5:48 PM
Once again, we meet with Keiko, who recounts what she observed from within the council after this morning's chaotic assembly.
"That's about it. From what I could tell, Tanaka-senpai hasn't shown any significant changes; he continues behaving in the same odd manner as he has over the past few days. In fact, the one who seemed different was Kaichou."
That confrontation with Ailiss must have negatively affected both of them. I believe it might have been the first time in Mikoto's life that she was challenged on equal footing.
"Do you think Mikoto might be acting so dictatorial because Takashi is threatening her?" I ask.
"Unlikely. Even now, I can sense the conventional hierarchy between them. Tanaka-senpai continues to treat her with respect, and she persists in belittling him. If he's truly the culprit, I think Kaichou is just being negligent."
Mikoto is clever—clever enough to deduce that I'm a player quickly. Come to think of it, she probably suspected Takashi long before I did.
Perhaps she's merely pretending to be oblivious to deceive Takashi, creating an opening to take him down. Yes, it's still possible that she's secretly working with us. That strange remark she made during our meeting might indicate as much.
"That doesn't matter now. I can't risk simply shooting him; the chance of him being a player isn't small. We just need to map out their general routes, then ambush and incapacitate that cowardly vice president," Ailiss explains impatiently.
In a way, she's right. We're not gaining anything from a pure investigation.
"Ailiss has a point. We need to start taking action. For now, here's what I want you to do," I issue individual instructions. "Keiko, keep an eye on the entire student council. Manabu, head to the boys' dormitory and monitor Takashi from the perspective of a common student. Find out his usual routes so we can set up an ambush. Miyu, do the same as Manabu, but with Mikoto. I want to ensure she's not around during our attack; it could complicate things."
"Understood!" Manabu salutes.
His imagination is truly vivid. He's fully embraced his role as a soldier. Well, as long as he follows the instructions with the enthusiasm he uses to imitate a character, I can't complain.
"Yoshida-san, your friend's a bit unhinged, isn't he?" Keiko asks.
Miyu and Keiko nod in agreement with the orders, and I dismiss them.
Finally, I turn to Ailiss, who is smiling faintly. It's not a typical action for her; I assume Manabu's enthusiasm amuses her.
"While they're on guard, we can decide how to neutralize Takashi without killing him."
Beyond incapacitating him, we also need to decide what to do if he turns out to be a player.
"I should punish you for issuing orders in my place without prior permission," she sighs. "But I'll let this one slide."
Since Ailiss agreed with my decision for an offensive, we begin preparations for the following day.
8:22 PM
If Takashi really is the third player, Ailiss can't simply shoot him. This means we need to capture him alive, which won't be an easy task, especially since he has the machine gun stolen from Ailiss.
What should we be doing now? Sitting and planning strategies together? Teamwork? Not at all.
It's already night; she remains lost in thought, staring into the void. When I tried to bring up the subject recently, I was met with a sharp "Shut up."
The scolding I received earlier also shows I can't assume she doesn't need me and just leave. Since it seems there's nothing I can contribute, I'll simply sit and wait.
I climb onto a bookshelf near the wall, sitting by one of the high windows in this basement. I watch the snowflakes falling gently from the sky as a pastime.
I'm pretty accustomed to this. Sitting and waiting has never been much of an issue for me. It's precisely how I spent most of my childhood, accompanied by a window.
Depending on the occasion, the view could be a blue sky, a starry night, clouds, or raindrops. But without a doubt, snow always captivated me the most.
Perhaps I should let the professional handle this and just follow orders. It's not such an absurd idea. I have nothing special to contribute; it was pure chance that I became a player.
"Hey, Mistkerl," her voice surprises me.
Has she come up with a plan on her own? That was quick. In that case, we should start preparations immediately.
"What is it?" I respond, looking down.
"Aren't you scared?" she asks, standing near the bookshelf where I'm seated.
Huh? Why such a random question? I thought she was merely going to give me orders regarding the plan she'd been devising.
"Scared? Of what specifically? The killer or the game itself?"
"I'm asking in general. Until now, you lived a normal life, never dealing with this kind of problem. But you were thrown into this supernatural environment and forced to participate actively. Aren't you afraid of dying in this reality?" she climbs up and sits beside me.
She's worried about me? Honestly, this is the last thing I expected to hear, especially given how we established our alliance.
"Of course, I'm quite scared, but it's purely due to my survival instinct. If I reason, I don't care much anymore," I say, glancing at her face in the dim light. "You see, I'm not someone with many dreams or goals in life, so I usually regard the idea of my death with a certain indifference. However, I've strangely become interested in the killer's identity and the workings of this dimension. Only now do I realize there's one last thing I want to accomplish."
Like me, she begins gazing at the whiteness and purity of the snowflakes drifting from the dark sky.
Still looking outside, she asks,
"Do you really want to understand this environment?"
"Nothing intrigues me more than this supernatural reality. After all, something like this would probably require a complete reformulation of physics as we know it."
"Well, I can tell you what I know about it. I thought that giving you a general idea might make you more useful."
And here I was, starting to think she'd struck up a conversation because she'd developed a shred of appreciation for me.
"Are you saying I'm useless at the moment? In any case, please, go ahead," I reply.
"Do you believe in black magic?" she stops gazing at the sky, looks at me, and asks in her usual somber tone.
It's quite an unusual term to hear. However, I can't say I'm surprised. Would anyone expect an explanation that didn't veer into mysticism?
"Normally, I'd say no. But considering everything we've been through these past few days, I'd believe you if you claimed it to be real. At this point, I'll take whatever you say as truth."
"Then, unfortunately, it is real, and this game results from potent black magic. It's a contract with the personification of Death, possibly made millennia ago by an ancestor of the game's conjurer."
I see... the personification of Death. So that's what we saw claiming the teacher on the first day.
"The game's rules are obvious and easy to understand, so I won't delve into them since they've already been explained to you. Instead, it's more interesting for you to understand the nature of this conjuration. It boils down to a sorcerer whose magic isolates a region of space-time, trapping themselves and others near the ritual's point," she says, returning her gaze to the window as she continues.
"It's a bit ironic to hear the term 'space-time' in such an unscientific discussion. But what's the key point of telling me this? From a layman's perspective, this information seems like mere trivia. How does this make me more useful? What can I do with these details?"
"Haven't you noticed? There's something very bizarre about this game—features that go beyond the rules and shouldn't even have been mentioned initially. Those loudspeakers were the biggest anomaly of all; it's an event I've never witnessed before."
Anomaly... That's precisely the word that came to my mind to describe these strange occurrences I've been noticing.
"Yes, I've noticed certain behavioral deviations in the other students and even some strange patterns in my own reasoning. But what's the problem with those loudspeakers specifically?"
"Let's just say this isn't my first time in such a game. I can assure you that those shouldn't exist. Remember, I'm a professional assassin, and my type of target is exclusively the conjurers of these games. I've traveled the world hunting sorcerers, witches, and priestesses. So far, I've succeeded in killing three of them, participating in two of their games."
"You've participated in this madness twice? That's impressive. I'm relieved to know you have experience with this. But now that you've brought it up, I've been wondering what we'll do after capturing the third player. So, how did you escape the game in the past?"
"The answer isn't the most moral one, and you probably won't want to hear it. But the idea is quite simple: force someone to kill one of the captured players—usually the conjurer themselves."
I see... That's definitely not a beautiful solution.
In the worst-case scenario, an innocent person must make the ultimate sacrifice.