The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 4: Chapter 14

🔶 Day 5 <C> Private Meeting with Daiya Oomine – Kazuki Hoshino’s Room

WILL YOU CUT DOWN KOUDAI KAMIUCHI WITH DEATH BY SWORD?

That’s the message that appears on the monitor in my room.

I’m pretty sure the message is programmed to disappear during Private Meetings so that other players don’t know about them. That’s why the message is gone when Daiya arrives.

But at least for now, that’s a useless feature.

Daiya, the King, is the only one who could have chosen the target for Murder, really.

“…What’re you playing at? Didn’t you just help Koudai Kamiuchi out?”

Sitting on the table with his legs crossed, Daiya flashes a bold smirk as he retorts:

“Hey, that’s a pretty funny joke. You really think I’d give someone like him a hand? I just used him since it suited my purposes to make him my puppet.”

“…But your Classes, the King and the Double, can coexist.”

“Do you really think my goal is to win Kingdom Royale?”

“—”

I’m speechless for a moment. I never thought he would simply come out and say that winning isn’t his goal.

Just what is Daiya trying to do here…?

“…Okay, then why did you kill Yuri and Iroha? Was that really necessary?”

“…It was, in a certain sense. That said, Yanagi killed herself. I didn’t plan on that.”

“……So you weren’t intending to kill Yuri?”

But Daiya’s lips twitch up in a sardonic smile. “No, I intended to keep her alive a bit longer and use her. I was going to have Kamiuchi violate her in front of you so you could see her suffer. It would make you even more aware of the danger.”

I don’t understand.

I have no idea what he’s thinking.

However, no matter the reason, the acts he’s describing are beneath contempt.

“And just what danger should I be more aware of…?!”

“Kamiuchi’s next target after Yuri, for both murder and satisfying his sexual urges, would of course be Otonashi, right? I wanted to let you know what would happen to her if you didn’t do anything.”

“Why?!” I shout without thinking.

But I know—his methods aside—Daiya would never do anything so cruel without reason. There’s no question of that, and it’s something I’ve come to believe.

“……”

That’s right. Daiya never does anything without a purpose.

There has to be some significance to why he’s put us in this situation, too. He must have his reasons for why he chose Koudai Kamiuchi as the target for Murder and is having this Private Meeting with me as well.

But I have no clue as to what those reasons could be.

I mean, if that’s the case, then what the hell does that make this Box? Why have a Box to do away with boredom? None of that seems very much like Daiya.

“Forcing people into a game where they kill one another? Heh-heh… Sounds pretty unproductive to me. It has no reason to exist.”

Daiya actually said that during the second game. I can’t imagine that a Daiya NPC who didn’t know about the Game of Indolence would have been trying to trick me back then.

“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.”

They’re inconsistent. Daiya’s remarks don’t match up. He has no reason to make a wish just to mitigate his boredom, and that’s undeniably the only thing the wish of the Game of Indolence is meant to do. There’s no two ways about it; it’s just contra—

“—”

No.

It’s not contradictory at all.

“Otonashi can detect Boxes, interfere with them, and knows about O because she’s an owner, right? I’m an owner now, too, so it shouldn’t surprise you that I can do all that.”

That’s it.

So that’s how it’s been.

Daiya has been using someone else’s Box to his own ends.

If so, then who is the owner of the Game of Indolence?

Only one person comes to mind that fits the bill. I only know of one person who perfectly embodies the state of boredom.

“Koudai Kamiuchi.”

I look up and declare to Daiya:

“Koudai Kamiuchi is the owner of the Game of Indolence.”

That’s right—it was never Daiya.

Yeah, Daiya’s been dropping me hints all along the way. He has never once said he is the owner of the Game of Indolence, and his NPC sincerely denied it, too. The only falsehood Daiya has spoken was to hide his status as the Revolutionary in the first game.

There were plenty of clues that could have led me to this realization. Daiya was leveling the playing field to a surprising degree.

Despite this, all I did was notice that something was slightly off and overlooked the truth that he wasn’t the owner.

Daiya sneers as he speaks.

“Looks like I didn’t need to give you a hint. You caught on pretty quickly.”

“Quickly? …No, I’m too late.”

Iroha and Yuri both became victims. There’s nothing “quickly” about it.

Thanks to that, Daiya pulled my strings like a puppet and handed me a total defeat.

“—”

Still.

Depending on how you look at it, couldn’t this be a sign of hope?

I lost to Daiya. But that loss was to him and not the owner.

Yes—I haven’t lost to the Game of Indolence yet.

Which means it’s entirely possible there is a way to escape it.

“Hey, Kazu, do you know why you couldn’t beat me?” Daiya says. “Because your objective is too vague.”

“…Huh? My objective is to return things to normal, which is pretty clear… Or it should be…”

I need to not kill anyone in the end. The moment I kill someone, even an NPC, there will be no return to normalcy for me. That’s why I tried to become the king and have everyone survive for eight days to clear the game, according to the win condition Daiya proposed.

