The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 3: Chapter 22

•Kazuki Hoshino, dead via slit carotid artery inflicted by Iroha Shindo

GAME OVER

• Winners

Iroha Shindo (Player)

The Sorcerer; killed Yuri Yanagi, Maria Otonashi, Daiya Oomine, and Kazuki Hoshino directly on the first day. Survived.

*Victory conditions were fulfilled by skillfully surviving.

Koudai Kamiuchi

*Victory conditions were fulfilled by the deaths of Kazuki Hoshino and Maria Otonashi.

• Losers

Yuri Yanagi

The Knight; died due to hemorrhagic shock after her carotid artery was slit with a knife by Iroha Shindo on the first day.

Daiya Oomine

The King; died due to hemorrhagic shock after his carotid artery was slit with a knife by Iroha Shindo on the first day.

Kazuki Hoshino

The Prince; died due to hemorrhagic shock after his carotid artery was slit with a knife by Iroha Shindo on the first day.

Maria Otonashi

The Revolutionary; died due to hemorrhagic shock after her carotid artery was slit with a knife by Iroha Shindo on the first day.

The intoxicated wavering ceases, and the transparent hands controlling me vanish.

In front of me is an arcade game cabinet with Kingdom Royale written on it.

I’m back in that black, dark space. The sinister, sticky air that seems to cling to my body fills me with loathing—and then I remember.

That’s right. Those transparent hands came out of this machine and grabbed me, and then—

“Welcome back from the meaningless slaughter.”

Daiya Oomine, the owner of the Game of Indolence, stands before me.

“So how were the Replays?” Daiya asks.

“Replays…?”

“Yeah, everything you underwent in Kingdom Royale, you didn’t actually experience. How should I put it…? Okay, it’s like you were living through something like the records or backlogs of other players.”

What the hell is Daiya talking about? The records of other players? If I was, then why was it all from my viewpoint?

Those memories were undoubtedly mine.

“I can see you don’t really understand.”

“…I mean, those were definitely my—”

“Those were NPCs.”

Daiya answers straightaway.

“…What?”

“Don’t you know any gaming terminology? Okay, what I’m saying is that thing you thought was you was actually an enemy controlled by the Kingdom Royale computer. If that wasn’t the case, you definitely wouldn’t be here after dying twice, right?”

…I don’t understand. The me who went through all that suffering and mental anguish was just an NPC?

“…You’re lying. There’s no way it could copy my behavior and thoughts so realistically.”

“It can. That’s what makes it a Box.”

“…You may be right, but…”

Now that I think about it, Maria didn’t have her Box. Could that be because she was an NPC?

“…But why would you do all this?”

“I thought I told you? This Box, the Game of Indolence, is made to simply force people into the game of Kingdom Royale and fight off boredom. Kingdom Royale won’t start unless there’s a human to start the killing. If it doesn’t start, it’s no good as a diversion. So what do I need to do to guarantee one person kills another?”

Daiya tells me, without allowing me to get a word in.

“I build a system where one person will always kick off the slaughter.”

“Why does having NPCs make it so one person will always start killing?”

“In Kingdom Royale, only one player is fighting in the true sense. If they lose, then they die. All the rest are NPCs. You still with me?”

I nod, a frown on my face.

“The player knows the other people are NPCs. They’re hard to tell apart from the real thing, but the player knows that even if they kill the NPCs, the originals are still alive. On the other hand, they also know that for them, and them alone, it’s all over if they die. Now then, do you think a player in that position would be able to go without killing anyone?”

I remember something Yuri said during the second game.

“I don’t want to die.”

She must have been the player in that game. I wonder if she would’ve done what she did if she had no clue what was happening… My guess is no. I’m positive she was influenced by the knowledge that everyone else was an NPC.

No, what’s really worrying is Iroha. She was much more open about it. She suppressed her emotions and ended the game as quickly as possible because she knew she would have a chance to do it over again. Each of the three games unfolded in a completely different manner. Everything can change so much depending on the player, and that’s undeniable proof that the player is the key to starting Kingdom Royale.

“…So why did Yuri suffer so much and try so hard not to kill us? She would’ve known we were NPCs, right?”

“You really are a slug with no imagination. You do know those NPCs are perfect copies of you all? True, you can kill them, and the real versions won’t die… But on the flip side, that’s the only difference.”

“…?”

“The NPC of you isn’t different from the real you in any way. Its personality is exactly like yours in every way possible. Would you be able to forgive someone who killed a being identical to you? Or to look at it the other way, would you be able to casually murder someone else’s NPC?”

I close my mouth.

“You know the answer because you did the Replays. Killing an NPC feels the same as killing the real thing.”

…He’s right. Whether the real me was alive didn’t matter a whit to my NPCs. Yuri and Iroha killed those other “me”s.

The NPCs and I are identical yet separate beings.

“…Daiya, is it fair to say that the experiences of the NPCs based on me in these Replays you’re talking about can be treated like my own experiences?”

“Yeah, I don’t see any issue with that.”

If so, that means I have yet to win or lose Kingdom Royale.

What will decide that is yet to come.

I look at the arcade cabinet before me.

Next time, I will play Kingdom Royale in the truest sense. I’ll play a game where there are no do-overs, where dying means dying.

“It’s your turn.”

“So the players up until now have been Daiya, Yuri, and Iroha in that order, right?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“What are Yuri and Iroha doing now?”

