.............
[November 4th (Thursday) 10:35 pm]
Yumeto and the others are gathered in the computer room on the 4th floor. On the white desk was a bento box and a plastic bottle of tea.
Fuka, who was sitting on a chair, looked at the screen in front of her and let out a sigh. It contains the names of the 16 surviving students.
"....16 people ..."
"It's been cut in half."
Yuna muttered in a dark voice.
"Yoko-san wasn't the king, so I'm sure you'll receive another order tomorrow."
"I guess. I don't know what the order is."
Rocking her hair in her short bob, Fuka leans back against her back.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun. Who do you think the king is?"
Yumeto twitched his eyebrows.
"I don't know. But I don't think it's the missing Sousuke-kun."
"Hideyuki-kun said that too. Certainly, judging from the content of the order, the student inside the school is more likely to be the king... huh?"
"Yeah. Even if you get information from the police or the news, there is a time lag. Even if you think about the contents of the order to some extent, there are some orders that you can't decide if you don't know who's surviving."
"Sousuke-kun is also dead, so are we all going to die?"
"Don't kidding me!"
Tokisada slams his fist into the desk.
"Because I will never die. I will survive no matter what!"
"I don't want to die either, but depending on the order, there are things that can't be helped. Even with the previous order, if my name was written on a piece of paper, it wouldn't have been help."
"Then, how about having everyone monitor everyone so that they don't give orders anymore?"
"It's just a blunt theory. We're already separated into groups, and there's time to go to the bathroom and sleep."
"Then, like Yumeto said earlier, should we focus on monitoring only those who have the potential to be kings? If I remember correctly, You said Souta was suspicious, right?"
Yumeto nodded at Tokisada's question.
"That's right. I'm pretty sure he's a candidate for the king. There is no doubt that he is enjoying the king's game."
"If that's the case, there's also a way to confine Souta by talking to Seiichiro."
"I don't think so. They're more likely to suspect Seiya-kun and Yuna-san than Souta-kun, and they might even suspect Tokisada-kun."
"Tch, so I'm a candidate for the king too. Well, Miki was also suspicious of me. My father's company was about to go bankrupt, so I was dissatisfied with society. That's how I can started the king's game, But still...."
"It's the king's strategy to make we all suspicious. Everyone is in a suspicious situation. Of course, including me."
"Damn it! Is there anything we can do!"
Tokisada tapped his left palm with his right fist.
"Yumeto-kun"
Seiya called out to Yumeto.
"I think it's better to monitor places than people."
"What's the location?"
"As I said during the day, if the king is sending orders via mobile phone or smartphone, I think Mt. Akaikeyama is the place to hide. If you hide it in the school building and someone finds it, you won't be able to continue the King's game at that point."
"That might be true. There was also an order to find playing cards, and if cell phones and smartphones were hidden in the school building, there is a possibility that it would have been found."
"Yeah. So it's good to keep a watch near the back gate that leads to Mt. Akaikeyama. Then, you can see it from the window in computer room or the corridor in front of the computer room."
"....That might be a good move. The King would be wary if we were openly watching, but from the corridor next door, it seemed natural that we were there."
"It's a little hard to see at night, but there are lights installed by the police and the Self-Defense Forces. If you see a figure, everyone should go down and check the face."
"In that case, maybe we should take turns keeping watch..."
"Ah! Then I'll keep watch."
Yuna raised her right hand.
"As long as everyone is in the computer room next door, it's okay to be a girl there."
"No, it's impossible to keep watch all the time. you have to sleep properly."
"...I haven't been able to sleep lately."
A dark voice leaked from Yuna's mouth.
"Even though I'm wrapped in a blanket and my eyes are closed, my consciousness is clear. I've been thinking about a lot kind of things. After all, I think I can sleep for about 30 minutes in the morning."
"If you do that, you'll break your body."
Yumeto looks at Yuna with a worried expression.
"Why don't you talk to the detectives?
"In this situation, even if I get a medical examination .... Besides, I just can't sleep."
