The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 3: Chapter 18

Day 6 <C> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

The situation progresses, though I still have yet to decide on a course of action.

IROHA SHINDO HAS BEEN EXECUTED FOR FAILURE TO OBEY THE TIMETABLE.

•Iroha Shindo, compulsorily executed for failure to return to her room by 5:40. Died via decapitation.

Day 6 <D> The Common Area

There are two hemp sacks on the table in the common area. Their contents are the same as mine, except for the color of the wristwatches, which are black and orange. They’re the ones Daiya and Iroha wore.

Koudai Kamiuchi snatches up the four days’ worth of rations, two from each sack, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Despite what I’m seeing, it still hasn’t sunk in with me that Iroha is dead. What happened? Noitan lets us know when time is up, so how could she have made a mistake like that?

“It’s gotta be suicide,” says Koudai Kamiuchi. “She couldn’t take the heat, so she stayed put and got executed on purpose is my guess. Probably felt she’d rather be dead than let me get my hands on her. Man, Maricchi and now her. So many rude people here.”

Something about it doesn’t sit right with me. We only spent a few days together, but I just can’t imagine her choosing that option.

As for Yuri, it apparently has yet to sink in, as she dazedly picks up the orange watch and stares at it. Maria is watching her with a questioning glimmer in her eyes.

“Yanagi.” Maria calls her name

Yuri still seems stupefied when she turns to Maria, who continues:

“Aren’t you sad?”

At that, a hint of emotion creeps into Yuri’s expression for the first time. Her eyes grow moist, and she crouches down on the spot, covering her face.

“……”

Maria shakes her head and looks away, as if she can’t stand the sight of her.

“That’s so nice of you to let her know when it’s her cue to cry.”

“…Hmph.” Maria makes no attempt to hide her loathing, snorting angrily at Koudai Kamiuchi.

“Cold as ice… By the way, Hoshino.” Koudai Kamiuchi shifts his gaze toward me. “You’re the Revolutionary, right? If you want to, you can kill me during the next time block. Which is why I’m gonna have to ask you to die during this one, but…”

Thud.

He stabs a knife into the table.

“You wanna try to stop me? Go ahead. Well, I do have a knife, and you’re empty-handed. Hey, actually, I’m game if you all want to try to take me on at once.”

“…Three on one?”

“Go for it, if you think you can beat me that way.”

…It’s no good. For all Maria’s skill in the martial arts, she still isn’t that gifted physically. Maybe if we had time to come up with a plan it would be worth it, but as we stand now, I can’t imagine a violent confrontation with an armed Koudai Kamiuchi would end well for us.

“In other words, big shot, you’re as good as dead.”

Koudai Kamiuchi pulls out the knife stuck in the table. He then turns the point toward me and grins.

“—Well, thought I’d try saying it anyway.”

I’m not sure what he’s getting at, and confusion overtakes me.

My face must look funny, because Koudai Kamiuchi starts cackling.

“I was thinking, and I realized that crushing you like this is just boring, you know? So how about we spice things up a bit, eh?”

I have no clue what he’s talking about. I don’t care at all about winning or losing or boredom or whatever.

“Let’s make a bet.”

He carries on without a care for the scowl on my face.

“As you know, during the upcoming <E> time block, you can use your Assassinate command, right? The way I figure, you aren’t going to Assassinate me, regardless. So that’s what I’m betting on.”

“……?”

“Look, if you Assassinate me, naturally, I’m gonna die, okay? And then, obviously, I lose, see? On the other hand, if that time passes, and you don’t use Assassinate, then we’ll call that a win for me. That’s all I’m getting at here.”

“…That doesn’t make any sense. What the hell type of bet is that? There’s nothing in it for you. Do you want me to Assassinate you?”

“Not at all. I thought I just laid it out for you. Crushing victories like this are a drag.”

“That’s what I’m saying doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh… Well, lemme see. Do you understand how it can feel good to take a risk just for the sake of it?”

All I can do is frown.

“I know it’ll never happen, but let’s say I compete in the World Cup, okay? I shoot on the goal and score a point. My team wins. Even though I might be a real scumbag normally, this is enough for me to become a huge star and have all that completely ignored. On the flip side, if I screw up and allow the other team to score on us and Japan loses, I’ll be so despised I might as well be an actual criminal.”

That’s definitely a high-risk, high-return competition. Almost exactly like gambling.

“You’re the type who avoids games like that, aren’t you? Because you’re afraid of having everyone hate you. Well, I’m the complete opposite. My adrenaline would be flowing. I’d love to give it a go.”

…Yes, I think I’m beginning to see it now. But—

“…Betting your life is…crazy,” I say.

“Well, it may be a bit over the top, yeah.”

“First off, what are you hoping to gain by wagering your life?”

“Don’t we have some prizes right here?”

“Huh?”

No one explained anything at all about prizes to me.

“I knew those prizes from the moment I saw them. I get the feeling I even mentioned it, too.”

I remember the very first thing he said. I also recall seeing it several times on my device. I’m pretty sure it was—

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

“…You can’t be serious.”

“I’ve already had a taste of one. ”

None of us would ever hope for Kingdom Royale to begin. That’s what I had thought. I firmly believed that was the right approach.

That was a mistake, though. Koudai Kamiuchi has been having a blast with this from the get-go.

“I can’t figure you out. There’s no consistency to your behavior. What exactly are you trying to do here?”

