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Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (Light Novel) - Volume 3, Part 3
Volume 3, Part 3
Everyone is silently reading the text to themselves and trying to understand its meaning.
I, too, am staring at the monitor with all my might, but I'm at a loss what to do. I merely understand that words like [Murder] and [Assassination] were proof of [Kingdom Royale] being a killer-game.
"Hey, Uglypooh. How can we actually execute those [Sorcery] or [Assassination] actions?"
The chairman asks.
«The commAnd is - displaYed on the - monItor in the rOom - of the coRresponding player - You jUst have - to prEss the buttOn - on the monitor - in orDer to exEcute - the cOmmand! TherefOre - it's as sImple - to kill somEone - as to bUy a ticket.»
Everyone apart from me turns pale upon hearing this. I don't quite understand why everyone is showing such a reaction and look at Maria.
"...Maria, umm."
"Do you not see the great danger in this?"
I shake my head slowly. Seeing this, Daiya laughs amazedly. ...I don't know, so it can't be helped, can it!
"Okay, let's assume you consider yourself in danger. ...no, that's still too soft. Let's assume you noticed that you're definitely going to die. To escape from this crisis you have to kill a certain person. Could you kill this certain person with a knife, Kazuki?"
"T-There's no way I could!"
"So what if you just had to press a button?"
"Eh...?"
By pressing a single button I could protect my own life. By stealing someone else's life.
"......I-I still couldn't! Something like killing..."
"Well, I guess it's like this for you. However, do you think the other people here arrive at the same conclusion?"
I look around spontaneously.
The active student council chairman. The anxious-seeming Yuuri-san. The strangely lighthearted Kamiuchi-kun. Finally, the 'owner' - Daiya.
"Do you have positive proof that all six participants here, including you, will not steal someone's life if their own life's at risk? ...Honestly speaking, I don't."
It's probably the same for the others.
"Everyone is probably considering that someone might kill them. And I don't even need to say that this suspicion is going to worsen our situation even more, right?"
"B-But just because you can kill someone by pressing a button doesn't mean that you would readily be able to do it!"
"But what if the time limit draws near?"
"...Time limit?"
"Hasn't the green bear said it? That there is an universal time limit; in other words we'll die as soon our food supply runs out. This means that everyone loses when there is no winner... in other words, we'd all die."
I hold my breath.
"Our goal is not to become the winner. It's to slip out of this game. But when the time runs out, this goal is going to shake. There will be people that give up attaining this goal. They might prioritize to survive. They might start to think it's better to meet their victory conditions than dying with everyone. And when the first corpse appears---it's the end."
"......why?"
"There was a corpse. The other players found out that there is someone that plays this game actively. If they did nothing, they would all just be killed. Therefore, the other players would have no choice but to participate properly as well. In that case, the game will go on until there is a winner."
Maria explains plainly - no one objected. The others were probably agreeing with her.
"When the first corpse appears, it's the end..."
In short, we have to find a way out of this game before someone makes a mistake.
«So so sO - did you unDerstand - how thIs - gAme works? I wIll now - disPlay the timEtable! - Abide by - thIs timetaBle and - move wiThin - a 5 minutes toLerance - okay?»
The screen clears and a timetable is displayed on it.
~12 {}
- Break, standby in own room
12~14 {B}
- Gathering in the big room
14~18 {C}
- Selection of [Secret Meeting] partner until 14:40. Spend 30 minutes in the room of the selected character.
- The [King] is able to select a target for [Murder].
- The [Sorcerer] can use [Sorcery] (the [Knight] can use [Deathblow]).
(The character that was targeted by [Sorcery] or [Deathblow] will die at 17:55)
18~20 {D}
- Gathering in the big room.
20~22 {E}
- Dinner in own room.
(If no food supply available, death by turning into a mummy)
- The [Revolutionary] can use [Assassination].
(The character that was targeted by [Assassination] will immediately die)
22~ {F}
- Break, sleep
«You dO not - nEed to - tAke notEs! The detAiled - inforMation about - tHe classEs as weLl - as the timEtable - is inSide - your pOrtable - tErminals - ConVersations are - also loGged on - this tErminal - so I hoPe it - wiLl be of uSe»
"Uhe, this conversation is recorded on this thing?"
"Did you say something that should not be recorded or what?"
The chairman presses Kamiuchi-kun right after that exclamation.
"No, actually. What are you trying to insinuate...?"
"Didn't you think that you'd have to be careful to not say anything that would let others guess your [class]? I see you're eager to participate in the game!"
