Chapter 31

“I will beat you, Daiya.” So Kazuki Hoshino declares. I can’t hide my amusement. “Not a chance in hell.” I’m absolutely certain of it: Kazuki Hoshino will never be able to achieve his goal. If he’s sure he can win, it’s nothing more than a delusion. Kazuki Hoshino has made a huge mistake, after all. I can be here in this room where I can see everything—the Master Room, if you will—so I naturally know all about his blunder. “……Heh.” Still… “Tedium is a monster… Some people might even try to slay it with a bullet to their own brains.” I’m quite fond of that quote. Tedium is indeed a monster. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have used a wish-granting Box to relieve myself of it. “Okay, here I go,” Kazuki Hoshino says, then looks toward the screen. His face is illuminated by the pale white light of the shabby arcade cabinet. Several transparent hands stretch out toward Kazuki Hoshino where he gazes into the display. His expression is loaded with disgust as he’s engulfed in the hands spilling outward as if to devour him. As if the hands are pulling it out of him, the color gradually fades from Kazuki Hoshino until he turns transparent and eventually disappears. I applaud your tragic resolve. But there was never any point from the get-go. Even in the unlikely event you are able to steer things so that no one offs anyone else, it still isn’t worth squat. Because, well, Daiya Oomine isn’t the owner of the Game of Indolence. “That’s just the way your core nature works. It catches and alters everything that happens. Things you find enjoyable will just be tedious to someone who’s naturally bored.” “If someone consumed by boredom uses a Box, the results will only stave off the tedium temporarily. That’s why this is all just a diversion. A pointless game.” It’s me—Koudai Kamiuchi. Thanks for the commentary on me, Daiya. Kazuki Hoshino just happened to misinterpret it. Daiya Oomine’s verbal smoke and mirrors made a complete chump of poor Hoshino. And that’s why—he’s doomed to fail. As if he ever wasn’t. It’s impossible to win when you’ve got your sights set on the wrong opponent. “Oomine.” When I address him, Daiya Oomine looks at me without a word. “What exactly do you want to do with Hoshino?” “Why do you ask?” he replies unhappily. “Well, it’s just that I heard your conversation, and I don’t really get it. You said it yourself, right? ‘If no one kills anyone else for eight days, you can survive.’” “I did say that.” “That was a lie, wasn’t it?” Daiya Oomine doesn’t answer. “I mean, having a rule like that is out of the question. Do you think I’m the type to build in such a meaningless escape route?” Force the game to end. His explanation was so persuasive, even I almost believed it, but if you really think about it, Daiya Oomine has no reason to know a trick like that, since he isn’t even the owner. In short, it was a bunch of BS. Daiya Oomine has a joyous look on his face. I had wondered how he would react, but this is a surprise. I can’t help but smirk, too. This guy came up with a bunch of crap off the top of his head and got Kazuki Hoshino to buy it, and now he’s smiling. No wonder he beat the first round of the game so easily. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or whatever. The important thing is whether Kazuki Hoshino believes it.” “Oh, I’d say he swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. I almost feel sorry for him. But what I’m asking is why you did it.” Daiya Oomine scratches his head as he replies, “Would you be convinced if I said I wanted to see Kazu dance around like a fool?” “…Huh? If you’re putting it that way, does that mean you’re lying?” “It’s the truth.” I don’t know the whole story, but I get the feeling he’s being honest, so I burst out laughing. “Man, you’re a real piece of work. You’ve got Hoshino beat on so many levels.” “I guess,” he responds with no emotion, as if it’s nothing. Still, I’m sure that isn’t his only reason. I know there’s more to him even deeper below the surface. He may be telling the truth, but at most it’s just one of the things he hopes to do. “By the way, why are you doing this? Why did you want to become the would-be guide for Kingdom Royale?” This Box summons the players to this space by force and can put them in stasis until their turn in Kingdom