..............
Order 7
[November 4th (Thursday) 12:00 pm.]
[11/4 (Thu) 12:00 pm.
Sender: King
Subject: King's Game
Text: This is the King's game played by the 2nd year class A students of Akaikeyama High School.
*The King's orders are absolute, so please obey them within 24 hours.
*Withdrawal is not permitted.
*Order 7: Hideyuki Hayashi writes the name of the student who seems to be the king on a piece of paper. Punishes the student whose name is written. If the named student is not the king, Hideyuki Hayashi will also be punished.
END]
In the Class 2A classroom, 18 surviving students were gathered.
....Hisashi, Narumi, Yohei, and Iori.
....Seiichiro, Souta, and Satoshi.
....Hideyuki, Takeshi, Miki, Hinako, Yoko and Miku
....Yumeto, Tokisada, Seiya, Yuna and Fuka.
Yumeto looked at Hideyuki standing on the podium.
The chairman, Hideyuki, has a pale face and both hands on the lecturer's desk. His lips are tied in a straight line, and his hair is slightly disheveled.
Hideyuki's voice echoed in the silent classroom.
"Then let the trial begin! The defendants are all of you, and I am the judge."
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
Seiichiro stood up from the chair he was sitting on.
"Why are we the defendants? Haven't you decided on the name you will write on the paper?"
"It has been decided?"
"Yeah. It must be Sousuke Kido! He's been missing since the King's game started. Besides, he's the only one who hasn't been infected with the Keldo virus."
"That's the problem."
Hideyuki's calm voice echoes in the classroom.
"If Sousuke hadn't been infected with the Keldo virus, he wouldn't be able to punish himself even if I wrote his name on a piece of paper. In other words, if Sousuke is the king, this order itself is strange."
"That's why he was able to give such an order like this! Even if you write Sousuke's name, Sousuke won't be punished. This is a trap set by Sousuke to kill you. If you write someone else's name, you and the person whose name is written will die. That's why, all you have to do is write Sousuke's name honestly!"
Seiichiro slapped the desk in front of him.
"Chairman, I just want to help you!"
"That's a lie."
"Huh? Lie?"
"You're wary of me will writing your name, aren't you? Anyone whose name is written will be punished even if they're not the king."
"Ah....gu...."
Hideyuki smiled when he saw Seiichiro moving his mouth around.
"Well, I will take Seiichiro's opinion into consideration. I, myself think that Sousuke has a high chance of becoming the king."
"Then, just write Sousuke's name right away! First of all, it's a top priority to check if he's really the king, right?"
"First of all... huh. For you, it would be fine to start with, but I can't. If I write the name of someone who is not a king, I will die."
Hideyuki's gaze turned to the students sitting on the chairs.
"That's why I plan to suspect all of you equally, including Sousuke. Of course, regardless of the group."
At those words, Narumi crackled applause. She opens her plump lips while rearranging her legs peeking out of her plaid skirt.
"As expected of Hideyuki-kun. Unlike Seiichiro-kun, you are calm. You can expect this."
"What do you expect?"
"Yes. If Hideyuki-kun guesses the king correct, this might be the end of the king's game. If the King is in this classroom, they will die from this order, right? Then, you can no longer send orders."
"That's right. As you can see from this order, the king seems to decide the content of the order depending on the situation. And they, I guess they make a program that send emails at specific times"
"If that's the case, Isn't Seiya the king after all? You can't make a program for an ordinary high school student"
Suddenly, Seiya stood up from his chair when his name was mentioned.
"No, I'm not a king!"
"But if it's not Sousuke-kun, then Seiya-kun is the king's favourite. He's good with computers, and he used to talk to Tomoki-kun outside the school. Besides, the police also suspect Seiya-kun. Didn't they find traces of modifying the Nano Queen's program on your home computer?"
"I didn't make a program like that."
"Then why did you have such a thing on your home computer?"
Narumi tilted her head and looked up at the Seiya. Narumi's sharp gaze made Seiya startled and his body move. The eyes behind the glasses sway left and right.
"I don't know that either. But I know I'm not a king."
"What is that? Anyone can say that. Give me a proper counterargument."
"Argument...."
"I see...Does Narumi think Seiya is the king?"
Hideyuki glanced at Seiya.
"Certainly, possibility of being the king seems to be high. Seiya didn't join the group like Tomoki. His motive is by identifying that he started this for Tomoki's revenge...."
"I won't start a king's game just for that!"
"I don't know. I don't think there's anything wrong with the king's purpose being Tomoki's revenge. Then, people who were on good terms with Tomoki, people who tried to stop the bullying, people who were in similar circumstances, anything can become suspicious."
Hideyuki moved from left to right, looking at the faces of the students one by one.
"The one who on good terms with him was Takeshi. You were the one who cried the most at Tomoki's funeral."
The face of Takeshi, who was sitting in the backmost seat, turned pale.
"As you said at the summit of Mt. Akaikeyama, Tomoki played shogi with you several times. And....."