"It's dangerous not to be able to sleep. If the next king's game order is related to physical strength, you might collapse on the way."
"....That's right. It's not good to worry everyone, so I'll go there just for a while."
When Yuna stood up, Tokisada also raised his hips.
"Then, I will go with her. There's also the possibility that other groups will come up with something."
Fuka let out a sigh as the two left the computer room.
"It's not as Yuna, but I've never had a good night's sleep either. Since the king's game started."
"Everyone is the same, maybe so."
Yumeto looked at the names of his classmates on the display.
...Two of my classmates died today as well. Someone may die tomorrow. I have to find the king somehow.
"Let's all take turns guarding the back gate! It's better to do it than to do nothing."
At Yumeto's suggestion, Yuna and the others nodded with a serious expression.
..................
Order 8
[November 5th (Friday) 12:00 pm]
In the computer room, a ringtone rang out.
Yumeto bit his lip and checked the smartphone screen.
[11/5 Fri 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 be sure to obey them.
*withdrawal is not allowed
*Order 8: After 24 hours, punish the person with the lowest number of steps.
END]
"Punishment for those with few steps..."
Without taking his eyes off the screen of his smartphone, Yumeto muttered.
.....Someone will die for this order as well. Girls are at a disadvantage because it will be a battle of physical strength.
Yumeto ran to Yuna and Fuka.
"Yuna-san, Fuka-san, start walking right away. This order is easier for girls to get punished."
"I know!"
Fuka started stamping her feet on the spot. Yuna also moves her legs next to Fuka.
"This..... It's better to keep walking for 24 hours, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I don't know how long the other groups will walk, but it's better to walk as much as possible. Of course, we boys too."
"That's a tough order."
Tokisada taps his thigh lightly.
"Well, I'm confident in my physical strength, and I'm confident I'll survive with this order."
"Unfortunately, I think the girls will probably be punished this time."
Yumeto confirmed the name of the girl student displayed on the display.
"Except for our group, Narumi-san, Iori-san, Miki-san, Hinako-san, and Miku-san."
"Because there are no girls in Seiichiro's group."
"Yeah. Seiichiro must be relieved."
"He must have gone to a boxing gym, too. Souta should be able to do sports in moderation, and Satoshi wouldn't be beaten by a girl in number of steps. Well, if they're slacking off, I'm sure it can be a boy, but as expected, there's no such a really person."
"I agree..."
Suddenly, when I looked out the window, I saw students walking fast on the playground. Yumeto realized that they were in Narumi's group. Narumi is in the lead, followed by Yohei, Hisashi, and Iori.
"Narumi-san and the others are already moving."
"Shall we move to the playground too?"
At Tokisada's words, Yumeto shook his head left and right.
"No, this order may be a chance."
"Chance?"
"Yeah. With this order, even if you walk around various places, the king won't be on their guard, so you can keep an eye on suspicious people."
"I see. That's certainly true. Then, do you want to casually walk around Souta?"
"Let's keep an eye on not only Sota-kun, but also other king candidates."
"Is it Takeshi who was marked by the police as another candidate for the king? Or the other that have been marked by the police too?"
"Yes. There are other people I'm curious about, but..."
Yumeto put his left thumb to his mouth.
"...Iori-san said that she was summoned by Sousuke-kun, but after all, I'm curious about she was at school early in the morning. And Satoshi-kun, maybe?"
"Is it Satoshi? But he was the one who bullied Tomoki. For Tomoki's revenge, he would play a King's game like this?"
"Maybe he's doing it not to take revenge for Tomoki-kun, but to enjoy killing people. He seems to have had a knife even before the king's game started. Besides, it was Satoshi-kun who killed Wakaba-san."
Yumeto's voice trembled slightly.
"Besides, Satoshi-kun was a little weird."
"What's wrong?"
Fuka asked Yumeto a question while taking a step.
"He has dark personality, and not very popular with girls, but he doesn't look like a king. He's just to feel like Seiichiro's lackey"
"I felt like his personality changed when I spoke to him last time."
"Was his personality change?"
