..............
[Sunday, November 7, 06:48 pm]
"This is the tenth letter."
Narumi taped the tenth letter to blackboard in classroom.
"We found it easier than I expected. The order is now clear."
"This is all..."
Yumeto looked around at the ten letters pasted on the blackboard.
'You can't find me. that is....'
'Don't be afraid to die. Even if the body perishes'
'Let's all start again!'
'Of course. God wants you dead'
'Because you killing Tomoki Kitamura'
'A new school life! With Tomoki'
'The sin of killing will be purified in the king's game. But.....'
'Consciousness is eternal. So we can start over'
'Only one wish'
'In a class of 33 people with a transfer student. That's what I want'
"As it is, it doesn't make sense, but if you rearrange the order, it looks like it's going to be a sentence."
Yumeto changed the sentences in his head.
....'That's the only wish I have.' After that, 'A new school life! In a class of 33 people with Tomoki and a transfer student' is also connected here. after that.....
I can hear the voices of my classmates around me.
"What is the first sentence?"
" 'You can't find me. that is' , right?"
"Yes. Then the last sentence is 'only one wish'. There seems to be no continuation."
"It's also connected to 'The sin of killing Kitamura Tomoki will be purified in the king's game.'"
"Yeah. There seems to be no mistake in that order."
"Okay! I understand."
Souta moves onto the podium and begins to exchange their letters.
"Um....This is the first, and the next is this.....Completed."
Yumeto read the sentences that Souta rearranged.
'You can't find me. That is'
'of course. God wants you dead'
'because you killing Tomoki Kitamura'
'The sin of killing will be purified in the King's Game. But'
'don't be afraid to die. Even if the body perishes,'
'consciousness is eternal. So we can start over,'
'Let's all start again!'
'A new school life! With Tomoki'
'in a class of 33 people with a transfer student. That's what I want'
'only one wish.'
"Is this the purpose of the king..."
Yumeto muttered with a hoarse voice.
...After all, Tomoki-kun's revenge is the purpose. The king is going to kill everyone. Including me as a transfer student....
Souta groaned and folded his arms.
"Hmm, this sounds like the true intentions of the king. That's why Satoshi-kun and I, who were in the group that bullied Tomoki-kun, weren't kings, right?"
"That can't be decided yet"
Narumi answered immediately.
"Maybe it's a strategy to make you think so. The real purpose is to enjoy the game."
"If that's the case, why don't you also become a suspect too?"
"Well, I admit that the chances of you guys not being kings are higher. After all, I feel like we're playing the king's game to take revenge for Tomoki-kun."
"Then, who do you think is the king, Narumi-san? All the surviving students are gathered here."
".....I see."
Narumi narrowed her eyes and looked around at the students in the classroom.
"Of the three suspects that the police had marked, the surviving Takeshi-kun would be the favorite. The competition is Yuna. Yuna often stopped Tomoki's bullying."
"Hmm, I see. you chose a safe choice. Certainly, those two are suspicious."
Takeshi, whose name was given, sighed as if he had given up.
"I can't help but be suspected again, but I'm not the king. The reason the police made me a suspect was probably because someone told them that I was crying at Tomoki's funeral. Also, Did I have a computer at home?"
"I don't think Takeshi-kun is a king, though."
At Souta's words, Iori, who was next to Narumi, opened her mouth.
"Souta-kun, you think a girl is king, right?"
"Yeah. That's why I think there's a king among you, Narumi-san, Yuna-san, Fuka-san, Miki-san, and Hinako-san."
"Don't you think there are kings among man?"
"Certainly, I can't say for sure that a girl is king. But I feel like that."
"Then why not monitor all the girls?"
Yohei put his hands together on his wide chest.
"With this number of people, you can already monitor them, right? At this time, ignore the group and have them stay in this classroom all the time."
"If that's the case, you have to monitor a boy too. It's unfair, if you don't do that. And if everyone monitors everyone, the next order won't come, right?"
"I think it will come."
Yumeto said to Iori.
"Because the king should be able to send the next order at the specified time."
"Why do you think so?"
"It's from the contents of this order. It's only been six hours, and we've found all the King's letters. In other words, the King has no intention of punishing us with this order."
"They have no intention of punishing us..."