"And, what?"
"... You felt sorry for him that not being able to stop the bullying....."
Hideyuki's voice became quieter. His hair, parted from his center to the left and right, sways slightly.
"I knew about Tomoki's bullying, but I didn't try to stop it. Even some of my classmates tried to stop it ...."
"And that become your motivation. That's why you started playing the King's game..."
"I'm not kidding! Even if I take revenge, it won't bring Tomoki back to life. Even so, you say I'm going to infected myself with the Keldo virus and participate in the game of death? If I were the king, my first order would be to kill all my classmates except me. I can think of dozens of orders!"
"... Well, that has a point. But I can't remove you from the list of candidates for the king."
A deep breath escapes from Hideyuki's half-open lips.
"Takeshi, you are part of my group. But with this order, I can't afford to give you preferential treatment. My life is at stake, and so are the lives of students other than the king."
"That's right"
Souta smiled and threw the piece of cookie in his hand into his mouth.
"... If the chairman can guess the king here, we all will be saved. By all means, I want you to guess the king right."
"You're talking like everyone else story, but you're also a candidate for the king."
"Eh? Me?"
Souta made a surprised face and fluttered his eyelids. The baby face looks like a junior high school student.
"I'm in the group that bullied Tomoki-kun, you know? How can I start the King's game to get revenge on Tomoki-kun?"
"But you're enjoying the King's game."
"..."
"It's true that you're not the type to play the king's game for Tomoki's revenge, but I'm sure you're enjoying the current situation. Isn't that right?"
At Hideyuki's question, Souta licked his neat lips with his tongue.
"Yes. It's true that I'm excited about this situation. I can't stand to excited in the tension of playing a game without saving."
"You can't stand it, huh? Is that why you started playing the King's game?"
"No, no. That's different. A game master can't feel this excitement. It's interesting because it's a player who isn't a king."
Souta stretched out his index finger and gently shook it left and right.
"In other words, even if I had such a motive, the chances of me becoming king are slim. And if you chooses me, it can't be helped, but it's a wrong answer, so Hideyuki will die too."
"Wrong answer..."
"Yeah. It's obvious, but I don't want to die. That's why I want you to kill the king with this order. If that happens, Hideyuki will be the hero."
"I don't care about being a hero"
Hideyuki's eyes narrowed.
"I don't want to die in the king's game, so I'm going to attack the king here. If it doesn't, I'll die."
"In that case, it looks like we all can work together this time."
"Can you help me with something?"
"At least a hint of who the king is."
"Speaking of which, you said that the girl is king."
"I expected that. That's why you should write a girl's name on paper."
Souta looked at the faces of the girls sitting on the chairs.
"Recommendations are Miki-san, the vice-chairman or Yuna-san"
At those words, Yuna, who was sitting next to Yumeto, was startled and moved her body. Miki ran up to Souta before Yuna could open her mouth to object.
"Souta-kun, why are you mentioning my name?"
Miki raises her eyebrows and glares at Souta.
"There's no way I'm the king, right? Don't put my name out just because you don't want yourself to be written!"
"No, no, it's not inappropriate. Miki-san and Yuna-san used to stop Tomoki-kun when he was being bullied, right?"
"Th-that's just what I did as a vice chairman. That's why I didn't have any special feelings for Tomoki-kun."
"Well, that's true. Miki-san likes Hideyuki-kun."
"Ah... Uh..."
Miki's face turns red like a ripe tomato.
"What are you talking about!"
"You don't have to hide it, right? Everyone knows."
"..... Well, if that's the case, then there's no way I'm the king, right? Because I can't be the one who giving this order to Hideyuki-kun."
"No, it might be an act of thinking about suicide with someone you like. Other classmates are a bonus."
"Suicide..."
"There was a special feature in the news, but it seems that the culprit in the Hokkaido's king game incident was trying to commit suicide with a her classmate love interest. And if you're a romantic girl, isn't it the kind of situation you'd be attracted to?"
"It's ridiculous. You know I'm not the king, right?"
Miki turned her gaze to Hideyuki.
"I was acting with Hideyuki the whole time during the King's game. There was no time to send orders, was there?"
"...Do you believe so?"
"Hideyuki-kun!"
"I'm not saying you're the king. But we weren't the one who acted together all the time. A king's order can be sent in a few minutes."
"No way..."
"Hideyuki-kun, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Hinako timidly raised her right hand.
"I think the king is Iori-san."
All eyes turned to Iori. Iori stands up from her chair with a surprised face. Her long hair that reaches close to her waist sways, and her beautiful face like that of a Japanese doll is slightly distorted.
"Why am I... a king?"
"I know it, you know. You were in the computer room on the day the King's game started, weren't you? At a time when no one had come to school yet. At that time, you put a vase containing the Keldo virus in the classroom and hide yourself in the computer room. And you came back to the classroom before the start time."
"That is..."
Iori furrows her brow and quivers her pale lips.
"That day, Sousuke-kun called me by email. He asked me to come to the computer room early in the morning."