Kamiuchi-kun smiles wryly.
"Haha, well, there's no one who would want to show a weak spot in the present state of affairs."
It's understandable that Kamiuchi-kun is on his guard. Even I want to know the [classes] of the others, even though I don't plan to participate in the game. Especially the ones opposing me and the dangerous [Revolutionary].
For this purpose we will most likely read these logs.
But this action in itself might be dangerous. I have a hunch that if we get anxious and read through the log while being tormented by suspicion, even trifling statements will catch our eyes and make our suspicion even worse.
Eventually, unable to endure this suspicion, someone will press the button and---
...Right. I'm sure that even this log is just a means to make us participate in the game.
«Okay thEn - I wiSh all oF you a - good fight! - Just dOn't end - the gAme by - doing somEthing - as bOring - as tuRning - into muMmies everyone - okAy?»
After that, Noitan vanishes from the monitor.
"That damn Uglypooh..."
The chairman curses.
The painful mechanical voice went away and the room turns silent. Everyone keeps quiet and doesn't even open their mouth. Maybe this is also because everyone knows that our conversations are recorded, so it's annoyingly hard to speak.
The chairman is the one to break the silence.
"Otonashi-san."
"What?"
"You stated beforehand incidentally that «to slip out from this game» is our goal. But do you think this is possible?"
"Of course I do. Do you not think so?"
"I... honestly, I think it might be very hard. After all I comprehend with logic and my feeling is that this environment here is «abnormal». I'm assuming this is not just my opinion, but everyone else's too, am I wrong?"
Yuuri-san and Kamiuchi-kun nods. I nod hurriedly, too.
"Do you think there is an escape path prepared for us in such an [absurd] place? If you do think so, please tell me your basis."
Despite her light tone, her voice is firm like in an interrogation.
Even the others are looking at Maria like jurors.
...Maria has a basis for her assertion. Maria knows that one can slip out somehow from this 'box', no matter how absurd this place is.
She peeks at me for only an instant and,
"...it might be hard indeed. But it's the only goal we have. So I think we have to believe in it, no matter how hopeless it might seem... or am I wrong?"
As expected, she hides the fact of the 'box'.
"I guess so. It's as you say."
The chairman seems to have accepted Maria's unhesitating justification.
"Kaichou. Your «slipping out of this game is hard»-like statement just now was an announcement of your participation in this killer-game, right?"
Daiya asks sarcastically, again with a triumphant look.
"Trying to find faults again? You're wrong! I would never kill anyone. Even if, for argument's sake, murder would not be a sin here and one could kill just by pressing a single button, the fact that one committed murder would never disappear. Eventually, I would not be able to carry this sin on my shoulders and I'd destroy my life. So I could never do it, as I'm able to imagine this much."
Daiya clicks his tongue at this perfect-seeming answer.
"It's the same... for me."
"We all know that you couldn't, Yuuri-chan~! Ah, by the way, I'll go with this answer, too."
"Look at yourself jumping on the bandwagon... Yuuri aside, I can't trust your statement at all, Kamiuchi-kun."
"Uhe... don't be like this, Kaichou!"
"Well, Daiya is the one I can trust the least, though."
Daiya answers with a cynical smile to the chairman's reaction on his sarcasm earlier.
Then he says,
"Yeah. Since I would kill for my own sake."
He makes a statement that makes everyone his enemy, coolly.
▶First Day {C} [Kazuki Hoshino]'s room
«Your [class] is [Sorcerer].»
I notice this message on the monitor immediately when I return to my room.
Certainly, [Sorcerer] was the only [class] that has no enemy among those six.
"...fuu"
I breathe out in relief.
Our goal is to prevent [Kingdom Royale] from starting. But it's still very reassuring to know that I don't have a real enemy.
"...mh?"
A message is displayed on the bottom of the monitor.
«No target has been selected for [Murder] yet.»
---[Murder]. The command with which the [King] can select someone he wants to kill.
I guess if the [King] selects a target for [Murder], the command to use [Sorcery]---in other words the command to kill someone---will be displayed there.
I don't want to think about it. Neither about the situation in which someone tries to kill someone else, nor about the situation in which I would have to press this button.
"......It's alright, it's alright."
I reassure myself by murmuring so. It's not like we will start killing each other. Because the others should also not wish for that.
At least in the early stages where we have no problems with the time limit, nothing can possibly happen.
"......"
Really?
I mustn't forget that Daiya is among the six of us.