“That’s what they’re always saying to me.”

Koudai Kamiuchi answers Maria’s question with an enormous grin.

“They say ‘What do you want to do?’ or ‘Set some goals for yourself’ or ‘Take things more seriously,’ but they should all just mind their own business. Who gives a crap about that? I’ve got more skills than all the people trying to lecture me anyway. I wish those incompetent schlubs would spare me their inferiority complex BS.”

“I see. So you’re a true-blue idiot,” Maria cuts in.

“Watch your mouth.”

She becomes quiet at the sudden cold change in his tone.

“Okay, let’s get back to our little bet, Hoshino. So we’re both putting lives on the line, got it? As for the prizes, I decided to level the playing field a bit even though I already had this game in the bag, so you don’t mind if I’m the only one who gets them, right?”

As if he would let me refuse.

“All you gotta worry about is putting on a good show.”

I know he didn’t have anything good planned. But even then—

“You just need to let me watch Yuri kill you.”

—what he says goes leagues beyond what I had imagined.

“……What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. I win the bet, and naturally, we all get to head into tomorrow’s <C> block unharmed. I get to have more Private Meetings, aka playtime, with my dear Yuri here. Then, she and I will work together to Murder you.”

“What’re you talking about? Don’t you know Yuri is the Prince?”

“She’s the King,” Koudai Kamiuchi says plainly.

“Huh? But that’s—”

I stop short. Yuri looks up at me, her face a sickly white.

“…Yuri…?”

“I-it’s not what you think… Kazuki, it’s not!”

Why? Why is she trying to explain herself before I’ve even said anything?

“Here, let me lay it out for you. Yuri lied about her Class. She and the president switched classes for the big reveal.”

“…Why?”

“To survive, why else?”

Yuri’s white face is all I need to know he’s telling the truth.

“If she’s so scared of dying that she’s willing to pull a stunt like that, then I know she’ll cave to my threats. It’ll be easy to get her to use Murder.”

“……I won’t do it.”

Yuri’s voice is a whisper.

“You won’t use Murder? Heh-heh, sure you will, sweetheart.”

“…D-don’t mock me. I don’t want that to happen to Kazuki, and I can’t do it. How can you be so confident that I will…?”

“Because you’re the type of girl who offers up her body in exchange for her life, aren’t you, Yuri?”

She stops speaking and tenses up.

“There isn’t a doubt in my mind that you’ll kill to stay alive.”

“That’s not—”

“Hey, how about I tell the others what you said when you were begging for your life?”

Yuri’s eyes widen.

“Any pure-hearted boy who heard the things coming out of your mouth wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”

“……Stop.”

“You’re really something. Not an ounce of pride in you. I gotta admit, I’m an underclassman with fantasies about girls, and even I was shocked.”

“St… Stop, stop, stop……!! Don’t say any more!!”

Yuri starts sobbing immediately.

“You cry at the drop of a hat… Don’t worry. I was just kidding.”

That doesn’t stop her tears, of course. Koudai Kamiuchi spreads his hands in disbelief.

“Anyway, whether you trust her is your choice, but I wouldn’t if I were you.”

I glance over at Yuri as she continues to cry.

I feel bad for her, but if she might Murder me, I can’t help but wonder. She did devise a scheme to lie about her Class, after all. I’m sure she won’t be able to resist if he dangles the death threat in front of her.

That’s how badly Yuri doesn’t want to die.

“That’s all for the bet. Participation is mandatory. It’s not like you have anything to lose, right?”

Having smugly brought the discussion to a close, he puts his arm around my shoulders in a friendly gesture and pulls me toward him, like he’s about to kill me.

What the…?

The moment I think this, he shoves something into the pocket of my pants. When I look at him, he presses his pointer finger to his lips. Since he has his arm around my shoulder, Yuri and Maria didn’t see.

Completing his objective, he steps away from me.

I stick my hand into my pocket. I feel something crinkly.

Paper…? Maybe it has a message he didn’t want the other two to know about…?

“Kazuki.”

I quickly pull my hand out of my pocket. Maria continues without paying any particular attention to the action.

“I’m sure it’s okay, but I’ll just say it anyway.” She looks me square in the eye, then says, “Don’t kill anyone.”

…I knew it. That’s what I thought she’d say.

No matter the circumstances, no matter who we’re dealing with, Maria will never hope for a resolution due to someone’s death.

“……I don’t want to, but what am I supposed to do? I’m not worried about myself. But if I die, then you and Yuri will be…”

“And you want to sacrifice yourself for us? Surely you understand. If you use Assassinate, let alone kill someone, you’ll never escape the clutches of the Game of Indolence for the rest of your life.”

I should understand this.

The moment I kill Koudai Kamiuchi, I’ll never be able to return to any semblance of normality.

Still—

“Please don’t betray me.”

Yuri is still sobbing.

As I watch her in this state, the words I said so long ago play through my mind like a refrain.

“I can’t see you anymore.”

I’ll never do anything like that again.

I will never make a mistake like that ever again. That’s why I have to do something, or else Yuri—

“You don’t need to worry about saving us, Kazuki.”

It’s like her words pierce straight through my heart, and I lower my eyes.

“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself for that. All you need to worry about is protecting your own life.”

“…But if I lose the bet, then I’ll be killed.”

“Don’t worry.”

Maria says it as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“I will protect you.”

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.