl's name.
"Are you looking for a card?"
"Yes....."
Kanon approached Yumeto with a pale face.
"Because we didn't get a card."
"Can't you get one? If I remember correctly, you were in Seiichiro's group, weren't you? Are you sharing cards with everyone?"
"Because that group doesn't divide the cards equally."
"Aren't they equal?"
"Yes. Is it like a sequence? Seiichiro is number one, Souta is number two, followed by Satoshi and Yoji. We divide the cards in that order, and we won't get a single card unless Seiichiro-kun and the others reach 16 or above."
Kanon smiled with her tired face.
"Did Yumeto's group divide the cards evenly?"
"Yeah. We had a little trouble, but we made sure everyone had the same numbers."
"We entered the wrong group. If only we were in Yumeto's group..."
"...I don't know."
Yumeto shakes his head left and right.
"We are not safe yet."
"But you have a card, right?"
"Yeah. I haven't reached 16 yet."
"I see....…"
Kanon's voice became lower.
"Hey... Yumeto-kun."
"Hmm? What?"
At that moment, Kanon's right hand moved and touched Yumeto's abdomen. Feeling a prickling pain, Yumeto touched his abdomen. His white shirt is torn and his palms are wet with blood.
"Kanaon...san.?"
"Sorry"
Kanon grabbed a utility knife and approached Yumeto. Kanon's eyes are bloodshot and red, and a hiccup-like sound can be heard from her half-open mouth.
"I.... I have to kill Yumeto-kun.... it can't be help"
"Killing...you can't forcefully steal a card, you know?"
"I didn't steal your card"
"Then why are you trying to kill me?"
"Because that's my role."
Kanon glanced at Riko behind her. Riko stands in front of door with face that look like Noh mask. She's as if she's lost her emotions.
"This is the strategy to get cards efficiently."
"Strategy?"
"That's right. I will kill Yumeto. Then, Riko searches the corpse for a card. then we will not be punished"
Kanon's mouth spreads as if torn.
"Hey, it's a good strategy, isn't it? Do this alternately. If you do that, you'll quickly accumulate cards."
"Are you going to kill your classmate to get the card?"
"Even I don't kill because I like it. But if that's the only way....I'll kill anyone!"
Saying that, Kanon waved her right hand holding the cutter knife to the side. Yumeto's bangs are cut,
He fell to the floor with a patter.
"Yumeto-kun. I think it won't hurt if you stay still."
With her swaying and shaking her upper body, Kanon extended the cutter blade with a click.
"The blade will break if you extend it too much, with this enough to cut an artery in your neck"
Sweat dripped down Yumeto's back. His back was clinging to the wall.
Kanon spreads her hands to the left and right to block Yumeto's escape route.
"Don't run away anymore, Yumeto-kun. I have to kill more and more after this..."
Suddenly, Kanon's voice cut off.
"..."
"Kanaon…san?"
Kanon didn't respond to Yumeto's call. Kanon keeps her eyes wide open and moves her lips. her skin color become change. Before long, a large amount of blood flowed out of Kanon's eyes and mouth.
"Gah... Gobuu.."
The sound of drowning and swallowing water is heard, and Kanon's uniform is dyed crimson.
Yumeto stared at Kanon with a pale face. Kanon's face is wet with blood, and her hands and feet are red as if they were painted.
"Gaga..."
Kanon's knees hit the floor and she fell forward. She made a slurping sound, and the blood that had collected on the floor splattered.
"Punishment of the King's Game...Has it been 24 hours?"
When he moved his gaze, Riko, who was standing in front of door, was also covered in blood. She's pooled on the floor and the amount of blood she's bleeding makes it hard to believe she's alive.
"Was I saved?"
The only card Yumeto has is '12 of clubs' he received from Seiya. That number could have been punishable, but there must have been others with lower numbers.
"Does this mean that someone other than Kanon-san and Riko-san is being punished?"
Yumeto saw Kanon lying on the floor in front of him. Kanon's whole body looked thin, probably because a large amount of blood had flowed out of her body. Her red hands and feet are wrinkled like an old man. Yumeto covered his mouth with the smell of blood and left the conference room.
"Yumeto-kun!"
Fuka ran up to him while calling out Yumeto's name.
"I'm glad you're alive"
Fuka's eyes turn red and she grabs Yumeto's hand.
"With this, all of our group survived."
"Everyone? Then Tokisada-kun and Seiya-kun too?"
At Yumeto's question, Fuka nodded with a smile.
"They are both looking for Yumeto."
"Is that so? Were they saved?"
"Yeah. It looks like there were people who have less than 12 total number. I don't know who."
"It's Kanon-san and Riko-san."
Yumeto glances at the conference room door.
"I don't know who the other one is, but Kanon-san and Riko-san were punished and died."
"Kanon and Riko, huh? They were in Seiichiro's group, weren't they?"
"It seems the group didn't divide the cards evenly. That's why they didn't get the cards."
".....You're an idiot, trust people like those guys."
Fuka muttered in a dark voice.
"But we survived because they were punished."
"Yes. I'm glad that I and my friends survived."
"Well,... I have that feeling too. I didn't hate Kanon and Riko, but I can't trade my life for it. Besides, I'm honestly happy that Yumeto-kun and others in the same group survived."
"Maybe it's human."
Holding his abdomen with his left hand, Yumeto bit his lip.
...No one wants to kill his classmate. But in this situation, You have to choose which classmate you need to help and who not need to help!
"Yumeto-kun, are you injured?"
Seeing that Yumeto's shirt is red, Fuka's face turns pale.