«Ya ya ya - Kazuki-kun - it's tIme - for - [Secret Meeting]!»
Noitan appears out of the blue as always.
Since I got used to this, I wasn't startled as much and raised my head to look at the monitor. As always, it was a ugly green bear which was opening and closing its mouth.
«Please - selEct a player - you wAnt to - talk tO - You can then - go to thE - room of - thIs player - for just - half an hoUr! If more - than oNe - select - a cErtain - player - the mEetings - will tAke place - from the quIckest - to the slOwest!»
Noitan disappears from the monitor and six names appear together with a corresponding photograph.
"...What happens if the one I selected also selects me?"
«Nothing - spEcial! You will - jUst have - twice as mUch - time to speAk»
Noitan answers my question only with his voice.
While gazing at the mobile terminal on the table, I ask,
"...err, can the others also see the log of our conversation during the [Secret Meeting]?"
«They cAn - not! - Only the - disCussions the ownEr - of the mobile teRminal - has heard himsElf - are logged. For exAmple - even if - somEone is in the - same plAce as you - the discUssion won't be - saved for hIm - if he doesn't - heAr it - But the - inFormation of who you - talKed to - in the [Secret Meeting] - will bE saved - in the lOgs - of the othErs - so be carEful»
Who should I select... well, there's only one.
Of course, I press «Maria Otonashi»'s button.
«Okay - Please wait - untIl everyone - has selEcted - their partNer»
I wonder who the others will select...?
...it's just a hunch, but I think Maria won't choose me. I'm sure she guessed that I would select her.
Therefore, she will select---Daiya.
«OkaY - it seEms everyone - has deCided - I will nOw - display who - has chOsen whom»
Noitan disappears again and names appear on the screen.
[Iroha Shindou] -> [Koudai Kamiuchi] 16:20~16:50
[Yuuri Yanagi] -> [Iroha Shindou] 15:40~16:10
[Daiya Oomine] -> [Kazuki Hoshino] 15:40~16:10
[Kazuki Hoshino] -> [Maria Otonashi] 15:00~15:30
[Koudai Kamiuchi] -> [Yuuri Yanagi] 15:00~15:30
[Maria Otonashi] -> [Daiya Oomine] 16:20~16:50
As expected, Maria chose Daiya.
And Daiya---
"...Ah!"
Daiya designated... me?
"Why...?"
I can't grasp his intention. ...I don't know what he's up to to begin with, so there's no way I could.
But fortunately, my meeting with Maria is first.
I'm glad it wasn't the other way around. If the [Secret Meeting] with Daiya had been before the one with Maria, I would have acted however he wanted me to. But now I can work out a strategy together with Maria.
I confirm who the others selected. Yuuri-san and Kamiuchi-kun's selected players are plausible, but it's a little surprising that Kaichou chose Kamiuchi-kun.
«The doOr - will opEn when - it's tIme! If you - go throUgh - the door - you will - automAtically arrivE - at the room of - the appRopriate person - so pLEase be - at eaSe»
▶First Day {C} [Secret Meeting] with [Maria Otonashi], [Maria Otonashi]'s room
I fear to fall down into the nothing when I step through the dark, but I arrive at a room that looks the same as mine. Its appearance is so identical that it feels to me as if my room had only turned around.
"You arrived?"
Maria is sitting on the bed with her gaze fixed on me and urges me to sit down next to her by patting the space beside her.
"We don't have time for idle chatter, so I'll raise the main subject right away."
"...umm, our main subject is...?"
"How we can steal the 'box' from Oomine, of course. Don't tell me you plan on properly taking part in [Kingdom Royale]?"
While sitting down next to her, I shake my head wildly.
"Our goal is the same as always: ending the 'Game of Idleness'. Well, you can say it's easy this time since we know the identity of the 'owner'."
"...But I wonder if Daiya will hand his 'box' over to us freely..."
Maria wrinkles her forehead at hearing my words.
"...indeed. We have no other choice but to persuade him, but..."
"...this will be no easy task?"
"Do you think it's easy?"
I shake my head again.
Failing to persuade him would also mean that we'd also be unable to access and take his 'box'.
If that situation arises, we'd have to crush the 'box'---along with Daiya.
"...Say, Maria. If Daiya loses in [Kingdom Royale], do you think this will automatically also mark the end of the 'Game of Idleness'?"
"This depends on the nature of the 'Game of Idleness', so I can't say anything definite yet... but I had many opportunities to find out about Oomine's personality thanks to the 'Rejecting Classroom'. Having watched him for a long time there, I think, since for everyone defeat means death, Oomine's defeat at his own game will have just the same result. Don't you think so, too?"
