The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 3: Chapter 12

Day 3 <E> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

MARIA OTONASHI WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH BY ASSASSINATE.

•Maria Otonashi, dead via Assassinate

GAME OVER

• Winners

Daiya Oomine (Player)

The Revolutionary; survived and killed Yuri Yanagi, Koudai Kamiuchi, and Maria Otonashi via Assassinate.

*Victory conditions were fulfilled by the deaths of Yuri Yanagi, Koudai Kamiuchi, and Maria Otonashi.

Kazuki Hoshino

The Sorcerer; survived.

*Victory conditions were fulfilled by skillfully surviving.

• Losers

Iroha Shindo

The Knight; died due to hemorrhagic shock after being stabbed in the chest with a knife by Koudai Kamiuchi on the second day.

Yuri Yanagi

The Double; died via Daiya Oomine’s Assassinate on the first day.

Koudai Kamiuchi

The King; killed Iroha Shindo by hand on the second day. Died via Daiya Oomine’s Assassinate on the same day.

Maria Otonashi

The Prince; died via Daiya Oomine’s Assassinate on the third day.

Day 1 <A> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

I wake up with a start in unfamiliar surroundings, my eyes falling upon a naked light bulb and a bare concrete ceiling.

“…What is this room?”

Why am I here all of a sudden?

I can feel myself about to lose it, so I review what I can remember of what happened.

I’m sure I was sleeping on my bottom bunk. I don’t remember moving from there. I don’t remember leaving or meeting anyone, either.

I survey the room, I check the contents of the hemp sack, and then the rules of the killing game are explained to me by a green bear—Noitan—that appears with a “Good_morning.”

This is the work of a Box.

That’s why Maria is here.

Day 1 <B> The Common Area

The view changes instantly.

First off, it’s white. Unnaturally so, like a newly built hospital without doctors or nurses or patients.

I spot him, the closest one to me.

“…Daiya.”

“Long time no see, Kazu.”

Daiya, who had disappeared without a trace, greets me with perfect ease, as if we were just bumping into each other in the classroom for the first time in a while after summer break came to an end.

Even though I’m still unsure how to react, Daiya continues on.

“You should thank me, Kazu. I stopped things from getting violent.”

Daiya jabs his thumb at a girl with midlength hair.

“This girl was gonna push you down and threaten you with a knife.”

“What…?!”

Eyes wide, I look at her. That green bear had said we would be killing one another, so does this mean it’s about to get started…?

“Hold on there, Oomine. He’s going to get the wrong idea if you put it that way,” the girl counters. I’ve heard her voice somewhere before.

“Wrong idea? Nothing I said was incorrect.”

“Shut up. The only thing that isn’t mistaken here is your obvious bad intentions. I only did it because I thought it was a necessary measure.”

I realize I’ve actually heard her voice often, through a microphone. Right, she’s the student council president.

“A necessary measure, huh? Fine, but if you keep doing stuff like that, you’re just going to invite extra mistrust and put yourself at a disadvantage, you know? If you’re scared, you should just try trembling like you’re supposed to.”

The president seems a bit surprised by Daiya’s words. “…Yeah, well. Putting on a strong front is a bad habit of mine.”

Is she saying she’s worried despite acting so levelheaded…? Uh, she has to be joking, right?

“If you want to learn to express your fear naturally, take a look at that girl clinging to you and follow her example.”

The shoulders of the girl with black hair next to the president jump so hard I almost feel bad for her. The president pats the girl’s hair as if to reassure her it’ll be okay.

…Her face really is pure white. Nothing’s even happened; isn’t she a little too terrified?

But—there is something kinda cute about her.

I realize thinking along those lines is unwise, and I may not be as nervous as I should be, but I can’t fight this protective urge welling up within me, like the way you’d react to seeing a small animal.

It’s an appeal Maria doesn’t have.

“Kazuki.”

“—Urk!”

Th-that’s right. I knew she’d be here, but I got careless.

“What was that weird yelp for?”