Royale actually rolls around. But for some reason, it couldn’t put him under like it did the other players. When I tried asking the man himself why that was, Daiya Oomine said something about how the fact that he’s an owner allows him to butt into others’ wishes. I’m not going to lie, but that made me real skeptical. I asked why Maria Otonashi, also evidently an owner, can’t do the same thing, and he said that apparently she might be able to. According to him, she’s stuck in stasis simply because her turn hasn’t come around yet, and that’s prevented her from detecting the presence of this Box. In other words, Daiya Oomine is free to move because he was already released from stasis to play in the first round of the game. Anyway, Daiya Oomine has used his freedom to explain Kingdom Royale to Kazuki Hoshino and brag like he did just now. “I told you the reason. I want to watch Kazu’s clumsy little dance.” “That’s not all, though, is it?” “Let me put it this way, then. I don’t want to tell you.” “Oh-ho, that’s tough talk toward the owner when he’s letting you run around free here. Do you understand your position? But it’s fine with me if you don’t want to answer. I don’t really care that much anyway.” I’m okay with whatever as long as it’s interesting. Actually, seeing Kazuki Hoshino turning desperate over a bunch of lies sounds like a good time. Daiya Oomine sighs, like he’s disgusted I backed off so easily. “…Now that I think about it, there’s one thing I haven’t asked. Why choose us as the players?” “Hey, might as well get people who’ll give me a run for my money, right? Hard mode is more fun than easy mode, after all. So I decided to go with the guys everyone says are the top students at our school.” “And Kazu? Surely you can’t call him an overachiever?” “No, I can’t. To tell you the truth, I had someone else in mind. You know, that Ryu Miyazaki guy in second year. I had to nix that, though, since he doesn’t go to our school anymore. A guy wants a little consistency in his enemy mobs, right?” “So you chose Kazu in place of Miyazaki. Seems like a poor substitute.” “There you go again. I know you actually have a pretty high opinion of Hoshino. Besides, that’s really not the case. Sure, Hoshino might be a nobody when he’s on his own, but if he teams up with Maricchi, he can be real trouble.” Daiya Oomine grimaces with displeasure. “…Maybe so. But did you know that before you started this game?” “Ah, O told me.” Daiya Oomine seems surprised for a moment to hear this, then smirks. “What’s with that look?” “Oh, nothing. I just thought that might’ve been the case,” he says, then looks toward the screen. Kazuki Hoshino is speaking with Noitan. The sight of his oblivious sincerity reminds me so much of a clown acting for our amusement, I can’t help but laugh. Daiya Oomine gazes at Kazuki Hoshino’s ridiculous show, as if he doesn’t even want to blink. What the hell? I thought you wanted to laugh at him. Why so serious? “……” Ah, who cares. “Hey.” Daiya Oomine speaks up, eyes still glued to the screen. “…What is it?” “…I just wanted to check something, but your NPC doesn’t know the details of the Game of Indolence, nor that he’s the owner, right?” “If he did, it wouldn’t be fair, and that’s no fun.” “Hmm, your NPC doesn’t have a clue, and he still acts like that. At any rate, you must not think there’s any meaning to the Game of Indolence or the bloodshed that takes place in it.” “Huh? Isn’t that obvious? Do you think differently?” “…Whether I do or not, here’s how I think Kazu sees it.” “…?” Daiya Oomine lifts his head and looks at me. Then he says: “He’s going to try to give purpose to the Game of Indolence.” There’s a hint of happiness in Daiya Oomine’s face as he tells me. “………” That expression creeps me out. It’s like he’s actually counting on Kazuki Hoshino, when he should be trying to play him for a fool. It’s not the type of thing you expect to see when two guys are supposedly going at it. What if they’re really working together to try to trap me…? …Yeah, no way—that’s not possible. I saw how they talked together earlier, and I’ve watched pretty much every interaction they’ve had in the game through this cabinet. If they are in cahoots, I would’ve noticed. …And, well, even if they are conspiring against me— —that doesn’t really matter, either.