by Unknown
As if it was some kind of dream, like it didn’t exist from the very beginning…… so easily.
What was left were seven people including Sora, the seven doors, and——
——Silence.
Confusion, suspicion, impatience, maybe even rage had stagnated the place and was accumulating.
While gazes measuring each other were being exchanged, Sora bit his nails and once again questioned himself.
——Just what is going on……!!
“…………Nii.”
Shiro’s voice was calling from behind——but, he couldn’t even afford to answer.
Sora was pouring down a lot of sweat as he scrutinized the rules——many times, again and again……
Certainly, there’s a lot of areas that feel like something is wrong, but, it was weird from the start, damn it——!
“……Nii…… Hey…… Hey, Nii……”
In this game, if you don’t steal someone else’s dice then it’s theoretically impossible to reach the goal.
If one person writes fifty squares, then the amount of squares will be [350] plus the [rising squares].
But, if the number of dice decreases as they’re thrown then even if you keep getting six——the limit will be [324].
Even more so when it’s a “Prisoner’s Dilemma” ——There’s no possible result besides stealing each other’s dice.
Exactly, if you don’t steal someone else’s [life(dice)] divided into ten parts, you cannot reach the goal.
——Then, for starters!!
“…………………………Nii, if you keep ignoring Shiro…… if you don’t answer…… then——”
——This was supposed to be [a game with an Old Deus as the opponent], right——and yet!
Why did it turn into a one where the Old Deus is a “game master” ——
This development of making players kill each other is——
“……Shiro…… will put down panties…… and flip, skirt.”
“WHA YES NIICHAN IS RIGHT HERE HE ANSWER WHAT!?”
——He responded to the urgent situation that prevailed over any and all crisis——That is.
To protect his little sister’s chastity, Sora turned around while forcefully ending(shutting down) all thought processes and even caused a shock wave——
“——————————————Hah?”
Then, Shiro lowered Steph’s panties.
The interlude where the skirt obeyed gravity——in that miraculous moment.
He pressed the X button inside his brain without hesitation.
And then Sora engraved
the current scene deeply into his heart.
“H——Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!? Wh-Wh-W-What are you doing so suddenly!”
Putting aside Steph, who let a scream resound an instant slower, hurriedly pulled up her underwear, and pressed down on her skirt.
The Great Person(Little Sister) who let him see the Xanadu(Utopia) spoke expressionlessly.
“……Didn’t say…… Shiro’s……”
“……Ahh, that’s right~ Nii-chan was completely fooled you know, ahahaha this~ fel~low~♪”
Needle-like gazes poured from all directions towards Sora, who forgot the situation being in such high spirits——
He repeatedly pressed down the [remember] command inside his brain.
Sage Time Sora was playing back that Xanadu in a loop and didn’t show signs of noticing it.
“Steph…… you finally stopped hiding your exhibitionist habit, huh? No, I don’t mind it at all, you see?”
“Haaaah!? S-She sneaked behind me and undressed me on her own, you know!?”
“It’s fine if you don’t hide your heart, OK? By the [Ten Oaths], she can’t undress you if you don’t allow/accept it even if subconsciously…… as such, it was something you desired and——”
With a voice like Buddha disturbing a lotus flower blooming, Sora eventually made a sign with his hands——suddenly, stopped.
……Wait.
————Wait, wait, wait, wait!! ……Or rather.
“…………Why is Steph here?”
“Saying ‘why is she here’ after doing something like that is already bullying, isn’t it!?”
She asserted with teary eyes, but Sora simply ignored it and turned around, looking back to the gazes directed at him in order.
Shiro, Jibril, Izuna, Ino——then, Plum and……
————.
“……Nii, calmed down……?”
“……Erm…… Shiro. Could it be that, Nii-chan——took too long to notice?”
Sora let out a smile, snorting at himself, but Shiro returned it with a face not holding a single trace of nervousness.
Exposing the game——seeing Sora depressed for lagging behind field of expertise, Shiro said.
“……Shiro, too…… don’t understand…… the situation…… but……”
There wasn’t anything she needed to worry about if it was within her brother’s field of expertise.
“……If it’s…… ‘the usual’…… Nii, then…… it’ll be fine…… so……”
Saying that, Shiro held his hands and with that sensation…… Sora seriously reflected.
——He was aware he was an idiot. Rather, he was even proud of it.
Not only that, if it was about the degree of idiocy, then he was even proud no one could match him.
This kind of me.
Even if it was a situation like that——Just why did I let the blood rush——
——Just why did I think about it so seriously?
Right——Smiling bitterly at the situation he finally managed to get a grasp of, Sora turned straight to Steph.
“Erm…… I feel like I don’t even need to ask, but, did you under——”
“——Did not understand the rules! I’m sorry about that, alright!”
Still exposing her cautiousness even now, Steph yelled while pressing down on her skirt.
Smiling at the real fact and her misplaced confidence that, now, even felt reliable, Sora continued.
