The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 3: Chapter 19

Day 6 <E> Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

Before I even read the note, I already knew whatever was on it wouldn’t be good.

Kill Yuri, and you’re home free!

I didn’t expect it to be this horrible, though.

Yuri is a Class opposed to mine, the Revolutionary. The same goes for Koudai Kamiuchi as the Knight. On the other hand, the Revolutionary and the Knight can coexist. As far as the game goes, there’s no reason for me to kill Koudai Kamiuchi.

So what’s he up to?

Maybe he figures giving me this note will get me to Assassinate Yuri, and that’s why he made this bet with me?

I wish he would quit belittling me.

I crumple the note into a ball and toss it on the table. I then turn my attention to the monitor.

I recall how on the first day, I never would have been able to make such a choice.

But now—

I don’t know. I have no idea what I should do.

But the one thing I can be sure of is that if I don’t do something, I won’t be able to save anyone.

…So should I actually kill Koudai Kamiuchi?

That would equate to giving in to the Box. To losing. And then—to never being able to have a normal life ever again.

But maybe that’s how it should be? If I can save Yanagi, then maybe the normal life I’m so obsessed with doesn’t matter.

That’s right. That would make it as if my transgression never happened. If I can redo my relationship with Yanagi, then I—

I…am fine with abandoning normality.

I extend my hand toward the monitor. Sorry, Koudai Kamiuchi, but I win the bet. I’m going to save Yanagi. That’s what I want. That’s justice in my mind.

It’s okay, right, Maria? This outcome is okay, right?

I ask the Maria within me, hoping she’ll provide me with the answer I want to hear.

Unfortunately, what she says is—

“I will protect you.”

—the same thing she said just a little while ago.

“……Oh.”

The contradiction stops my hand as it reaches for the screen.

It’s true; why would Maria say something like that…? Could I be overlooking something…?

Ah, I get it. Now that I think about it, what was the real reason behind Iroha’s death?

It doesn’t seem right that she would give up on survival so easily. That’s why calling it suicide didn’t sit well with me.

What if she was already on the verge of death when she was executed, though? Or what if it was already almost guaranteed she would die?

I pull out my portable device and check the rules.

If someone is targeted for Death by Sword, it’ll take effect at 5:55. Iroha died at 5:40. If she knew at that point she was going to get Death by Sword anyway, then…

…wouldn’t she try to send some sort of message to us?

…No, that doesn’t make sense. Iroha was the King after all. There’s no way she would target herself for Murder—

No. I have it wrong. Iroha was the Prince.

The King, the King who is capable of choosing who to Murder, was—

—Yuri Yanagi.

No, no, that can’t be it. Let’s not jump to conclusions here. The idea that was some message sent from Iroha because she was certain to die is nothing more than an idea I just came up with now.

Still…

I check something on my device.

No doubt about it. Just before that time—Iroha was having a Private Meeting with Yuri.

Iroha broke the schedule and was executed, because she didn’t return to her room by forty minutes after the hour. Because she didn’t return from Yuri’s room.

In other words—

—Yuri witnessed Iroha die right before her very eyes.

“Aren’t you sad?”

That’s what Maria said to Yuri as she was gazing at the orange watch. Then Yuri had started crying as if a dam had burst.

As if she had remembered what she had to do.

“No matter what, I didn’t want to die. That’s why, so I…”

Because she didn’t want to die?

Because she didn’t want to die.

“I love you. I love you, Kazuki.”

“……”

I reach out for the tabletop and pick up the note I had balled up and tossed away.

Kill Yuri and you’re home free!

…Let’s say I kill Koudai Kamiuchi here. I’m the Revolutionary, Maria is the Double, and Yuri is the Prince, so of course the game isn’t going to end yet.

So then what would she do? Yuri absolutely doesn’t want to die, so what would she do if things went down that path?

Koudai Kamiuchi said it earlier.

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

I try to control the almost painful racing of my heart.

“Don’t kill anyone.”

Why didn’t Maria say “Koudai Kamiuchi”?

I scroll through the device again, fearful of what I’ll find. I play back Maria’s words from before.

“I will protect you.”

The recording doesn’t change, no matter how many times I play it. Maria knew. She wants to save everyone, no matter who they are, and that’s why she didn’t say this in front of Yuri while she was crying.

