..............
[November 3 (Wednesday) 09:47 am]
In a dense forest of maple trees, Yumeto found traces of their sneakers. I can see a few people moving around this place with a variety of athletic shoe sizes.
"If you're going to hide it around here, maybe it's in the ground..."
I squatted down on the spot and brushed away the yellow-brown dead leaves. The dark brown ground was slightly damp was there, but there was no sign of digging.
"Isn't it too easy to find?"
When I stood up while washing the mud off my hands, I heard Hideyuki's voice from somewhere. It seems that Hideyuki and the others are also searching nearby.
"I can't believe this is going to happen..."
Remembering Souta's innocent smile, Yumeto bit his lip hard.
... When we understand X's hint, we should have climbed Mt. Akaikeyama immediately. Then we wouldn't have to do such a thing like this. My thoughts were too sweet.
The clenched fist begins to tremble.
...We are playing a King's game! We must act more cautiously.
At that moment, there was a rustling sound, and Satoshi appeared from behind the maple trunk. Maybe Satoshi didn't notice that Yumeto was nearby, and he looked surprised.
"Transfer Student...."
"What are you doing here?"
"..... I wasn't hiding the stone pillar here."
Satoshi answered in a dark voice.
"I finished hiding it more than an hour ago. It was heavy and hard to carry around."
"You're not going to tell me where you hid it, are you?"
"Of course. I want you to die too."
"Even if I'm not the king?"
"That's right. You stole something important from me."
"Important things..."
"It's Wakaba! I won't let you say you forgot."
"That was just a help. I didn't steal it."
"No!"
Suddenly, Satoshi's tone became stronger. He hangs down his slender hand like a dead tree and slowly approaches to Yumeto.
"You stole Wakaba's heart, so you should die!"
"I don't understand. What does Wakaba-san's heart mean?"
"It's means that Wakaba, she fell in love with you!"
"Me?"
"She said herself. She fell in love with you, so she can't date me. And Wakaba betrayed us."
"Us?"
Yumeto's eyebrows wrinkled.
"What does that mean?"
"..... I won't tell you."
Satoshi took out a folding knife from his pocket. Yumeto quickly leaves Satoshi. Seeing that move, Satoshi lifted the edge of his puffy lip.
"Well, okay. Anyway, you'll be dead in less than two hours. You can use that last time as you like."
Saying that, Satoshi turned his back on Yumeto and left. Yumeto turned his gaze to the depths of the forest while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"What are you going to do here, Satoshi-kun?"
Satoshi said he was not hiding the stone pillar here. Yumeto thought it wasn't a lie.
...If he was hiding the stone pillar, he must be with someone else. Despite this, Satoshi came out of the woods alone. Why is it so?
Yumeto stepped into the depths of the forest. The spreading branches and leaves that seem to combine block the sun's light, making the surroundings dim. Every time I walk, the rustling and fallen leaves make a sound. It sounded like the hum of some eerie creature.
Before long, my vision opened and I saw the girl lying on the ground. Her girl's uniform was dyed red, and her body was as white as a candle.
"W...Wakaba-san!"
Yumeto rushed over to her while screaming the name of the girl on the ground.
"Wakaba-san, are you okay?"
As I shook her young shoulder, her closed eyelids slowly opened.
"... Ah, Yumeto... kun."
A weak voice reached Yumeto's ears. Wakaba tries to raise her upper body, but she doesn't have the strength to do so, only her head moves slightly. Yumeto put his hands around Wakaba's back and lifted her up.
"Wakaba-san, Why are you here..."
Wakaba's shirt is soaked with blood, and the fallen leaves around her have turned red. I found that a lot of blood was pouring out.
"No way, Satoshi-kun....."
"Uh, yeah. I got stabbed with a knife. My stomach and chest..."
Wakaba smiled with her pale face.
"But it doesn't hurt too much. Maybe it's not a big wound."
"Ah..."
Yumeto's hand, which was touching Wakaba's back, started to tremble, wakaba's wound was deep, and it was clear from the amount of blood that was oozing around her that she was seriously injured. She was unaware of such a situation.
".....Will the scars remain?"
"....Wakaba-san"
Yumeto looked away from Wakaba, who was staring at him with her wet eyes.
....No. I can't help Wakaba anymore.
A classmate in front of him will die in a few minutes. It was a future that he could never change.
Yumeto's mouth was dry and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead.
Seeing a Yumeto in which his face was distorted, Wakaba made a sad face.
"Yumeto-kun, you don't like girls with scars on their body, do you?"
"…....That's not true"
Yumeto smiled desperately.
"I don't care about scars."
"Yeah.... that's great. I was worried. When I was stabbed by Satoshi-kun...I thought that this would make .....Yumeto-kun hate me."
"Could it be that Satoshi-kun stabbed you because of me?"
"I was stabbed... because I was holding a fragment of a stone pillar..."
Wakaba's voice is getting smaller and smaller.
"I want to...helped Yumeto-kun...so, I wanted Yumeto-kun to touch the fragment of the stone pillar. But... Satoshi-kun found it."
"So you were stabbed?"
"Uh, yeah. The stone pillar fragment was also taken, but..."
With her trembling right hand, Wakaba searched the pocket of her checkered skirt. She takes out her hand and she slowly opens it. Her palm held a shard of worked stone.
"I...I had two of them. Satoshi-kun didn't even notice this one... it seems."