"Yeah. At first he said 'Boku...', but halfway through he changed to 'Ore...' and suddenly he got angry. Maybe he has a split personality."
"A split personality huh..."
"Well, even if Satoshi-kun is not the king, you should be careful. He might be more dangerous than Seiichiro-kun or Souta-kun."
"Right. I'll try to stay away from Satoshi-kun. And I agree with the surveillance matter. If you're going to keep walking anyway, you should take action to find the king. That's why I'm going to watch Iori-san." I'll do it. It'll be easier for girls to monitor each other."
"That's right. Then, Yuna-san, can you watch the back gate? All you have to do is walk down the corridor and check from the window."
"Oky, I understand."
Yuna nodded.
"What are you going to do, Yumeto-kun and the others?"
"I'll keep an eye on Souta-kun and Satoshi-kun. Since they're in the same group as Seiichiro-kun, I'm sure there will be a lot of them that acting at the same time."
"In that case, I will monitor Takeshi."
Tokisada said as he twirled his neck like a warm-up.
"In the meantime, you can check out the people in Hideyuki's group too. Miki, Hinako, and Miku should have the potential to be the king."
"Then, I'll act together with Yumeto-kun."
Seiya stood up from his chair and approached Yumeto.
"There is a possibility that Souta-kun and Satoshi-kun will move apart."
"Yeah, but surveillance isn't the main purpose. First, keep walking and make sure you don't get punished yourself."
Yumeto said while looking around at the faces of his fellow group members.
.... Survive this order! With everyone in the group.
..................
Yumeto and Seiya walked around the school building and turned their eyes to the conference room on the first floor. It was a place where Seiichiro and the others often gathered.
Seiya put his mouth to Yumeto's ear while dodging the sunlight spilling over the branches and leaves of the oak tree with one hand.
"It looks like the three of them have entered the conference room."
"Yeah. They might take a break for a while."
Yumeto answered without taking his eyes off the conference room window.
Until just a moment ago, Seiichiro, Souta, and Satoshi were walking on the playground track together. There was no tension in the way they walked while talking to each other. I guess they don't think that they, men, will be punished by this order where physical strength is important.
"It's going to be a long day. It's impossible to keep walking for 24 hours. Shall we take a rest too? You can see the window of the conference room from here."
"Yeah. My leg hurt a little."
Seiya rubbed his thighs with both hands.
"Talking about Yuna-san, will she walking properly?"
"I think Fuka-san will be fine. She has a strong desire to survive. But Yuna said she couldn't sleep recently, so she might be physically exhausted."
"Is it true that girls are going to be punished?"
"I think they're definitely a disadvantage."
Yumeto let out a dark voice while wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Maybe it doesn't make much of a difference at first. But if you walk for 24 hours, boys will probably need less rest time."
"... I don't want Yuna-san and the others to die."
Seiya muttered quietly.
"Before the King's Game started, I often acted alone, but after joining the group, I feel like I've come to understand the importance of friends."
"Yeah. I feel the same way. I don't want just only Yuna-san and Fuka-san, but also Seiya-kun and Tokisada-kun not to die."
"....If we knew who the king was, we could have punished him."
"Make sure they can't walk... huh?"
"Yes. If you tie their hands and feet and confine themself in the equipment room, they will die because of their own orders."
"Ah, that's a good idea."
Suddenly, he heard a man's voice behind him. Looking back, Seiichiro was there.
"Seiichiro-kun..."
As soon as I raised my voice in surprise, Seiichiro's fist approached in front of me. Feeling a strong shock, Yumeto loses consciousness.
"Yumeto-kun!"
I could hear Seiya's voice, but that voice also disappeared in the whitened world.
.................
When I opened my eyelids, I could see the playground that was illuminated by the setting sun and changed to an orange scenery.
"Goo...tsu...…"
Yumeto grabbed his head and lifted him up.
He feels a dull pain, and his gritted lips contort.
"Were I hit by Seiichiro-kun?"
While muttering so, I look around. There are no human figures in sight.