“I-it’s nothing, Maria.”

I escape her suspicious gaze by turning my face.

“Whatever… You do know what kind of situation we’re in, though? I’m shocked you aren’t more on edge from how abnormal this all is…”

“S-sorry.”

“This isn’t the time or place to fall for a girl.”

“……”

Guess she really did catch me staring at the black-haired girl.

As I stand there quietly refusing to meet her gaze, Maria removes one of her loafers and presses the sole against the side of my face. That hurts, you know. Plus, it’s dirty.

Shoe still pressed to my face, Maria whispers in my ear:

“You know there’s a Box at work here, right…?”

…Yeah, she’s right.

This situation can’t be anything other than a Box. That means this is Daiya’s handiwork.

Still, I’m acting like I’ve never even heard of a Box before.

“Yo… Hey, do I spy three pretty girls? Lucky me!”

There are six chairs, and the sixth player arrives.

Now all the participants in the killing game Noitan described are here.

The brown-haired student, who was the last to join us and still seems somewhat unsure of how things are unfolding, suggests we introduce ourselves, and we promptly do.

The boy with brown hair is Koudai Kamiuchi. The girl who was apparently going to pull a knife on me is Iroha Shindo, our student council president. And the black-haired girl is—

“—Yuri Yanagi.”

The name alone is enough to make my thoughts pause in their tracks.

“……Huh? Uh, ah, did I say something strange?”

“I-it’s nothing. I just— I have a friend with the same last name is all.”

She looks dubiously at me as I wave my hands frantically, then asks, “A friend?”

“U-um…”

I try to remember that person—

“—Ah.”

Unexpectedly, something resurfaces in my mind. Namely, what Daiya said to me in the cafeteria.

“It’s because you want to keep seeking. Hmph, even if I accept what you’re saying for the sake of argument, that still brings up another question. Why have you become like that?”

I get it now. The one I couldn’t see through the fog back then—

“……My classmate from when I was in middle school.”

Nana Yanagi.

As her name leaps back into my mind unbidden, I shake my head furiously. I don’t want to remember her. I once hoped she would remain forgotten.

Yanagi, the first girl I fell in love with.

“A classmate? Well, maybe you feel some connection with me because of that, then?”

Yanagi—no, that’s a bit confusing, so Yuri—says this with her head inclined to one side.

“Huh? Oh y-yeah… It’d be nice if we hit it off right away.”

Yuri smiles charmingly… She really is too cute.

“What’re you in such good spirits for, Kazuki?”

My shoulders tense up, and I turn around, only to see Maria giving me a reproachful look.

“I-I’m not in good spirits.”

“No, you definitely are. You have that happy expression guys get when they talk to a pretty girl. You look all weak and sappy.”

“You’re a pretty girl, too.”

“……Are you trying to flatter me? I hope you don’t think that’ll work on me.”

As we go on like this for a bit, Yuri eventually steps in.

“U-um…I’m not that pretty, you know…?”

“That’s not true. I think you’re really beautiful.”

“O-oh…”

Yuri has turned bright red. As I gaze into her face, unable to understand why, I feel a sudden impact on the back of my head.

“O-ow!”

Turning around, I see Kamiuchi staring at his own fist.

“???”

“Uh, I saw you and got super-PO’d, so I guess I just kinda did it without thinking. My bad.”

As I stand there holding my head, still clueless as to what’s going on, Maria sighs.

“Who’d have thought it’d take a natural-born skirt-chaser to ease the tension.”

“…That’s mean.”

“Whatever. It’ll be easier for us all to talk this way. Let’s get down to business.”

And with that, Maria pins Daiya with a hard stare.

“What’s the meaning of all this, Daiya Oomine?”

The somewhat relaxed atmosphere disperses.

All of our attention turns to Daiya when he’s singled out. Instead of being taken aback at the suspicion, he flashes a brazen grin.

“……Huh?” Yuri gasps, apparently not completely following the situation. “Is this…something Oomine did…?”

“What I’m about to say might sound bizarre, but will you try to believe it?”