"Yeah. No matter what order they give next, the situation won't change, so I think they've already finished the arrangements for sending it. In this mean time that not an order make us fight."
Satoshi, who was behind Souta, applauded Yumeto's words.
"As expected of Yumeto-kun. Your head is spinning fast."
Everyone's attention is on Satoshi. Satoshi had changed into his new shirt. Maybe he washed his hair too, so the blood stains are gone.
"The King seems to be a calculating type, so they're probably doing that. Maybe they're intend to keep themself under surveillance and trying to create an alibi."
"Are you really Satoshi?"
Yohei looked at Satoshi with an eerie look.
"Somehow, your tone and attitude have changed. I think your face looks a little different too."
"Hey hey, don't say weird things. I'm me."
Satoshi lifts the corners of his thin lips as he runs thin hands through his hair.
"Well, Yohei's idea isn't bad either, but anyway, it's useless. This time the order was sent for the reason, but the next order will probably make us fight again anyway. If that happens, there's no way we can monitor us."
"What is the reason?"
"They wanted everyone to read this letter, didn't they? It was the king's purpose to make it clear why we were being killed."
"They wanted us to read it..."
Yumeto turned his gaze to the letter pasted on the blackboard.
...That may be true. This time the order was too easy, and the letter was in a place where I could find it easily. but....
"But if the king's goal is heaven or something and they want to start over at school, wouldn't it be strange to have their classmates fight each other?"
"They're doing this to atone for the sin of not being able to stop Tomoki's suicide, right?"
Satoshi's tone changed.
"Seriously, I don't know who it is, but it's getting annoying."
Satoshi looked around at the students who were looking surprised.
"Well, never mind. Because I'll definitely survive. Let's go, Souta!"
Saying that, Satoshi left the classroom. Souta shrugged and ran after Satoshi.
"Hey, Something's wrong with him."
Yohei called out to Narumi.
"At the end, didn't he talk like Seiichiro? about how he talk to Souta too."
"I wonder if he's been mentally damaged."
Narumi said while sitting on a nearby chair.
"Because Satoshi-kun was like Seiichiro-kun's underling. Seiichiro-kun died and their spirit collapsed each other. If I remember correctly, Satoshi-kun killed Seiichiro-kun, right? Yumeto-kun?"
"Yeah. That's what he said."
Yumeto answers Narumi's question.
"Satoshi-kun's personality has changed, and he used to talk like Seiichiro-kun . He should have been hated me before too, but he said he didn't want to kill me now."
"Maybe he doesn't want to admit that he killed Seiichiro-kun. That's why Seiichiro-kun's personality was born in Satoshi-kun. Well, this situation can't be helped. I can going crazy sometime as well."
"Narumi-san?"
"That's a strange way of saying. I'm a fragile girl, too."
Narumi stares at Yumeto with meaningful eyes. Extend her index finger and move it across her desk.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun, we were able to clear this order without incident, so why don't we celebrate with just the two of us? If we ask the detective, they'll give us a special drink too. Wouldn't it be romantic to have your first drink on the rooftop illuminated by escape-prevention lights?"
"...I will refrain from that. Cause I'll stay with my comrades."
"Hmm, I'm going to lose my confidence. I thought no boy would refuse my invitation. I was turned down by Seiya-kun before, so I wonder if I'm not attractive now?"
"No, I think you're attractive. I think you look better than the idols I saw on TV."
"And yet, Yumeto-kun won't join my group, right? I don't think Yumeto-kun is the king, so I'd be happy if you joined."
"Because I have friends with me now."
Yumeto looks at Yuna and Fuka.
"I don't intend to actively compete with other groups, but I want to protect my comrades first. I think the dead Seiya and Tokisada felt the same way."
"....Well, Yuna and Fuka don't look bad either. Yuna seems to be a beautiful girl with a sense of purity and cleanliness, and Fuka is attractive for her large eyes and slender figure."
"It's not like I want to protect them because their appearance."
"Let's just say that. Anyway, if you have even the slightest interest in me, you can always join our group."
"If I'm interested in someone, I'm more interested in Hisashi-kun than Narumi-san."