“C’mon, Kazu, do you think you’re cut out to be the king?”

He said something like that to me yesterday, too.

“…What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. The only one who can become the king is a person willing to dedicate their life solely to the happiness of others without regard for their own happiness or benefit.”

…Is that true?

If that’s the only type who can become the king, then I could never do it. I don’t want to.

The only one I can think of who wants to be such a person—is Maria.

“There’s no reason or need for someone like you who doesn’t find happiness in that to become the king. At best, all you are capable of becoming…”

With a hint of bitter amusement, Daiya finishes:

“…is a ‘knight’ sworn to protect a certain someone, isn’t it?”

A “knight.”

An image of the word forms in my head.

I see myself taking a knee, extending my hand to a princess.

I know this scene.

The background is blurry. I can’t tell if it’s a castle, a terrace, an alley, or a classroom. I’m sure it’s been painted over by my daily life.

But I know who the princess is, as clear as day.

I’m positive that princess will become the king unless I take her away from here. If she does, she will never think of her own happiness again. Even if the truth is that she wants to take my hand and flee from this place.

This is the reason why I resolved to betray everything, to make enemies of everyone—in order to protect her.

All for her.

…Yeah, that’s right.

Until I met her, I clung to normalcy because of a distortion. It was a psychological measure I had taken to forget what happened with Nana Yanagi.

That began to change when she entered my life, though. I wanted to draw her to my side. I wanted her in my life, in my day-to-day. Having her with me was how I expressed what was “normal” to me.

That’s been it all along.

At some point, my goal—

My goal became saving Maria.

That’s why Daiya said what he said to me. Why I had “no chance in hell” of beating him.

Because he had deduced that I wasn’t clear on my purpose. He was confident he would never lose to me as I was then.

He was…exactly right.

“If you’ve caught sight of your goal now, then do what you have to.”

“…What I have to?”

Daiya matter-of-factly states, “Yeah. What you have to do. Kill Koudai Kamiuchi.”

“……Kill him…?”

The Koudai Kamiuchi in here is an NPC, so killing him won’t bring the Game of Indolence to an end.

“But… No, I see it now.”

If I don’t, the Maria in here will be murdered. And not just that, he’ll make her his plaything first.

As a “knight,” there’s no way I can allow this to happen.

I have to kill the Koudai Kamiuchi who is the owner.

“……But…”

Can I really do that?

Koudai Kamiuchi is a horrible person. I mean, if I weren’t involved, my thoughts on the matter would probably be It’s just his NPC, and if you gotta kill him, you gotta kill him.

It’s a different story if I’m the one actually pulling the trigger, though. If I choose the “kill” option, I’ll never be the same again. Forever altered, I’ll be forced to live a lie with Kokone, Haruaki, and Mogi.

However, Daiya is saying I still need to do it regardless. He’s saying I should, if I know what’s important to me.

But if I kill him and escape from the Game of Indolence, will I really be able to say I’ve gone back to “normal” after I’ve done the deed?

“Kazu, try touching your hand to the monitor for a bit.”

I do as I’m told. Nothing happens immediately, since it’s shut off, but after about five seconds, it springs to life. The message DISPLAY THE SCREEN? appears.

“If you accept, it’ll switch to the screen for using the Death by Sword command. You can make the decision to off Koudai Kamiuchi right here and now.”

“……I see.”

I press the YES button on the display. As soon as I do, it asks me WILL YOU CUT KOUDAI KAMIUCHI DOWN WITH DEATH BY SWORD?

I can take a person’s life just by pressing this.

In all the previous games, I never once made this decision in the end. There’s probably no avoiding it now, though.

Still, if it will allow me to keep Maria safe…

I reach out toward the switch, and then—

“……”

—my hand stops.

Wait.

Am I okay with this? Am I okay with doing what Daiya tells me to?

Do I really think I can protect Maria by obeying Daiya?

“…What’s wrong? Chicken?”

“Daiya,” I say, frowning.

He gives me a dubious look.

“This version of you is an NPC, right?”

“…Why are you stating the obvious?”

“That means you don’t know everything the real Daiya intends to do, doesn’t it?”

Daiya eyes me even more distrustfully.

“Answer me,” I urge him, staring fixedly at him. “What about your promise?”

He lapses into silence as he grasps the implication of my statement.

“I wasn’t able to keep everyone alive for eight days. That means the Daiya on the other side doesn’t have to destroy the Game of Indolence.”

“……”

“If the Game of Indolence isn’t destroyed, I can’t protect Maria. What’s more, I can’t kill her as the Prince in this game, so I’m undoubtedly going to lose and die. Maria can’t possibly win the game when her turn to be the player comes around. So that’s a failure to save her, too.”

Daiya is still silent. I pay no heed and continue:

“Is it possible you don’t know how the real Daiya was planning to resolve this?”

“……”

Daiya doesn’t respond. It’s essentially an admission that he doesn’t know the answer.

