.................
[November 10 (Wednesday) 03:24 am]
I opened my eyes and saw an orange sheet before me.
"Ga.....a....."
He tried to lift body up, but his hands were tied behind his back. His legs were also wrapped in packing tape.
"What's this?"
"Oh, you just woke up."
A woman's voice came from behind Yumeto. When he looked back after moving only his neck, Narumi was lying there with her body. A battery-operated lantern is placed by her side, giving off a bluish-white light.
Narumi lifted her torso and placed her white hand on Yumeto's forehead.
"Narumi-san, where is this ?"
"It's in the tent. It was hard to carry Yumeto here."
"Tent...."
Yumeto moved his gaze to check his surroundings. Just as Narumi said, it was inside a tent.
Maybe it's an old tent, part of the sheet is torn.
"This tent .... how did you get the tent?"
"No, I didn't bring it. I think it was someone who set it up on the riverbank and left it there. There were also fallen leaves inside."
"...What do you mean?"
Yumeto glared at Narumi.
"You did this packing tape, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. After carrying Yumeto-kun, who was lying down on the river bank, to the tent."
"Why are you doing this? After all, you're a girl, so you can't kill a boy like me."
"That's ture. If it's opposite, it would be easier to just kill you..."
Narumi puts up her index finger and writes on Yumeto's chest.
"But I can't kill you because of orders of the king's game. In that case, I thought I'd make you help me."
"Do you want me to help you?"
"Yeah. Hisashi-kun died too. Yumeto-kun killed him, right?"
"...Yes. I killed him."
Yumeto's voice became softer. Seeing Yumeto's slightly trembling lips, Narumi smiled.
"Hmm. I didn't expect Yumeto-kun to kill Hisashi-kun. In a way, it was good."
"What do you mean by good?"
"Because I thought that Hisashi-kun had the potential to become a king too. There were times when I didn't understand what he was thinking."
"And yet, you were acting in the same group?"
"There is no point in fighting within the group just because there is a possibility of becoming king."
Narumi put her lips to Yumeto's ear.
"Well, whether he's the king or not, Hisashi-kun is dead. Yohei-kun died because of the previous order. I'm lost all of boy in my group. If that's the case, I want a replacement. "
"Is that me?"
"Of course! After all, The only surviving boys are Yumeto, Souta, and Satoshi. Among them, Yumeto is the one who has the lowest chance of becoming king and seems to be the easiest to handle. If Yumeto-kun becomes an ally and gives me support, it will be easier to reduce the number of female candidates for the king."
"Are you suspicious of Yuna-san and Fuka-san as candidates for the king?"
"Naturally. Yuna should be especially careful. She was the one who protected Tomoki-kun the most."
"Yuna-san can't be the king! That's impossible."
"Impossible.... it's just that Yumeto doesn't want to believe it, right?"
"That is...."
Seeing Yumeto mumbling his mouth, Narumi let out a laugh.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun. You may not know me because you're a transfer student, but I almost never talked to Tomoki-kun, who committed suicide, I never stopped bullying too. You wouldn't think of me as a king, would you? Then wouldn't it be better for you to join me instead of Yuna and Fuka, who could be kings?"
"Not really. Narumi-san has a motive, too."
"Motivation for me?"
"Yeah. There's a rumor that if you become the last person in the king's game, the virus in your body will mutate and you'll become immortal. Isn't that what Narumi-san wanted? Didn't you say that it would be great if you could live forever as young as you are?"
At Yumeto's words, Narumi's neat eyebrows twitched.
"...Yumeto-kun also knew about it. That rumor..."
"As expected, Narumi-san knew too."
"Well, it was talked about on the internet for a while."
"Then, this might be the motive. In other words, I can't say for certain that Narumi-san isn't the king."
"I see... Hey, Is that why you doubt me?"
"Honestly, I think the chances of you being the king are low, but I can't say that I'm absolutely wrong. At least, I doubt you more than Yuna-san and Fuka-san."
"Hmm, you doubt me more than Yuna and Fuka..."
Narumi brought her face closer and stared at Yumeto.
"Could it be that Yuna and Fuka confessed to you?"
"Wha... why do you know?"
"Ahaha. After all, that's right."
Seeing Yumeto blush, Narumi shows her white teeth.
"So, which one did you choose? You were on good terms with Yuna at first, right? Is it Yuna after all?"
"I-It doesn't matter! All of this, it has nothing to do with Narumi-san."
"Not really. I also like Yumeto-kun."
"That's a lie. Narumi-san, she just want a soldier who listens to what she say, and do what her want, isn't she?"
