.............
[November 5th (Friday) 06:12 pm]
Yumeto breathed heavily in front of the equipment room. The equipment room was made of concrete, and the door was stainless steel. The door is locked with a large padlock.
"Is this the lock..."
He tried to pull on the padlock, but it only rattled and the vine wouldn't open.
Yumeto slammed the door with his fists.
"Seiya-kun! Seiya-kun!"
As I shouted Seiya's name over and over again, I heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door.
"...Yumeto-kun?"
"Yeah. Are you okay?"
"Um.., somehow. My jaw hurts from being hit, and my hands and feet are tied up with strings."
"Seiichiro-kun did it to make you be punished. Can you remove the string?"
"I've been doing it for a while, but it seems difficult. I'm be tied up pretty tight"
"Okay. I'll go find the key to the equipment room."
"The key to the equipment room is on the wall in the staff room."
"No, it seems that Souta hid the key somewhere."
"Hid it? So I can't get out of here?"
A rushed voice comes from the other side of the door.
"At this rate, I'll be the one to be punished..."
"Don't give up! I'm going to look for the key with everyone, so Seiya-kun, do your best to somehow remove the string!"
"Um..."
"I will definitely help you!"
Yumeto clenched his fists and headed towards the school building.
....................
In the corridor in front of the computer room, Yumeto explained the situation to his companions.
"Then, if you solve that hint, will you know where the key is hidden?"
Yumeto nodded at Fuka's question.
"Yeah. It might be a lie, but I have no choice but to believe it now."
Yumeto stared at the paper with "Mishirana Manrana" written on it.
"It doesn't make sense to read it the other way around. I think it's probably a place..."
"I'll leave it to you to crack the code and find the key."
Saying that, Tokisada turned his right arm around.
"I'm going to look for Souta, who's hiding. All I have to do is catch him and ask him where he hid the key. This time, unlike the stone pillar order, I have time to torture him."
"So he must be hiding. And he gave us a hint to distract us."
At the same time Yumeto said that, the smartphone in his pocket rang.
When I took out my smartphone and put it to my ear, I heard Souta's voice coming from the speaker.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun....Isn't it fine? I saw the key on Iwamoto-sensei's desk, and so I take it."
"Souta-kun!"
Yumeto shouted at his smartphone.
"Where are you?"
"No, if I say that, you guys will come to catch me, right?
"Rather than give me hints, please tell me. Souta-kun, you think the king is a girl, right? Then there's no point in confining Seiya-kun."
"Hmm. That's what I think, but Seiichiro-kun seems to think that if it's not Sosuke-kun, Seiya-kun or Takeshi-kun should be the king. Well, the police suspected Seiya. In his case, it seems there were traces of modifying the Nano Queen's program on his computer."
"However, the police did not catch Seiya-kun. I mean, he couldn't have decided that he was a king!"
"I know that, but we're in the middle of playing the King's game. Do you have a way of thinking about punishing him for being suspicious?"
I heard Souta's laughter coming from the speaker of my smartphone.
"Well, if you want to help Seiya-kun, you should find the key as soon as possible. My writing hints on paper isn't that difficult."
"...The hint is true, isn't it?"
"If it's a false hint, I won't complain even if I get killed from you.... I'm busy, so I'll cut line soon."
"What are you busy doing?"
"I'm looking for the mobile phone smartphone that the king is hiding. If I find it, they won't be able to give orders anymore."
"... Saying such a thing. Is it a strategy to prevent you from being considered a king?"
"Ahaha. Yumeto is very suspicious of me. Well, it can't be helped in this situation."
"I know you have no hesitation in killing people."
"Well, I know I'm not the king, and you, the transfer student, aren't the king, either. Let's do our best to win this game together. That's why I gave you this hint. see you soon."
When the call was cut off, Yumeto relayed the content of the conversation to his companions.
"...…Maybe the hint is real. I know why he did this."
"What's the reason?"
Yuna asked Yumeto a question.
"He's trying to force us to find the mobile phone, smartphone that the king is hiding. If you're looking for the key, you might find it while you're at it."
"If we find it, will we be able to cancel this order as well?"