“I will protect you all.”

I already know why she didn’t say it.

And that’s how I—

Day 7 <B> The Common Area

“I win.”

I lost the bet with Koudai Kamiuchi.

Day 7 <C> Private Meeting with Koudai Kamiuchi – Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

I never imagined he would choose to have a Private Meeting with me.

“I could tell from your face. You realized the truth and decided not to Assassinate me.”

Even though his life had been at stake, Koudai Kamiuchi addresses me as jovially as ever.

“…You were confident I would?”

He grins. “No way! I told you, didn’t I? Taking risks gets me off.”

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand the way his mind works.

“So maybe you’re thinking we should take out Yuri? …Or maybe not. If you were, you would’ve done it yesterday, I guess. Heh-heh, she really freaked when I told everyone she was thinking of killing you yesterday, didn’t she? …She was so cute.”

“…Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why did you say it like that? You could’ve told me what she was up to in a way that was easier to understand.”

Koudai Kamiuchi’s tone is light.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“So why?!”

“Because I’m head over heels for her.” It sounds like another one of his dumb jokes. But his eyes tell me he isn’t lying.

“…You realized she’s using you? You also realized she’s trying to kill you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you still say you’re in love?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

He’s crazy. No sane mind would think that way.

“What’s with that face? She tried to do the same thing to you, didn’t she? You know how I feel, then.”

“There’s no way I—”

“Okay, then did you consider killing her, even just a little bit?”

“…That’s…”

My mouth closes of its own accord… No. That wasn’t because it was Yuri. I would never be able to kill anyone.

…All the same, it’s true that I was a mere step away from killing Koudai Kamiuchi. And yet, I didn’t have even the slightest intention of doing the same to Yuri. Even after what’s come to light here, I still don’t have any desire to.

“Sweet little Yuri has charmed us both despite her attempts to deceive us. We’re in the same boat, aren’t we? I totally get wanting to stay alive, so I can let her trickery slide… Well, guess that means I’m gonna keep getting played, even if I am onto her schemes. Phew… Gotta hand it to her, Yuri is the biggest powerhouse in this game.”

We’re still being played.

…He’s right. I suspect Koudai Kamiuchi is just cooking up another yarn to try to fool me. Or at least, that’s what I hope.

So I ask another question out of a desire to crush this naive notion.

“…How long have you and Yuri been working together?”

“Since our Private Meeting on the first day. It was her idea for me to act so dangerous.”

So it really was from the very beginning. Yuri had been searching for a way to survive since the start, when she was white as a sheet.

“…And was it Yuri who instructed you to kill Daiya?”

“Yep. The truth is, she really bought into the whole idea of Boxes and said that this would end if we knocked out Oomine. She seriously believed it.”

“Boxes…?”

Even though she kept saying she couldn’t believe… Ah, I see now. That was another part of her act to protect her from suspicion.

“You remember how I was looking at my device right before that? What I was actually doing was reading back over my orders from her.”

“Just how much did Yuri tell you to do?”

“She told me what to generally say and do. All so that no one would suspect her. Not that she explained that to me, though.”

Yuri had been happy and smiling up until Kamiuchi caused that incident.

Even though she knew what would happen next.

“…Maria.”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t Maria say anything even though she knew you two were working together?”

“Oh, you picked up on that, too?”

Maria had a Private Meeting with Koudai Kamiuchi right before that. It’s possible he did something to keep her from speaking up.

“Fact is, Maricchi got wise to us yesterday. Well, she wasn’t certain, more just suspicious. So during our Private Meeting, she started prying into how Yuri and I were connected.”

I suddenly remember a comment Maria made:

“You’ve already had Private Meetings with Yanagi four times, correct?”

“…No way…”

Was Maria already suspicious of Yuri at that point? Did she have doubts about her actions even then, about how she was halfway forcing me to have Private Meetings with her?

And regardless, I neglected Maria’s warning and had a Private Meeting with Yuri because I was still haunted by my past with Yanagi.

Which means I invited this worst-case scenario upon us.

“Don’t you think Maricchi is a bit too straightforward for her own good, though? You’d think she’d be aware that talking to me about Yuri would put her in danger.”