"Yes.... But don't you think it's okay for you to be a soldier who can be loved by me?"
Narumi's expression changed. Her eyes moisten and her cheeks turn slightly red. Her pink tongue moves like a creature through the gap between plump lips.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun. Have you ever kissed before?"
".....No, I don't. Does it have something to do...."
Suddenly Narumi pressed her lips against Yumeto's. Her wet and slimy tongue slips into Yumeto's mouth.
"Hm... hm..."
Yumeto opened his eyes wide and stared at Narumi in front of him. Narumi closed her eyelids and she tilted her head slightly.
"Hmm....hmm..."
In sync with Narumi's voice, Narumi's tongue moved around like a living creature in Yumeto's mouth.
Yumeto tries to move his neck left and right, but Narumi's hands stop his movement.
Before he knew it, Narumi's right hand had unbuttoned Yumeto's shirt. Her hand moved to Yumeto's lower abdomen.
After finishing few minutes long kiss, Narumi runs her lips wet with her saliva.
"Yumeto-kun, how was it? How was my kiss?"
"What are you doing!"
Yumeto's face turned bright red and he let out a loud voice.
"What I am doing? .....It's a kiss, It felt good, right?"
"..... Anyway, remove the packing tape!"
"Not yet! There's still more to come."
"More to come..."
"You know what? It's sex."
"S-ss..."
"Wouldn't you like to have sex with me?"
Narumi's hand removes Yumeto's belt and slips into his pants.
"Yumeto should just stay still. Then, I'll make you feel good"
"I'm not kidding! Something like this, I don't want that."
He desperately tries to move his body, but because his hands and feet are bound, he cannot resist Narumi's movements.
Narumi mounts onto Yumeto's body and begins unbuttoning her chest. Her white bra and her plump breasts were reflected in Yumeto's eyes.
"Yumeto-kun..."
With a sweet voice, Narumi runs Yumeto's tongue along his neck.
"Hey, Yumeto-kun. I'll lick your entire body. I'm confident in my tongue."
Narumi's tongue moves from his neck to chest. Yumeto's body, illuminated by the flashlight, glistens with Narumi's saliva.
Yumeto felt like his body was melting. Every time Narumi's tongue moved, a voice leaked out involuntarily.
"Fufufu, Yumeto-kun. You can't resist. I'll keep going until Yumeto-kun likes me."
"Kuh... T-This is not the time to do this!"
"Aren't you happy while saying that? There's a reason why you can't resist when your hands and feet are tied."
Narumi sticks her body to Yumeto while moving her tongue.
"I think you have a feeling for Yuna and Fuka, but I'll make you forget about it. I'll make sure you can't think of anything but me."
At that time, Narumi's smartphone, which was placed in the corner of the tent, played a classical song.
"It's already a good place..."
Narumi leaves Yumeto and puts smartphone to her ear.
"Ah... Iori. What's wrong?"
I can hear what seems to be Iori's voice from her smartphone, but I don't know what she say.
"... Hmm, the thickets near the pond. Okay. I'll be right there."
After finishing her call, Narumi buttoned up her shirt and spoke to Yumeto.
"I'm sorry, Yumeto-kun. I have something to do, so please wait a moment."
"What's your business?"
"Iori found Yuna and Fuka. This is lucky."
"Lucky...you don't mean to kill them..."
"It's sure we're going to kill them. This order won't end until the six of us are dead."
"No, no!"
The blood drained from Yumeto's face.
"Please don't kill Yuna-san and Fuka-san. Those two are definitely not kings!"
"That's why, Yumeto-kun just wants to trust his fellow group members. If you don't doubt them, you'll die."
"But Yuna-san and Fuka-san were acting together with me."
"Heh... Then, Did you be with Yuna and Fuka when they were taking a shower? When they were in the bathroom? Is it possible that Yuna or Fuka separate from Yumeto while you were sleeping?"
"Oh, that's..."
When Yumeto fell silent, Narumi smiled triumphantly.
"You see. Even I don't fully trust my companion, Iori. But, in order to survive, acting with friends you don't trust is also a kind of living wisdom."
"In that case, please cooperate with us! Now that Takeshi and Hisashi are dead, There shouldn't be randomly punished within 24 hours, and everyone should search for the king during that time."
"That's impossible. The king use their smartphone or mobile phone to send orders, right? Moreover, they sends them at a specified time. In other words, it's meaningless to have an alibi like a normal case."
"But if we keep an eye on each other, they won't be able to give the next order, right? Besides, it's possible that the king already died, If they're Takeshi or Hisashi."