"Sousuke?"
Hideyuki walked up to Iori.
"Is that true? Are you saying that you met Sousuke that day?"
"I didn't meet him. Sousuke-kun didn't come."
".... Didn't come?"
"Yeah. That's why I went back to the classroom before class time. I think everyone knows that."
"Why didn't you tell us about it?"
"At first, I didn't think it was that important. After I found out that Sousuke-kun was the suspect, I didn't have the time to bring it up..."
Iori's voice became quieter.
Hideyuki groaned and folded his arms.
"Why did Sousuke send an email to Iori-san?"
"That's decided!"
Yohei, who betrayed Yumeto and others and joined Narumi's group, called out to Hideyuki.
"There's no reason for a man to call a woman other than confession. Moreover, the opponent is the beautiful Iori. If you're a man, I understand the feeling of taking on a challenge with the determination to crush it."
"However, it seems that Sousuke never came, and he has been missing since the day the King's game began. In other words, confession wasn't the purpose, was it?"
"Oh, well. Then why..."
"Probably to add more suspects."
Yumeto answered while still sitting on his chair. Everyone's eyes focused on Yumeto.
"Add more suspects?"
Hideyuki stares at Yumeto with sharp eyes.
"Is that what the king is doing?"
"Yeah. I think the King is making us doubt each other and make us fight."
"What's the point in doing that? The King can always order us to be killed."
"Then it's no good. The King wants to kill everyone while giving us a chance to survive."
"A chance to survive...."
"Yes. If you catch the king, the king's game is over. And yet we can't catch the king. Seeing that, the king is laughing!"
Yumeto's words made the classroom noisy. Everyone pulls their cheeks and looks at each other.
"That's why the King is increasing the number of suspicious people. Sousuke-kun, who has been missing since the start of the King's game. Iori-san, who was called to school early in the morning. Seiya-kun, whose computer was tampered with. There are many other suspects. No, I think everyone here is a suspect. Including me, who transferred to the school the day before the king's game started."
"Are we all suspects..."
Hideyuki muttered with a hoarse voice.
"That's wrong. With this order, it's certain that I'm not the king. If I were a king, I would have to write my name on a piece of paper, and whether I was right or wrong, I would die. Whether the king's goal is revenge or to enjoy the game, they can't commit suicide here, right?"
"That's right. I don't think Hideyuki is the king. This might be a challenge from the king to the smart Hideyuki who is chairman of the committee. 'Can you write my name on a piece of paper. Come on, let's finish this King's game!' "
"Challenge... huh. Well, I have no choice but to accept it."
Looking around at his classmates, Hideyuki continued.
"I want you guys to cooperate with me. This order has nothing to do with the group. I want you to tell me who everyone thinks is the king."
As soon as Hideyuki finished speaking, the classroom was filled with the voices of the students.
"That's why Sousuke is the king! He's the one who called Iori."
"There's also the possibility that it's not. The King killed Sousuke-kun and called Iori-san by text on his mobile phone."
"In that case, the king is likely to be a boy, isn't he? Sousuke-kun had a slender physique, but it's impossible for a girl to kill a boy."
"That's not true. A woman can kill a man if she has a weapon. Besides, Souta-kun also said that decorating a white clover vase with the flower language of "revenge" is feminine!"
"Rather than whether they are boy or girl, we should discuss who the king should be. Who suspicious is that the police have marked, Sousuke-kun, Seiya-kun, and Takeshi-kun. The rest is Yuna who was protecting Tomoki-kun before. "
"If the king is trying to increase the number of suspects, I feel like the king is the one who isn't suspicious. Otherwise, you cannot gave such an order. They are confident that they will never be designated by Hideyuki, right?"
"In that case, someone who doesn't look like a king might be more suspicious. Seiichiro and Satoshi"
"Yohei, don't be silly! There's no way I'm the king! We're a loop of us bullying Tomoki!"
"Oi oi, Can you admit the bullying like that?"
"I don't care about that kind of thing now. Hideyuki, It's that guy. Sousuke is definitely the king!"
Yumeto listened silently to his classmates' words. Many say that other classmates are suspicious, as their name should not be written. Seeing them arguing desperately, Yumeto bit his lip hard.
.....Is this what the king was aiming for? They make their classmates fight each other and increases our hatred. If this happens, you can't calmly find the king.
With a pale face, Hideyuki listened to what his classmates had to say. The hands on the lectern are in the shape of a beak, and the eyelids are tightly closed. It's like he's trying to focus only on their voice.
...If Hideyuki can write the king's name on a piece of paper, the king's game is over. But who is the king cannot be determined with certainty. If I was in the same position as Hideyuki.....
Cold sweat dripped from Yumeto's forehead.
...To be honest, Sousuke-kun is the most suspicious. He's been missing since the beginning of the King's game, and he shouldn't have been infected with the Keldo virus. So he doesn't get punished for having his name written on a piece of paper. Even with this order, he is in a position where he will never die. But is Sousuke really the king?
....................