"I don't know. As expected, if it is not a computer itself, it may be difficult to work something on that regards. So, finding the key is top priority."
"That's right. At this rate, Seiya-kun will be punished..."
"I need to solve the hint to prevent it."
When Fuka saw the paper in Yumeto's hand, she let out a growl.
"But it's difficult to just say 'Namishirana Manrana'."
"Souta-kun said it wasn't difficult."
"It's not difficult...huh. Hey, What's worrisome is that there are three 'na' "
"There are also two 'ra'. Is it just 9 characters?
"...Ah, that's enough. Yumeto-kun, let me write down that hint. I'll think about it while walking."
"Yeah. That's better. Let's divide up the school grounds and look for the key until we understand the hint."
The hand holding the piece of paper with the hint trembled slightly.
.....Hints can be thought of while searching for keys. Of course I have to help Seiya-kun, but I have to make sure that everyone else doesn't get punished too.
Cold sweat ran down Yumeto's forehead as he imagined his comrades dying in punishment.
...................
"Are there any in this classroom?"
Yumeto let out a deep breath in the classroom at the end of the third floor.
He looked out the window and saw a black figure walking across the playground. It seems that they are students of Hideyuki's group.
.....They don't seem to know that Seiya-kun is in captivity. If they knew, they wouldn't have to run so desperately.
The teeth that meshed together made a clicking sound.
"We have to find the key quickly..."
Yumeto took out a piece of paper with a hint written on it from his pocket.
" 'Namishirana Manrana', huh?"
Souta's smiling face popped up in his mind.
....Since it's Sota-kun, he might hiding it in a place that makes fun of us. Oh, and a surprising place....
"No way..."
Yuuto's gaze turned to the ceiling.
...................
When he entered the computer room, there was no one inside.
Yumeto opened Seiya's bag in the corner of the room. It contains textbooks, notebooks, writing utensils, and a glasses case.
"....Isn't it? If you think of a nine-characters place in the school, it's the 'computer room', so I thought it was hidden in Seiya-kun's bag."
Seeing Yuna and the others' bags nearby, Yumeto shook his head left and right.
"It's bad for girls. Let's get in touch with Yuna and the others and have them check it out."
Yumeto saw a computer screen in his field of vision. The display is powered on and shows a beautiful image of the valley. Seeing the keyboard in front of him, Yumeto raised his voice, "Ah!"
"It's a JIS layout! Because it's 'Namishirana Manrana', 'Na' is 'U' and 'Mi' is 'N'... 'UNDOUJYOU', it's a playground!"
Yumeto took out his smartphone and contacted his friends.
..................
Yumeto opened his mouth as he knocked on the door of the equipment room.
"Seiya-kun, I know where the key is hidden."
"...…you understood?"
Seiya's voice can be heard from behind the door.
"Have you got the key?"
"No, it seems to be hidden in the playground. Right now, everyone is looking for it in the playground."
"...You still haven't found it, huh..."
"I'll definitely find it!"
Yumeto leaned against the door and shouted.
"They said they wouldn't rest until they found the key."
"Everyone?"
"Yeah. The playground is big, but there aren't many places to hide. I got a flashlight in the staff room, so it doesn't matter if it's dark."
"....Thank you"
After ten seconds of silence, I heard a bright voice through the door.
"Oh, right. I managed to untie the string."
"Eh? Then you can walk, right?"
"Yeah. I'm a lot behind everyone else, but in a way it's a chance."
"Chance?"
"Maybe Seiichiro-kun and the others are letting their guard down. They tied me up and confined me."
"I see. They aren't seriously walking over there. They think Seiya-kun will be the one who gets punished."
"So please tell everyone not to overdoing to search for the key. It's a problem if I can't leave the equipment room all the time, but it's still better for our group to have me inside."
"Understood. We still have about 15 hours left, so if you walk properly, you should be able to earn more steps than Seiichiro-kun and the others. Good luck!"
"Yeah. Yumeto and the others too."
"Then I'll join them in the search for the key. If you walk while looking for the key, you'll kill two birds with one stone."
"Ah... Yumeto-kun."
Seiya's voice stopped Yumeto from leaving the door.
"Hmm? What happened?"