Yumeto saw Hisashi standing still in the corner of the classroom. Hisashi lowered his arms and stared at Yumeto and the others with his blank eyes, It doesn't have a presence like a eye in movie. His bangs, which are parted to the left and right, are swaying in the wind coming in from the window. Her neat lips that had been tied in a straight line slowly opened.
"Are you interested in me?"
I heard a voice whispering in my ear. His voice seemed to make the other students aware that Hisashi was in the classroom. When everyone's eyes focused on Hisashi, he tilted his head slightly and smiled wryly.
"Don't worry if I suddenly say something strange. You don't think I'm the king, do you?"
"I think that's possible."
Yumeto stared straight at Hisashi. Hisashi catches that gaze with vague eyes.
"I'm sorry. What part of me made you think I was the king? If it was about marked by the police, I don't have it, and I never had anything to do with Tomoki-kun."
"Maybe it's because I felt like you was active to act inconspicuously."
Yumeto moved his mouth while remembering Yuna's words.
"The king is going to kill us all in the king's game, and they are participating in the game. Then, maybe the King is the one who is confident that they will never be found."
"I see.... there is such a way of thinking..."
Hisashi glided and stood in front of Yumeto. Hisashi is taller than Yumeto, and he has a slim build. As he was in Narumi's group, his face had a translucent beauty.
"Unfortunately, that prediction was wrong. I was originally an inconspicuous person, and this was also my special skill."
"Special skill?"
"Yes. Ever since I was a child, I've been inconspicuous. I was once left in the mountains on an elementary school excursion. None of my teachers or friends noticed that I was gone."
Hisashi laughed softly, perhaps remembering that time.
"Ah, I wonder if I have been stand out now. It's been a long time since I've been seen by my classmates all at once."
Narumi put a hand on Yumeto's shoulder.
"That's a pretty good point of view. It's true that even in our group, Hisashi-kun is the type of guy who doesn't show himself too much, so it might be easy to think of him as a candidate for king. But I don't think Hisashi-kun is a king."
"Why do you think so?"
"Hisashi-kun is as good looking as you can see, but he has a weak emotional side. I don't think he's going to start a king game for Tomoki-kun's revenge. That's why he's still in our group."
"That's a terrible way of saying it, Narumi-san."
Hisashi let out a sigh.
"Well, there are 12 remaining candidates for the king. Yumeto-kun can't help but doubt me."
"You're not the only one"
Yumeto said in a low voice.
"I don't think I can fully trust anyone other than Yuna-san and Fuka-san."
"Hmm, by the way you say it, it seems that Yuna-san and Fuka-san aren't kings. Is that because they're in the same group?"
"....Yes. We spent a lot of time together, and neither of them acted suspiciously during that time."
"But you weren't together all the time, were you?"
Yumeto's cheeks twitched at Hisashi's words.
"Yumeto-kun, you don't believe Yuna-san and Fuka-san. You just want to believe them."
"I want to believe?"
"Yeah. Because you're in the same group. You've not been watching Yuna-san and Fuka-san all the time, haven't you? You can't follow them up to the women's restrooms and changing rooms."
"..."
"I understand Yumeto-kun's feelings, but we were divided into groups and desperately to survived together. I don't want to think of those people as kings. Of course, I'm the same. I don't think Narumi-san is the king, And she doesn't think with me like that, or Iori-san either. Isn't that the case with Takeshi-kun too?
Hisashi turned his attention to Takeshi.
"You're the new leader instead of the chairman, aren't you?"
At those words, Takeshi saw his comrades Miki and Hinako behind him.
"...Ah. If Miki-san was the king, she wouldn't give such an order to the chairman. Hinako-san is also a quiet person, so I don't think she can kill people."
"You see, people don't want to believe that their group mates are kings. That's partly due to the fact that they worked together. But they're not together 24 hours a day. If you get away from your comrades for even a few minutes, you should be able to send orders."
The classroom fell silent.
"But in reality, there must be a king in some group. Yumeto-kun, I know you're suspicious of me. But I'm just as suspicious of you guys in other groups as well. Because It's the same even you're a transfer student."
Hisashi turned his gaze back to Yumeto.
"I'm not trying to break the bonds of the group, but shouldn't we be careful of each other? There is possibility that might have a king in our group."
Hisashi's words stiffened the faces of the students in the classroom.
...................