I nod. We can't say for sure while we still don't know what his goal is yet... but it's hardly reasonable that someone as prideful as Daiya would be the only one not obeying the rules.
"......Say,"
Maria looks into my eyes while I am absorbed in thought.
"Do you... wish for Oomine's death?"
"Huh?"
Maria gazes at me with an expression that seems composed as ever, but there is faint anxiety mixed into it.
...Certainly, my question just now might have sounded like a proposal to kill Daiya.
"I don't! I would never wish for Daiya's death."
"...I see."
The origin of the smile that accompany those words is obviously relief.
...right. There's no way Maria would wish to use such a method.
"Getting out of here by Daiya dying; that's no solution!"
"Right. Just as you say."
"Well, I may say that, but I still don't know what to do, though..."
When I murmur so, Maria starts to speak with a frown.
"......I'm reluctant to propose this, but listen. We may need to... ask the others, except for Oomine, for help, especially Shindou. If we could all arrive at the same opinion, we would have nothing to fear of [Kingdom Royale]."
"...What do you mean?"
"If we could get them to believe the concept of the 'boxes' and the fact that Oomine's the 'owner', we could make clear who's the enemy of everyone. We could avert the worst case where nobody knows who might kill whom. [Kingdom Royale] is a game that does not start as long we don't distrust each other."
"...But it's difficult to get them to know about the 'box', isn't it?"
"Yeah, exactly. Even just telling them about the 'box' is very hard in the current situation, where any remarkable action is directly connected with risk."
"Yeah... I can very well understand that you're reluctant!"
"...I'm not reluctant because it's hard to execute."
"Eh?"
"Do you not understand? Tell them who's the 'owner'; Tell them that their enemy is Daiya Oomine. But if you do so, everyone will know that they would be released when Oomine dies. And don't forget that we can kill others by pressing a single button in here."
I hold my breath.
"Oomine is not someone who can be easily persuaded. I don't think he would stop the 'Game of Idleness' even if Shindou and the others found out about the truth. But how would the others react to that behavior? Would everyone patiently wait until he changes his mind, in an environment with limited time, where they could get killed at any time? I think they wouldn't. If we entered a standstill, probably---"
Maria hisses bitterly.
"---Shindou would kill Oomine."
"No w---"
I take a deep breath and continue.
"No way... D-Didn't Kaichou say it herself? She would not be able to kill."
"Did this statement calm your mind?"
"...Do you think it was a lie, Maria?"
"I don't know whether it's a lie or not. However, Shindou would be all the more dangerous if she's telling the truth."
"W-Why so...?"
Maria stands up silently, takes the portable terminal on the table and begins controlling it. Then she replays a recorded voice file.
«Eventually I would not be able to carry this sin on my shoulders and I'd destroy my life. So I could never do it, as I'm able to imagine this much.»
"Do you see the risk in this statement?"
I shake my head.
"Shindou's saying that ---she can kill if she's prepared to ruin her own life."
This sounds a bit like an over-interpretation, but... it is indeed possible to perceive it this way, I suppose?
"B-But you don't easily become prepared to ruin your own life unless there's a strong reason!"
"You really think there is no such reason? I can name some right off the bat. Let's see... for example, would saving Yanagi not be a strong reason to her?"
She said plainly, making me fall into silence. This is indeed one motive that would make that Kaichou cross the last line.
Right, this is no everyday life after all. It's an abnormality that was distorted by the 'box'. There can be any amount of strong reasons.
"Kazuki, you should know it already, but I cannot kill anyone, whatever reason there might be."
"Yeah, I know."
"I do think it's the same for you. Can you tell me the reason for this as instantly as Shindou did?"
I start thinking when she asks so.
Why can I not kill?
---Because it's haughty to think it's okay for one to kill others?
---Because I pity the other?
---Because my ethics don't permit it?
I can think of some, but none of them feel quite right. I think none of them are wrong, but they don't seem right either. These are all subsequent reasons that follow the fact that I cannot do it.
"Nothing comes to mind...?"
"...yeah."
I answer with a dropped gaze.
"That's how it should be."
"Eh?"
"What Shindou said about imagination and such is not right. Someone that really can't kill others has no reason. You and I---we simply cannot kill."
...Right. Exactly. This feels the most natural.
"It is unnatural when you are able to find a reason why you can't kill, and can tell others smoothly. Shindou merely tried to make us believe she's not dangerous. Well, but this is still way more wholesome than Oomine's showcasing of his enmity."