Yuri is still blinking at Maria’s words. The president speaks up in her place.

“Aw… Sorry, Otonashi, but we’ll decide for ourselves what we want to believe. Don’t try to force anything on us.”

“Fair enough. But I still have to say it. This is the kind of subject you have to ask people to believe before bringing it up.”

The president pouts, then nods as if to say, I see.

“Okay, I guess I’ll start by explaining just what a Box is. Now, here’s the thing about Boxes—”

With the introduction, Maria begins describing Boxes to everyone.

They exist to grant wishes. They’re the reason why we’re involved in this situation. Three of us already know about them. And Daiya Oomine is the owner of the Game of Indolence.

Everyone listens to the explanation earnestly.

“…That all sounds really messed up.”

The president has a stern look on her face, just as she had the whole time while she was listening to Maria.

“So the Boxes themselves are really messed up, but the situation we’re in now is plenty crazy, too. It doesn’t even sound too far-fetched that such a thing could exist.”

“So does that mean you believe us?” I ask.

The president pouts again, as if it’s a habit of hers.

“…No, I’m just saying I wouldn’t be too surprised if something like that existed. I mean, even I could cook up some ridiculous reasons for a ridiculous situation, you know?”

“I see…,” I reply, crestfallen.

The president scratches her head and continues on.

“…But, well, I think if you were truly trying to deceive us, you would tell a more realistic lie. You answered all our questions straightaway, and you almost went out of your way to say some things that were fishy… Hmm, I’d say it’s about fifty-fifty for me… Hey, what do you think, Kamiuchi?”

“I don’t think I can buy it.” Kamiuchi flat-out rejects our explanation. “It isn’t so much what they’re saying—more like it’s a little odd that the three of them are working together. They all knew one another before this, right?”

“B-but we haven’t had any time to put our heads together and conspire on this…” I counter his argument feebly.

“I hear ya. But you still knew each from before, so weren’t you just going along with what Maricchi was saying? Not to mention the worst-case scenario, where all three of you are behind this whole thing, you know?”

“That’s not true!”

“Hoshino, please don’t get so worked up. What I’m trying to say is, it’s not easy to trust the opinions of three people who seem to be in cahoots,” Kamiuchi says.

The president agrees. “He’s got something there.”

“How about you, Yuri?”

“…Um, sorry, but…I just can’t make myself believe in the idea of these Boxes. I’m sorry.”

She doesn’t speak haltingly because she lacks confidence in her own ideas, but more likely because she isn’t used to expressing negative opinions.

“Hey, Yuri, you must’ve taken my side because you want to get in good with me, huh?”

“Uh…? N-no, that’s not it…”

“Hee-hee, it’s so cute how that little joke was enough to make you blush bright red!”

The president butts in as if to protect Yuri, who is turning an even deeper shade of crimson. “Okay, okay, stop teasing Yuri.”

“President, maybe you’re just jealous because the guys don’t make passes at you like they do Yuri here?”

“It wouldn’t count if someone like you hit on me.”

“Ouch! You’re so mean. You might be surprised, but I’ve got a lot of fans among the ladies.”

The president sighs, as if to say she is through listening to him, and gets the conversation back on track.

“Anyway, can we set the matter of the Boxes aside for now? Yuri, Kamiuchi, I’d also like to ask the two of you to not dismiss the possibility so easily and just keep the idea in the back of your minds. If you do, then maybe down the line when it’s time to decide whether to believe in them, you can be a bit more objective.”

The two of them nod sincerely at her idea.

Maria says, “I guess I can live with that,” although her dissatisfied expression contradicts her words.

…Well, I feel the same way. It’s disappointing that we can’t get them to believe us about the Boxes, but on the other hand, there’s not much we can do about it.

“…President, what can we do to persuade you of this…?”

She replies to my timid query straightaway. “You have to prove with actions that you are trustworthy. If you do, even if we don’t buy into the idea of the Boxes, we’ll be likely to go along with your suggestions on how to get out of this mess.”