"This is a fragment of a stone pillar....."
Yumeto received a small stone from Wakaba. The stone is about two centimeters in diameter, and some of the characters carved into the flat surface are visible.
"Thank you, Wakaba-san! Now I won't be punished."
"Good for you..."
Wakaba turned her bluish-purple lips into the shape of smile.
"Ah... you know, Yumeto-kun. When the King's game is over...Would you like to go to Disneyland?"
"Disneyland?"
"Uh, yeah....go....together..."
".....Yeah...Let's go together!"
Yumeto squeezed Wakaba's hand tightly. Wakaba narrows her eyes happily at Yumeto's words.
"Oh, you see... Yumeto-kun."
"Hmm? What?"
"I.... I like Yumeto-kun..."
"Wakaba-san..."
"Yumeto-kun... don't like me, right?"
For a few seconds, Yumeto was silent.
"..... I can't think about liking anyone now, because it's about the King's game. But....."
"But?"
"I think I can get along with Wakaba-san."
"Ah..um"
Perhaps satisfied with Yumeto's answer, Wakaba's cheeks relaxed. Wakaba put her left hand on the ground and tried to stand up, but she seemed to be weak and her body slanted. Yumeto quickly supports Wakaba's body.
"It's no good if you force yourself."
"Yes.....that's right."
Wakaba smiled shyly.
"Hey... Yumeto-kun. I... might be sleepy..."
"..... Then just sleep for now. I'll be by your side."
"Thank you. When I wake up, I want to go to school with you..."
"Okay, Let's go back to school together."
"..."
"Wakaba...san?"
"..."
Wakaba didn't reply. Closed her eyelids and died asleep. She seemed to be in no pain, and her expression was calm. It must have been because Yumeto, who she liked, was right in front of her.
Yumeto's hand, which was holding Wakaba's hand, began to tremble. Yumeto's tears dripped down to Wakaba's white cheeks.
...Wakaba was hiding a fragment of a stone pillar. She was found by Satoshi and she was stabbed with a knife. Wakaba died because of me.
Yumeto hugged Wakaba tightly and leaked his sobs.
"Wakaba-san, I'll take you home properly, so please wait here for a while."
Yumeto gently called out to Wakaba, who was lying on the fallen leaves.
"With the stone pillar fragment you gave me, I can help everyone, not just me. Thank you so much for you."
Wakaba didn't react to Yumeto's words, but she looked like she was smiling.
Yumeto lowered his head deeply toward Wakaba, then he grabbed the stone pillar fragment and started running.
................
[November 3 (Wednesday) 10:35 am]
"Still not found?"
Hideyuki's hasty voice could be heard in the pampas grass.
"Judging from the footprints of Seiichiro and the others, there should be a high possibility that the stone pillars are hidden around here. Make sure to check the ground for digging marks!"
"Hideyuki-kun"
Miki took her breath away and rushed over to Hideyuki.
"Is there really a stone pillar hidden here?"
"It's not absolute, but there were a lot of footprints around here. And they were very clear."
"Clear?"
"Ah.... It's a sign that you're carrying a heavy object. So at least the direction should be this way"
"But there are a lot of trees at the end of the meadow. What if they hid there?"
"That is...….."
Hideyuki turned his gaze to the trees in the back of the meadow. Sawtooth oak and wild grass growing on a gentle slope spread to the foot. If a stone pillar is hidden in it, it will be difficult to find.
"No, We'll have to check this grassland first. Then..."
"Hideyuki-kun"
Hideyuki turned around when his name was called. A few meters ahead, Yumeto was breathing on his shoulder.
"You were here."
Yumeto approaches Hideyuki while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Finally, I found it."
"You finally found it?"
"Yeah. I thought I'd give this to you."
Yumeto took out a piece of stone pillar from his pocket and gave it to Hideyuki.
"Since we all touched it, only Hideyuki-kun and the rest are left."
"Did you find the stone pillar?"
Hearing Hideyuki's voice, the surrounding students gathered. Everyone's gaze focused on the small piece of stone in Hideyuki's palm.
"Is this really a fragment of a stone pillar?"
Yumeto nodded at Takeshi's question.
"Wakaba-san picked up a fragment of the stone pillar."
"Wakaba-san?"
"Yes...."
Yumeto's expression darkened slightly.
Hideyuki handed the stone pillar fragment to Takeshi and turned a sharp gaze at Yumeto.
"Why did you give us this? Did you hear that the police thought me and Takeshi were suspects?
"Then, Seiya-kun from our group is the same."
Yumeto loosened his cheek.
"It's true that there could be a king among us, but I don't want to sacrifice other classmates for that. Even if we're fighting with each other, I want to help when I can. "
".....I see. As expected, you are the group that can cooperate....'
Hideyuki's gaze softened.
"I was willing to sacrifice the other groups in order to protect my own group. That feeling hasn't changed, but I won't do such a things like Souta and the others. There's no way I would try to kill other students all at once just for the sake of killing king."
"I thought so too, so I handed you the fragments of the stone pillar. If possible, I want the other groups to survive as well."
Yumeto's lips twisted as he said that.
"No....not really"
"Not really?"
"In this situation, there will be some classmates that I don't want them to be alive."
Remembering the face of Satoshi who stabbed Wakaba to death, Yumeto's fingernails dug into his palm.
................