"It's not a big wound. It's just a little cut with a cutter."
"No, You have to go to the infirmary."
The moment Fuka grabbed Yumeto's arm, the ring tone of her email echoed in the corridor. The bodies of the two startled and moved.
"A new order?"
Yumeto took out his smartphone from his pocket and checked the screen.
[11/2 (Tue) 12.00 pm.
Sender: King
Subject: King's Game
Text: This is the King's game played by Akaikeyama High School 2nd year Class A students and homeroom teacher Kazuyuki Iwamoto.
*The King's orders are absolute, so please obey them within 24 hours.
*Withdrawal is not permitted.
*Order 5: Do 'X' . 'X' hint are written one characters at a time in each person's email.
*Hint: "fu"
END]
"Do .....'X' ? I guess this time it's a game where you find out what the order are....."
Yumeto's gaze was fixed on the smartphone screen.
...And my hint is "fu". I just don't know anything about this....
"What is Fuka-san's hint?"
"Mine is 'Chi', huh.."
Fuka replied without taking her eyes off the screen of her smartphone.
"What is your hint, Yumeto-kun?"
"Mine is 'fu' "
"Fu" and "chi". After all, you can't understand the contents of X with just two letters, can you?"
"Let's meet up with Yuna-san and the others. If you do that, you should be able to find hints for the other three letters"
"Okay, but first..."
After Fuka straightened her spine, she bowed her head deeply.
"Thank you. Thanks to Yumeto-kun, I was able to survive."
"It's for my own sake. It's easier to complete orders when you're with friends."
"I really don't think so. No matter what, the fact that Yumeto-kun helped me doesn't change. What should I do as a thank you?"
"It's okay to say thank you."
"That's not possible. However, in this situation, I can only give you the supplies."
"Then tonight's dessert is fine. I like sweets."
Fuka chuckled at Yumeto's words.
"You don't have any greed, do you? I thought you would demand even by the body"
"B...body..."
Yumeto's face turned bright red.
"You shouldn't ask for that!"
"Ahaha. Just kidding. Yumeto seems to be on good terms with Yuna."
"No, I won't ask anyone for their body."
"Heh, is that so? I thought Yumeto liked Yuna, but that not true?"
"I can't think about love in this situation. Besides, Yuna-san and Fuka-san, we haven't even met each other for a week, so there's no way we will have romantic feelings."
"Hmm. Is that...so"
Fuka looked up at Yumeto's face.
"Well, now it's more about meeting up with everyone than about romance. And before that, let's go to the infirmary room."
Grabbing Yumeto's right hand, Fuka started walking.
.................
[November 2 (Tuesday) 00:41 pm]
"Yuna-san is 'i', Seiya-kun is 'no', and Tokisada-kun is 'ro', right?"
Sitting on the bed in the infirmary room, Yumeto wrote in his student notebook.
"Fuka and I are 'Chi' and 'Fu', so this is 5 character."
"I just don't understand this."
Yuna lets out a sound as she mutters a combination of hint characters.
"The number of hints is 22, right?"
"Because there are 22 survivors. I think so."
"Ah.. still more 17 characters..."
"Hey, Yumeto. What are you going to do?"
Tokisada's thick eyebrows moved between them.
"If you don't know the contents of X, you can't do anything."
"I know. I still need to collect more hints."
"Even if you say collect them, the other guys are in a different group. But If it's Iwamoto-sensei, maybe he should be help."
"Certainly, I don't think other groups will help me honestly. Depending on the content of X, there may be competition."
Yumeto puts his fist on his lips and pulls his chin back slightly.
"..... But I don't think the other groups will know what X is by themselves. Um, Narumi's group has five members including Yohei, and Seiichiro's group has four people,there are eight people in the chairman group, and Iwamoto-sensei, but one of them must have died due to the order just now."
"Kanon, Riko, and one more person... Certainly, since we're alive, isn't that count someone else's died?"
"It's Ai Soeda."
Suddenly the door opened and Takeshi Oshii entered. Takeshi was a male student in the chairman's group and was in the shogi club. He is a few centimeters taller than Yumeto and has slender limbs. Takeshi approaches Yumeto and the others while touching the hair parted from the center to the left and right.
"The one who was punished for the previous order was Ai-san from our group. I'm sure because she died in front of me."
"Ai-san..."
"You didn't talk with her much as a transfer student, did you? She was a shy person."
"Why did Ai-san die?"
"Suicide"
Yumeto's question was answered by Takeshi in a subdued voice.
"We split the cards equally, but Ai-san refused to do so. She didn't want to continue playing the king's game."
"And commit suicide?"
"Ai-san told me that she would die as punishment for the king's game. For us."
"Is that... so.. If you kill yourself within the king's game, your other classmates will not die."
Yumeto squeezed the hand that was on his knee.
.....Ai-san couldn't stand the king game and chose to commit suicide. And she saved her classmate with her life.
Seeing your classmate being punished for the king game reminds him of the trembling Ai-san other day.
.....if she kills herself, she will be released from the king's game. No more fighting with your classmates. She can get out of this hell.
The thought made Yumeto's body temperature rise. It's as if someone is enveloping your body.
Yumeto shook his head left and right, trying to dismiss the thought.
"...Why did you come here, Takeshi-kun?"
"The chairman wants to meet you."
"Hideyuki-kun?"
"Well, the chairman will tell you the details. Please come to class 3A's classroom."
"In the 3rd grade classroom?"
"Yeah. That's where our group gathers. It's just above the infirmary room."
Takeshi raised his index finger and pointed to the ceiling.
.................