Easier said than done.

“Um, what exactly do we need to…?”

My question is interrupted.

“H​e​Y​_​h​e​y​_​h​e​y​. I​t​_​s​o​u​n​d​s​_​l​i​k​e​_​y​O​U​_​a​l​L​_​a​r​e​_​t​a​L​K​i​n​g​_​a​b​o​u​t​_​s​o​m​e​t​h​i​N​G​_​d​i​s​t​u​r​b​i​n​g​. B​u​T​_​I’ll​_​t​e​L​L​_​y​o​u​_​a​B​O​u​t​_​s​o​m​e​T​H​i​n​g​_​r​E​A​L​_​t​h​A​T​_​b​l​o​w​S​_​t​h​a​t​_​o​u​t​_​o​f​_​t​h​e​_​w​A​T​E​r​.”

“A​n​Y​W​a​Y​_​I​_​w​i​s​h​_​y​o​u​_​a​l​l​_​G​O​O​d​_​l​u​c​k​. D​o​N’T_​l​e​t​_​t​h​e​_​g​a​m​e​_​e​n​d​_​w​i​t​h​_​s​o​m​e​_​b​O​R​I​n​g​_​o​u​t​C​O​m​e​_​w​h​e​r​e​_​Y​o​U​_​a​r​e​_​a​l​l​_​m​u​M​M​I​f​i​e​d​.”

After he finishes explaining the rules of Kingdom Royale, Noitan vanishes.

“Hey, Otonashi.”

The president seems to have changed her demeanor somewhat after hearing such awful things.

“If what you’re saying is true, there’s a way for us all to survive aside from completing Kingdom Royale, right?”

“Yeah.”

Maria’s firm assertion seems to resonate even more deeply with the president.

…Maybe this could lead them to believe us even more quickly than expected.

I mean, the president—and the others, too—they don’t want to take part in this killing game. If we keep fumbling along without a clue and time starts running out, someone will end up breaking. Then the game would begin. We need to act before that happens.

That’s why, if we can establish another option for getting out of this, they’ll most likely jump at the chance.

“Shall I tell you exactly what it is?” And Maria can tell them.

“…Okay, I’ll bite. What do we need to do?”

“If we can get Daiya to take out his Box, we will be free.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Daiya instantly at her words. Seeing our attitudes, he clicks his tongue in annoyance and makes sure it’s loud enough for us all to hear.

“Hey, Daiya, aren’t you going respond to Maria?”

Rejecting the president’s question, Daiya turns away and stays silent.

“…To be honest, if you’re gonna call Oomine suspicious, I won’t object,” Kamiuchi says with a bit of a chill in his voice, as if he’s irritated. He then turns around and smiles at Yuri. “Of course, you’re on the same page as me, right, Yuri?”

“Huh?!”

Yuri’s eyes grow huge as she is suddenly dragged into the fray.

“Th-that’s… I never…”

She’s fumbling over her words, but judging by the way she keeps peeking over at Daiya, I’d have to say she agrees with Kamiuchi.

The atmosphere of the situation is now completely to Daiya’s disadvantage.

“Ugh…” He reacts to this whole affair with a deep sigh. “You idiots are all a bunch of puppets.”

But not even his insults are enough to change the mood.

“How about you try defending yourself before you start calling people idiots?” the president replies calmly.

Daiya gives an icy laugh as if thoroughly disgusted.

“…What? What’s with the unpleasant laughter?” she asks.

“You believe others so readily—I was just thinking how easy it would be for all of you to get wiped out. And you say you’re all honor students? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Stop with the smoke and mirrors, Daiya. Hurry up and state your case.”

“Sorry, but I’ll save that until after the Private Meetings.”

“Huh? What sort of weak attitude is that? Aren’t you just buying time to come up with a good explanation?”

“I can’t decide what stance to take, and there’s someone I want to confer with.”

“Okay, but you’re overwhelmingly suspicious right now. Are you fine with that?”

Daiya doesn’t say anything in response.