"I wonder why Daiya behaves like this, although he's in a dangerous position..."
"Well, he wouldn't sound very convincing if he said «I would never harm a fly» like Shindou and the others, considering his usual attitude. Viewed from such an angle, his personality might be surprisingly disadvantageous for [Kingdom Royale]."
...indeed, as it looks now, his life is the most threatened.
On the other hand, Yuuri-san might be surprisingly in the safest position.
"Ah, right. I was wondering: is the 'Game of Idleness' an internal or an external 'box'?"
Maria's gaze became sharper upon hearing this question.
"S-Sorry. I wasn't thinking. R-Right, such an insane 'box' has to be an internal---"
"It's an external 'box'."
"...Huh?"
"The 'Game of Idleness' is an external 'box', and it gets a score of around 5 even."
The 'Sevennight in Mud' had an external level of 4 if I remember correctly, which means that this box has a higher score despite its complexity.
But if it's an external 'box'---
"This means he believes in this situation to a certain extent. ...perhaps, the 'owner' was able to master the 'box'."
I hold my breath. This... would be quite amazing, wouldn't it?
"Persuading him is difficult because of this. The 'owners' we met until now had all more or less common sense at the point when they used their 'box'. Because of this, their 'wishes' were flawed and inexact. We were able to get them to give their 'boxes' away by using those flaws."
"...but there are none this time."
Honestly speaking, I can't believe Daiya was able to master the 'box'. After all, Daiya is a rigorous realist. He is not suited for using a 'box' that makes 'wishes' real together with the doubts that come with it.
"Anyway, this means influence on reality is unavoidable. So the memories of what we experience in this [Kingdom Royal] are likely to remain and its outcome will also take effect in reality."
"Ergo, if we die in the game, we will also die in reality...?"
"Yeah, think of it like this. ...just for your information; not only in external, but also in internal 'boxes' is the impact of «death» big! That I stand here unhurt, though I died several times in the 'Rejecting Classroom', is only thanks to the special characteristic of that 'box' which made «death» itself void. If I died during the last 'School Transfer', the 27,756th time, I either would have really died or at least I would have suffered after-effects that correspond to death."
"...I see."
Anyway, in short it's:
«Death» here is equal to «death» in reality.
"Therefore, we absolutely must not let [Kingdom Royale] start."
Honestly speaking, maybe I didn't have enough sense of danger. The light sound of the word 'game' and the «death» that seems to arrive by pressing a button---ultimately I thought of this unreal-seeming 'box' as some kind of game.
But this is wrong.
If I die by someone pressing a single button or if I kill someone; this «death» could not be reset like in a game.
"...we have not much time. Let's first consider what you should do in the [Secret Meeting] with Oomine."
"Okay."
In the present situation where we can't even see the sign of a solution, we must first do what we can do now.
"Umm, I think Daiya's going to ask for my [class] first. What do you think?"
"I guess so. ...aah, just in case, as long you don't have a special reason, you must not tell anyone your [class]."
"Okay."
I'm aware of the risk in this by now. But---
"But I'll tell you, Maria. I am the [Sorcerer]."
"...What would you have done if my [class] was opposing yours?"
"Nothing in particular. I would still say it."
"...I see. You have a point. Such a trifling matter is not something we would hide from each other."
Maria said so and smiled. My cheeks relaxed unknowingly at seeing this smile.
Maria just called this matter, that would be life-endangering if known by others, 'trifling'.
"By the way, my [class] is [Prince]. I would have preferred [Revolutionary], though."
Fair enough. The [Revolutionary] is the one who's most likely to kill someone, because he can kill on his own. But Maria would never make this mistake even if the time limit drew near.
Maria will definitely not kill anyone.
"......Ah"
I realize something when thinking so.
"What's wrong?"
"E-Err......"
With a sidelong glance at Maria, who was gazing at me suspiciously, I thought:
---Maria is powerless in this 'box'.
After all, this [Kingdom Royale] is a game about killing and deceiving. Maria, who's unable of both, has no chance for victory.
Until now I was always relying on Maria in all battles revolving around the 'boxes'. And even this time I will probably rely on her.
However---the time will definitely come when I have to do something with my very own power.
"......Never mind!"
Maria keeps looking at me with a frown after this reply.
She trusts me that I will never kill anyone. But if I realize that Maria is going to die, and I know that I can prevent this by killing someone,---
---What would I do then?