“…If so, then I can’t just do what you tell me to. I have to find a way to help Maria on my own.”

“……There is no doubt that you have to kill Koudai Kamiuchi.”

“Yeah, at this rate, he’ll murder Maria, so I’ll have to use Death by Sword, but……”

…Huh?

No, hold on. What did Daiya say just now?

His uncomfortable expression made me think he was just trying to avoid the question, but was he really?

What if he was answering my question about how the real Daiya is trying to solve this situation?

“……There is no doubt that you have to kill Koudai Kamiuchi.”

I understand the implication very well. I know the simplest way to destroy the Box.

Maybe this is what Daiya is trying to tell me:

You have to crush the Game of Indolence along with its owner.

The real Daiya is going to resolve things by killing the real Koudai Kamiuchi.

But if so, why did Daiya seem to have trouble saying that just now?

Because it’s such an awful solution? …No, he wouldn’t have trouble saying something like that.

Daiya is glaring at me. He’s telling me with his gaze not to give voice to my realization.

Why is he reacting this way? This is a Private Meeting, and it’s not like anyone can overhear what we’re saying, so why is he so on guard?

I guess Koudai Kamiuchi could listen to what is said here by using his device. But if that were likely, then Daiya would never have told me to kill Koudai Kamiuchi in the first place.

Does that mean someone else can hear this conversation? Someone who shouldn’t hear, for our sakes?

This other person would be—

“……”

I instinctively look up at the ceiling.

It’s a bare concrete ceiling. It doesn’t change even under scrutiny.

The real Daiya seemed to know all about the games I had played. I can’t say for certain, but I think he may be watching my struggles on the arcade cabinet even now.

Yes, in other words—the real Daiya and the real Koudai Kamiuchi can listen to this conversation.

The real Koudai Kamiuchi can’t learn that the real Daiya intends to kill him. If it came down to a real fight, the odds aren’t exactly in Daiya’s favor. All the more so, since there aren’t any knives or other weapons there.

But if so, how is Daiya planning on taking out Koudai Kamiuchi?

I go back over what Daiya has said up to this point. “That’s just the way your core nature works. It catches and alters everything that happens.” “Like I give a crap. I know about the hope the Boxes bring. And now that I do, I’m not gonna let anyone take that away from me.” “I’m sure you know. I didn’t do anything for a while after I obtained a Box. In short, I had a Box in my possession, but I didn’t use it.” “If no one kills anyone else for eight days, you can survive.” “That means…I’m your enemy.”

“…”

I see. So that’s how it is.

“Daiya.”

He scowls and looks at me.

“You heard all about that week, didn’t you?”

He doesn’t say anything in response.

That settles it.

“……Heh-heh.”

I understand everything Daiya intends to do.

“Daiya. You’re a liar.”

That’s why I can’t stop myself from sniping at him a little.

“You haven’t beaten me at all, have you?”

After all, just by exposing what he’s plotting here, I can bring all his plans to nothing. He has some nerve saying he’s won.

“…Don’t get too excited, Kazu. What can you do if you can’t kill Otonashi?”

He’s right about that.

I’ve learned that Koudai Kamiuchi is the owner, but in order to face him, I have to win this round of Kingdom Royale. Even though I have no chance of victory, since I can’t take Maria’s life.

But none of that matters to the plan Daiya is attempting to pull off. It will destroy the Game of Indolence before this happens.

Still—

“You’re saying I should rely on you?”

—that sounds totally crazy.

“You’re supposed to be my enemy. And even if you weren’t, we have no idea if this plan will work or not. Under those circumstances, I’d rather come up with a better strategy on my own.”

“……”

Daiya closes his mouth.

His plan works well for both of us. I truly understand, and I’m sure Daiya knows I do.

That’s why, if Daiya just humbles himself and asks me to come on board, I’ll go along with it.

He never will, though. Daiya won’t bow his head to me.

He will never, ever let anyone see him in a state of defeat. Protecting his pride isn’t his only reason. I still don’t know what it is he’s after, but I’m positive his goals won’t allow him to humble himself.

Just as Maria will never allow herself to be broken.

And so Daiya, without the slightest show of humility, just keeps glaring daggers at me.

As earnest as a prayer.

“……Daiya.”

That’s why I’ll bend.

If I don’t, then Daiya may get killed. And I know I don’t want that. He’s been my friend for so long, after all.

“I have a favor to ask. Will you hear me out?”

To tell the truth, I’m not asking him for anything. This is something he has to hear. It’s something he has to do, even if he keeps his mouth shut.

“For just one day, I want to persuade Koudai Kamiuchi not to hurt Maria.”

If Koudai Kamiuchi does go on a spree and Maria dies as a result, I won’t be able to hold back any longer.

If that happens, I will kill Daiya.

Then Daiya can’t beat me. Because he won’t be able to kill me with the plan he thought up.

“………”

Though Daiya remains silent with an angry scowl, I’m sure that means he’s agreed to my request.