"What does this mean..."
After slowly getting up, I took out my smartphone and called Seiya. However, Seiya does not answer the phone.
"No way..."
Yumeto headed for the conference room with unsteady steps.
When I opened the door of the conference room, Seiichiro and Satoshi were inside. The two of them sat down on a long desk and stuffed their mouths with the snacks they were given.
Seiichiro sees Yumeto and grins.
"Oh, you finally woke up. My right straight punch is quite good, isn't it? I was once invited by a trainer at the gym to become a pro."
"It doesn't matter! Where is Seiya-kun?"
"I tied his hands and feet and locked him up."
"Confinement..."
"What? you look surprised. The idea was Seiya himself. Imprison the king and let they be punished."
"It's not decided that Seiya-kun is the king!"
Yumeto glared at Seiichiro, who was taller than himself.
"Seiya-kun was just marked as a suspect by the police. Besides, there are still many people who could be kings."
"But if there is a king other than Sousuke, Seiya would be the favorite. Even you can't say that Seiya isn't the king."
Seiichiro put his hand on Yumeto's shoulder.
"Transfer student, you don't want to die either, do you? Then let's check if Seiya is the king. If the order doesn't arrive after Seiya dies, he's definitely the king, right?"
"What if you're wrong!"
"It can't be helped then. Either way, with this order, someone will die. In that case, it's better to have someone who has a high chance of being the king die."
"Looks like it's no use to talking. I'll help Seiya-kun."
"That's impossible."
"Are you saying you won't tell me where he was confined?"
"No, the place I'm confined him is the equipment room. But I locked it with the key."
"Key…..."
"Yeah. That equipment room is made of concrete, and the door is made of stainless steel. If you don't have a key, you can't do anything."
Yumeto raised his eyebrows at those words. Yumeto takes a step forward, brushing aside Seiichiro's hand.
"Give me the keys."
"Hmm....if I don't give it to you, what are you going to do?"
"I can get it with my hand!"
"Hmm, just now, you who got knocked out by me. And now, are you saying that line?"
"It doesn't matter how many times you beat me. I won't give up!"
"...Hmm, that's exactly the reaction Souta expected."
Seiichiro lightly touched Yumeto's chest with his fist.
"Well, to be honest, I don't have the key."
"Didn't have?"
"That's right. Souta told me that you would come to steal the key. I handed it over to him. He seems to be planning to hide it somewhere."
"...Where is Souta-kun?"
"It would be troublesome if you found him, so he's hiding. Oh, about this...."
Seiichiro took out a folded piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to Yumeto.
"This is from Souta to you. It looks like a hint of where to hide."
"Hint?"
Yumeto opened the paper he received.
『Namishirana Manrana』
"Namishira... what is this?"
"He didn't even tell me. It's better if I don't know. Certainly, if I knew where the key was, you would try to find me out no matter what. He predicted this far. As expected of Souta."
Satoshi, who was next to Seiichiro, opened his smiling lips.
"Yumeto, even if you find the key, you shouldn't help Seiya. You're in the same group, so maybe you don't think of Seiya as a king, but if you look at it objectively, Seiya is too suspicious, isn't he?"
"... From my point of view, I think you're the king."
"Am I the king?"
"The king has killed many of their classmates. And you killed your classmate, Wakaba-san. Even It has nothing to do with the king's game."
Yumeto turned his gaze back to Seiichiro.
"Seiichiro-kun, you are brave. There is a person next to you who killed your classmate easily."
"What's that way of saying it? Are you trying to make me break up with my friend?"
"No, that's my honest opinion. Maybe you should be careful too. Satoshi-kun has a knife, and if you get stabbed in the back. It doesn't matter even you're learning boxing, right?"
"... Hmm. It's impossible for Satoshi to stab me."
"I don't know that. Oh, come to think of it, the first Reborn believer that the king killed was stabbed with a sharp knife, right?"
"..."
Seeing Seiichiro go silent, Yumeto smiled.
"There are countless people who have the potential to become kings. Even around you too."
...................