“They’re in the darkness here. Sleeping, or maybe I should say ‘stopped.’ If you looked around, you could probably find them, but you won’t be able to do anything, so there’s no reason to. You’ll only go free once all the six player games are over.”

“And they’re all alive?”

“Yeah. Because they won as players.”

“…The memories of our time playing Kingdom Royale aren’t going to vanish, are they?”

“No.”

I remember. I didn’t actually experience those things, so maybe that isn’t the right way to put it, but…at any rate, I remember.

Yuri Yanagi’s empty eyes.

Iroha Shindo’s wail.

They’ll suffer, bear the guilt of their actions, and never be able to rid themselves of it. I won’t be able to save them, no matter what I do in my upcoming game.

I cannot help them anymore.

Just like them, the only one I can help is myself.

…No, that’s wrong.

“Daiya.”

“What?”

“When is Maria’s turn?”

Daiya replies.

“After yours.”

I see. Then—

—I can save Maria.

I look around, searching for her form. I know she should be in this space. But I’m completely surrounded by that unpleasant gloom, and I can’t see anything except the immediate vicinity of the arcade cabinet.

Yuri and Iroha gave me hints in the hope that I would win. They taught me strategies on how to defeat them.

But that won’t work for me.

After all, Maria has no chance of winning. She can’t carry out the killing and deception essential to this game.

Within the Game of Indolence, she is powerless.

I have to save her. If I don’t, she will become my new Nana Yanagi.

But what do I need to do? Even if I’m victorious in Kingdom Royale, that only ensures that I survive and doesn’t do anything to help her.

That’s right—my goal isn’t to win Kingdom Royale.

It’s to crush this stupid Box, the Game of Indolence.

“…What’s that cheeky look for, Kazu?” Daiya scowls at the way I’m watching him.

“……This really isn’t fair, is it, Daiya?”

“What?”

“I’m saying it’s cowardly.”

Daiya seems openly displeased by my comment… Just as I planned.

“How so? I was the very first player of Kingdom Royale. I had to feel my way through without any Replays, so when you take that into account, I had the biggest disadvantage of us all. And you call that cowardly?”

“Our objectives are different.”

“What?”

“In my case, winning Kingdom Royale doesn’t mean I’ve completed my objective. It just means I survived. You know that my true goal is to make it back to my normal life, right?”

“……”

“Killing someone during the game is enough to prevent me from ever reaching my objective. If Kingdom Royale doesn’t end until you kill somebody, then I’ll never be able to meet that goal. There’s no winning for me, in other words. Meanwhile, you get to throw me in a cage and watch me invariably lose. Doesn’t that sound cowardly to you?”

After I put that out there, Daiya gives me a silent glare. I meet his eyes and hold my stare, fighting to keep my terrified heart in line.

This goes on for a while—but then Daiya bursts into laughter.

“Wh-what’s so funny?”

“What’re you saying? That little staring contest there was meant to make me laugh, right? Okay, fine, fine, I lose. Your face really does crack me up, though.”

“…I’m asking what’s so funny about it!”

“It’s just funny. You’re obviously trying to challenge me to turn the situation to your advantage.”

“……Oh.”

He sees through my little provocation.

“Try again when you’re as smooth as Yanagi. You could never fool me with your crappy acting. You’re about as silly and empty-headed as they come.”

“Ugh—”

Guess it’s no good—

As long as Daiya doesn’t change the conditions, I have no chance of accomplishing what I want to do. Had I reached a deadlock?

Will I—not be able to save Maria?

“But it sounds interesting,” Daiya says.

“……Huh?”

“What I’m saying is that I accept your challenge.”

I still can’t process it, though, and my jaw drops.

“There’s a secret trick that will allow you to end Kingdom Royale without killing anyone.”

Daiya carries on without paying attention to me. I manage to close my mouth, then focus on what he’s saying.

“Do you remember how that green bear says it’ll be boring if everyone gets mummified?”

I sift through my memories.

“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​.”

Yeah, he did say that.

“I’m repeating myself here, but this Box is meant to fight off boredom. It doesn’t want a peaceful end where nothing happens. It doesn’t take into account the idea that the game could end without any murder because that’s not interesting. And so, the moment it’s certain no one will be killed, the game shuts down. Everyone’s food runs out, and when the time comes, the player will be released.”

“So in other words—”

“If no one kills anyone else for eight days, you can survive.”

Yeah, there it is.

That will be the proof I’ve beaten the Box and taken back my normal life.

“And—if you reach that ending, I’ll destroy the Game of Indolence. This is your idea of fair, right?”

“…Really?”

“When have I ever lied?”

…Plenty of times, actually.

But I’m pretty sure he’ll keep this promise. As prideful as Daiya is, there’s no way he’ll break a promise in a contest with such clearly defined rules of victory or defeat.

Victory is no longer an impossibility for me.

Of course, keeping everyone, including Daiya and Koudai Kamiuchi, from killing others is going to be an extremely difficult task. Someone might make a mistake as time runs out, and the fear of death runs high. The road to the ending that’s only available after eight uneventful days is going to be rough.

Even so, I have no other choice.

“…Daiya.”

I jab my pointer finger at him.

Daiya has been calling Kingdom Royale a “meaningless slaughter.”

However, I reject that idea.

It does have meaning. The struggles of Yuri, Iroha, and all the others taught me how to defeat Daiya.

I won’t let their pain be for nothing.

“I will beat you, Daiya.”

Daiya laughs boldly and declares:

“Not a chance in hell.”