"While this order continues, there's no way we can monitor each other. Will Yumeto-kun be able to act with Souta-kun and Satoshi-kun all the time? You can do that?"
Narumi took a deep breath.
"Besides, if the king was either Takeshi or Hisashi, then this order cannot be lifted. In the end, it is certain that the six of us will die."
"Certain...."
"Well, if Yuna and Fuka were killed. Then, Yumeto will be able to give up, right? With this many people died, I think that the king will be among them."
"If you kill Yuna-san and Fuka-san, I will never forgive you!"
"You won't forgive me, but Yumeto-kun can't kill me. It's because you're the opposite sex. Or rather, the problem before that, what are you going to do when you can't even move your body?"
Narumi took out her carving knife from a bag in the corner of the tent.
"It's not a good weapon, but if I launch a surprise attack with Iori, I'll be able to handle it."
"Wait! Narumi-san."
"I don't wait. Yumeto-kun, just stay there. I'll continue what I said later. Ah, this is kind of idle play. I hear that there are a lot of guys who like this sort of thing."
Narumi laughs and walks out of the tent with a battery-powered lantern.
"Narumi-san! Narumi-san!"
He continues to scream in the darkened tent, but no one responds to Yumeto's voice.
"Kuh! Don't kidding me!"
Yumeto wriggled out of the tent.
Stars twinkle in the sky and the sound of a river flowing nearby. Apparently, it's near the cliff where Yumeto fell. Occasionally, a cold wind rustles the surrounding trees. Narumi is nowhere to be seen.
"I have to go help Yuna-san and the others quickly."
Yuuto glanced around. His eyes sparkle as he spots a sharp rock a dozen meters away.
"That's it! If I use that, I can do something!"
Yumeto desperately moved his bound limbs and crawled on the ground.
....................
[November 10 (Wednesday) 05:48 am]
The duct tape that had rubbed against the rocks many times snapped off.
"Good! I did it."
With his free hand, Yumeto began to remove the packing tape from both of his legs. As soon as his legs are free, he stands up and runs down the slope.
....My smartphone should be on the cliff. If you use that, you can contact Yuna and the others. I have to tell them about Narumi-san and the others!
There was a thin fog around me, but the visibility had improved, probably because morning was approaching.
Yumeto started looking for a way to climb the cliff.
...................
Ten minutes later, Yumeto found his smartphone on the cliff. He lets out a heavy breath as he call Yuna. But Yuna doesn't answer the phone. He immediately called Fuka, but she didn't answer either.
"Why you not answer the phone!"
Yumeto clicks his tongue briefly and sends an email to the two.
'Narumi-san and Iori-san are aiming at you. Run away immediately! The location is known.'
Imagining the two of them being attacked by Narumi and others, the sweat that gushed out became cold.
.....I need to go help quickly. Narumi-san and Iori-san were talking on the phone about Yuna-san and the others were in a thicket near the pond. If you go there, you should be able to join them.
Yumeto put his smartphone in his pants pocket and started running towards the summit.
...................
The pond was in the woods near the top of the mountain. The pond was about 10 meters in diameter, and the water was brown and murky. Many fallen leaves float on the surface of the water, and the wind blowing through the trees rocks them like a small boat.
Yumeto started walking on the ground covered with fallen leaves. Every time Yumeto walked, the leaves rustled under his feet.
Yumeto's gaze was fixed on the ground a few meters away as he entered the dense forest. Some of the fallen leaves are dyed red.
"Blood..."
Yumeto's heart jumped.
.....No way, Yuna-san and Fuka-san.....
"Yuna-san, Fuka-san!"
I called out their names, but there was no response.
"Kuh! Where are you?"
Yumeto continued to shout the names of Yuna and Fuka alternately while moving his gaze left and right.
Leaving a thicket of trees, he came out onto a gentle slope. No weed has grown, and the dark brown soil is visible as if that part had been scraped away.
At that moment, I saw Narumi and Iori running down the slope. Ahead of them were Yuna and Fuka, running away in their school uniforms. Fuka seems to be injured, holding her side.
"I found them!"
Yumeto runs diagonally down a gentle slope toward Yuna and the others.
"Stop!"
Yumeto ran around in front of Narumi and Iori, who were running side by side, and spread his arms wide.
"Yuna-san and Fuka-san won't be killed!"
"Yumeto-kun!"
From behind, Yuna and Fuka's voices were heard at the same time.
"Are you two okay?"
While glaring at Narumi and the others, Yumeto calls out to Yuna and the others.
"I'm fine. But Fuka was stabbed by Narumi-san..."
"I'm fine too. It's not a big wound."