I’m sure she does, but Maria doesn’t have any other method of attack.

“Well, it didn’t seem like we could keep our secret anymore, and it was getting to be a pain anyway, so I decided to come clean. Oh, and as you guessed, I made her keep quiet.”

“…How? Maria isn’t the easiest person to intimidate. She’s not the type to go along with threats, even if her life is at risk.”

“Very true. Maricchi said she wouldn’t play along no matter what happened to her… Which is why I took you hostage.”

“……Huh?”

“Hey, it’s not like I planned to, okay? All I did was reveal to her the honest truth that I was going to kill you next. Then she proposed the idea herself. She said, ‘I’ll go along with what you say and keep the truth hidden as long as you let Kazuki live. In return, you can kill me.’ She’s as brave as they come.”

Ah, I get it now.

“I will protect you.”

She meant exactly what she said.

“I told her, ‘Gotcha.’ But I don’t have any intention of keeping my word. I mean, what’s the point? It’s not like Yuri is gonna let a Class opposed to hers like the Revolutionary live anyway.”

…I’m sure Maria’s more than aware of that. She has to know that taking my place doesn’t solve anything.

Even then, she can’t forsake me.

That’s the strength of her pride.

But—

“She’s actually a bit stupid, Maricchi.”

—Koudai Kamiuchi could never comprehend this.

He’s about as far removed from that dignified strength as a person can get.

“…Kamiuchi.”

“What?”

“Would you not have killed Daiya if Yuri didn’t order you to?”

He answers right away.

“No way.”

It probably wasn’t a very difficult question for him.

“All she did was give me a little push. I probably would’ve done something similar even if she didn’t give me the knife. I mean, come on, are we supposed to just let time run out?”

He sounds like he’s having fun.

“Can’t let all this entertainment go to waste.”

Yeah, I understand now.

Yuri’s behind-the-scenes manipulation and all that doesn’t really matter. All I know is that I can never forgive this person. Never.

Watching me out of the corner of his eye now that I’ve gone quiet and clenched my fists, Koudai Kamiuchi begins digging around in his hemp sack.

“I feel kinda bad for you here, so I’ll give you this.”

He’s holding out a knife.

“…What’re you trying to pull?”

“Just a means of self-defense, so take it. As it happens, Yuri says she doesn’t intend to pick someone to Murder until your Private Meeting with her begins. If you take her out ASAP, you might get out of this alive, huh?”

“…Are you serious?”

“…Huh? Are you weirded out that I’m helping you? I just feel for you, man. Consider it a parting gift from me, as a fellow member of the Victims of Yuri Yanagi Society.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about! I mean…you said you love Yuri, right?”

He looks at me blankly, as if he hasn’t the slightest idea what I’m getting at.

Oh, I see now.

For him, he has nothing worth protecting. I can’t see anything that would form the core of his heart. That’s why his behavior seems inconsistent. He thinks nothing of just letting me know how he shut Maria up, or that Yuri is conspiring with him in secret.

I’m done. I don’t feel like talking to him anymore.

“…I don’t want it.”

“Okay.”

He tosses the knife on the table without the slightest hint of emotion.

And that’s how our conversation ends. Koudai Kamiuchi sits down on my bed, pulls out his portable device, and begins fiddling with it as if he’s bored. I crouch on the floor as I would in gym class and press my face into my knees.

I don’t want to talk to him, but I still need to confirm a few things.

“Kamiuchi,” I ask without lifting my head, “are you going to kill Yuri after I die?”

Yuri and Koudai Kamiuchi are the King and Knight respectively, so it’s impossible for them both to survive. If he wants to win the game, he’ll have to kill her.

Koudai Kamiuchi answers, “Honestly, I don’t know.”

He says it so easily, in the same nonchalant tone of voice.

“Might as well leave that as part of the gamble, too, eh?”

I lift my head and look at his face.

He’s wearing his ever-present flippant expression. Not a thing about Koudai Kamiuchi has changed. He doesn’t feel an iota of guilt for murdering Daiya and Iroha.

“…Hey, this is the first time I’ve ever said this to anyone, but there’s something I have to tell you,” I say.

“Knock yourself out.”

Taking a deep breath, I muster up all my loathing.

“I hope Yuri kills you.”

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