"..... I'm really glad I was able to join your group. Thanks you."
"Please say thanks you to everyone else. After clearing the order."
"Yeah... See you later..."
Instead of replying, Yumeto tapped the stainless steel door.
....................
Yumeto started searching for the key with his friends in the group. Using the flashlights in the staff room, they lined up like they were planting rice and pushed through the sand.
"It's a small key, so it's possible that it's stuck in the dirt. Don't miss it."
The friends reply to Yumeto's words.
"Yeah. Tokisada-kun, be careful. There's no point in doing it roughly."
"I know. Even with this, I'm good at detailed work. Is it okay for Yuna to not rest? You haven't been sleeping much, have you?"
"It's still okay. I have to walk anyway."
Seeing his friends squatting on the playground looking for the key made Yumeto's heart warm.
.....If everyone cooperates, we can survive this time too!
Yumeto bit his lip and started looking for the key.
....................
"Shit! How come I can't find it!"
Tokisada kicked up the sand from the playground and shouted.
"Souta, did he really hide the key in the playground?"
"Maybe he's not lying, but..."
Yumeto wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around the playground. The sports field illuminated by the sun shines yellowish white. Because I was looking for the key, the ground had a wave-like pattern.
"Since Seiya-kun is walking around in the equipment room, he won't be punished, but there's also the next order."
"I see. If the king is alive even after clearing this order, the next order will come soon."
"Yeah. It might be tough if physical order continue."
Yumeto looked at Yuna and Fuka with exhausted faces.
"...I'll try calling Souta-kun. There's less than three minutes left before the time limit, and he might be able to tell me where the key is."
He takes out a smartphone from his pocket and calls Souta. Soon I heard Souta's voice coming from the speaker.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun. It looks like you've successfully solved the hint. From the school building, I could see you guys gathering on the playground. Did you find the mobile phone or smartphone that the king is hiding?"
"After all, that was the purpose. Unfortunately I couldn't find it."
"I see. Well, I didn't expect much. Here, I looked for the school building and the clubroom building, but I couldn't find it."
"By the way, tell me where the key is. There's less than 5 minutes left until the order ends, right?"
"What? You didn't even find the key? I hid it in an unexpectedly easy place."
"Where is it?"
"Well, I don't mind if I tell you, but it's pointless to help Seiya-kun now, right? I don't think he can keep up with everyone else in terms of steps. Or do you want to see Seiya-kun get punished?"
"..... Even so, I want to do my best to save Seiya-kun until the last minute."
Yumeto replied with a calm voice.
"Anyway, Seiya-kun can't be confined in the equipment room all the time, right?"
"Indeed, yes. I've found that there are no clues about the king on the playground, then I'll tell you. The key is under the leg of the assembly table."
"But beneath that have nothingness..."
"I dug deep with a cutter and pushed the key vertically, so I think it's hard to find. Oh, but it's already 12 o'clock."
"That's fine!"
Yumeto hung up and shouted at Tokisada.
"It's under the leg of the assembly table! The key is hidden there."
....................
When I inserted the small key that was under the assembly table into the padlock, it made a clanging sound and the door opened. Yumeto opened the stainless steel door and entered the equipment room.
"Seiya-kun, I finally found the key...."
Yumeto's words stopped halfway. His wide eyes reflected the figure of a bloody boy lying on the floor. His face and head have been completely stripped of skin, and the skin has fallen around him. He looks like he's mannequin in a school uniform.
"Wh...why..."
Yumeto approached the corpse with robot-like movements. The corpse's hands and feet were bound with rope, and next to his head was a pair of familiar spectacles. There is writing in blood on the floor underneath. The characters must have been written with the tips of the bound fingers of both hands. It was trembling and twisted.
'I'm sorry'
Seeing the letters, Yumeto understood everything.
"Was it a lie when you said that the string was untied..."
...Seiya-kun tried to reassure us by telling that the strings were untied. Maybe he knew he was going to die then.
Seiya's words can be heard in his head.
'...….I'm really glad I was able to join your group. Thanks you'
"Seiya-kun...I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I couldn't keep my promise."
I heard Yuna and Fuka's voice behind me.
Yumeto wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.
...................