Feeling strength in Fuka's voice, Yumeto gently strokes his chest.
"Narumi-san, I'm going to have you give up on killing the two of them."
"You mean you will be the knight for them..."
Narumi held her bloody carving knife to her chest.
"But what are you going to do? I'm a girl, so Yumeto can't kill me. It's not like you forgot the king's order, isn't it?"
"I don't have to kill you. All I have to do is stop your movements. Then, Yuna-san and the others will kill you."
"...I see. Are you going to use that kind of trick? It doesn't matter if me or Iori die?"
"I don't want you to die either, but if you want to kill Yuna and the others, I can't help it. I discriminate against my classmates."
"So you're choosing Yuna and Fuka over me and Iori? Honestly, I'm shocked. I'm not saying that Yuna and Fuka aren't cute, but I think they're ranked lower than me and Iori."
"It's not a matter of appearance. Besides, Yuna-san and the others are more attractive to me than you."
Yumeto answered firmly.
"I should mention that this order is overwhelmingly advantageous to our group, which has both boys and girls. Narumi-san's group is only girls, Souta-kun's group is only boys. Hinako-san is a girl but she is the only one. If we want to kill you guys, we can use the orders of the king's game and with the support of the opposite sex, we can easily kill the same sex."
"That's true. But does Yumeto and the others have the courage to kill us?"
"If you hurts my comrades, and If it's for protect Yuna-san and Fuka-san, I don't care if I get my hands dirty and kill them. Do you remember when I killed Hisashi-kun?"
".....Apparently, I have no choice but to give up."
Narumi turned her gaze to Iori next to her.
"Iori, change our target."
"Are you going to start with Hinako?"
Iori asked in a dark voice. Her long black hair, which reaches near her waist, sways and hides half of her face. Her jet-black eyes, which could only be seen on one side, shone mysteriously.
"But if you're aiming for Hinako, You'd better wait a little longer."
"Oh, yeah. If someone didn't die every 24 hours, we would get a random punishment. So the best time to kill Hinako is after 01.00 pm. That way you can avoid random punishment for the next 24 hours."
"Yeah. So, it's better to catch them. And when the time is right, you can kill her."
Yumeto's body trembled at Iori's words. He didn't think Iori had an aggressive personality. However right now, Iori who is in front of him, is calmly trying to kill her classmate.
....Did Iori change because of the king game? Or was Iori planning to kill her classmate from the beginning? No way, If Iori-san is the king...
"What's wrong, Yumeto-kun?"
Iori stared at Yumeto with jet-black eyes.
"You've been looking at me since a while ago, haven't you?"
"..."
Seeing Yumeto go silent, Narumi laughed.
"Arara.... you weren't attracted to Iori, were you? This girl, she looks like a quiet type, but she's actually scary. Maybe even more than me."
Narumi tapped Iori on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's go. Staying here will be dangerous if Yumeto and the others get motivated, we can have a problem."
Narumi and Iori turned their backs on Yumeto and started descending the slope.
When the two disappeared into the forest, Yumeto rushed over to Fuka.
"Fuka-san, where did you get hurt?"
"Um... flanks and arms. But it's okay."
Fuka laughed with a pale face.
"I'm got a deep wound on my arm, but I still won't die."
"Just show me"
Yumeto grabbed Fuka's wrist and lifted her arm. Her arm was cut with a carving knife, and there was a wound of more than 10 centimeters, and blood was oozing out from her cracked skin.
"You're still bleeding, aren't you?"
"I'm fine with this much. The bleeding will probably stop soon."
"No, you should see a doctor. Let's go back to school together!"
"Don't do that!"
Fuka shook off Yumeto's hand and raised her eyebrows.
"Souta-kun and the others may be at school. In that case, Yuna and I should go alone. That way, Yumeto-kun won't be killed."
"No, if that's the case, it's dangerous, If Narumi-san and the others are ambushing. Narumi-san and the others know that Fuka-san is injured, so they might target there."
"For now, let's go back to the thickets."
Yuna interrupts the conversation between Yumeto and Fuka.
"Because I have my luggage over there. I should wash you with bottled water to prevent germs from entering you."
"I agree. Can you walk, Fuka-san?"
"Of course. I'm not the kind of person who can't move with a wound like this."
Fuka bends her injured arm at a right angle.
"Yumeto-kun, are you okay? Your complexion is pale and your clothes are dirty."
"Yeah. Because there were various things here..."
Yumeto's face darkens as he remembers Hisashi.
"I'll talk about the details later. Anyway, let's go get the luggage."
Yumeto and the others started walking toward the wooded area where the luggage was placed.
....................