“To put it simply, this is ‘Sugoroku’. You throw the dice and proceed towards that thing above our heads aiming for the goal.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“And so, about those dice. Those will decrease one by one as you keep throwing them.”
“Yes, yes.”
After saying that, Sora picked one of the plain white cubes that showed up near his chest…… one die.
After you throw this die, you’ll get a random outcome for certain, huh——
“About this? It’s age——Basically, it’s your [Life], alright.”
“————————————What?”
Steph froze, but Sora continued speaking like usual.
“If it reaches zero, you’re dead. Eternal sleep, ascension to heaven, last moments——like that. Do you follow me up to here?”
“……Eh, yes? It’s not fine at all, right!? Eh, we’ll die!?”
The rules said [Mass Existence’s Time] ——so the correct term should be “disappearance”.
It was supposed to be a game where one bets their lifespan, but the one without a lifespan(Jibril) who’s not a [mortal] would be a problem.
Anyway, one can guess what will happen if her existence time——if her age becomes [zero].
“And so, it’s absolutely impossible to reach the goal with only ten dice. That’s why there’s no choice aside from increasing the number of dice.”
If one includes the rising squares, it will be [351] squares until the goal.
One can only get up to [324] with the biggest outcome possible——it still won’t reach the goal.
“For that——we use the【Tasks】to steal the others’ dice——do you understand now?”
——In the end, this game.
“This game was designed so we’d steal [Life(dice)] from each other——and, there’s no other way to ascend if not by indirectly killing each other.”
As Sora summarized the rules, everyone’s eyes became sharp as they measured each other.
It was a game against an Old Deus——and yet.
There was no other way to win besides defeating(killing) the other players——but.
“——Don’t joke with me——There’s no way I will accept something like that!!”
“Right? No one wants to die~ I don’t want to die, either~ That’s why——We’re going to go like this.”
Steph yelled after finally understanding the situation, but, Sora continued while laughing even so.
“Everyone leaves the tasks [empty] and one person will gather nine dice from each person.”
——There’s no rule forbidding “dice transference”. Then——
“With this, it’ll be the birth of the [64 Dice Holder]!! The biggest value with just one play will be [384] ——if you’re not careful, it’s still possible to reach the goal with a single move! No one will reach zero and no one will die~…… It’s okay to fall for me, you know?”
“————N-Now, for the first time, I’m in the mood where I actually think it would be fine to fall……”
Steph said, being incredibly simplistic though, she really seemed to be moved, but——
“B-But, Master…… wouldn’t that be impossible if the [Traitor] isn’t identified……?”
Exactly, there’s surely no way Sora(Master) haven’t noticed.
What Jibril had timidly submitted was exactly that——the true identity of this paranoia.
00b: ——There is one person among the Dice Holders whose memories weren’t collected, a [Traitor].
It was a game that purposely started with [Erasure of memories before the game] as a condition.
That meant nothing else but basically “there was something” only the [Traitor] knew.
Since no one confessed to it…… the traitor’s intent was clear.
Deceive everyone, plot something so only they would win——literally, a [Traitor].
Who will they gather the dice at? ——No, before that conversation.
The situation where everyone should recognize Miko’s life as a [Starting Chip] was already impossible.
If one went by the memories of the [Traitor] that set everyone up, even the victory conditions would change……!!
——Sora also made the blunder of thinking about such an “enormously irrelevant point”, but——
“Ahh~ about that. There’s no problem at all.”
Sora dismissed it with a smile in an instant, not only Jibril, but Ino, Izuna, and Plum too——no.
Shiro, also, raised her eyebrows in doubt and only Sora smiled bitterly.
——I see, so there is a traitor.
Is it the kind of overused scenario where even though you can win if everyone cooperates, you can’t cooperate with each other?
The one where everyone becomes paranoid while investigating each other wondering who’s the traitor and destroying their bonds——where everyone self-destructs?
You must have expected that kind of guaranteed [standard(theory)] with the super serious development of a sure liar game?
Then, I’m rea~lly sorry about it, he thought.
Sora regained his usual expression and laughed, ridiculing it——that development was what’s precisely impossible.
That guarantee(theory) was the first thing to be excluded from the very fact these members were participating.
Even more so when it was Sora, who was like that since he was born and only knew to live that way, he laughed at it with his nose.
Hell if I know about that guarantee(theory)——“Who is the traitor,” you ask?
————Anyone is fine since it doesn’t matter either way.
“Because it’s annoying——Let’s just say I’m the [Traitor]♪”
That’s right. Sora miscellaneously truncated everything and said that with a really good smile.
………….
…………There was a silence deeper than the ocean.
Interpreting the stunned, confused, and suspicious silence as [dissatisfaction], Sora continued.
“Eh, are you thinking I wouldn’t betray since I’m playing a game with these members!? T-Then as evidence……”
——I’ll think about it right now, so wait a little.
The self-proclaimed traitor imposingly declared so while whining and using sophistry——
“Anyway, the [Traitor] is the one who plots something in order to leave everyone out so only they can win, right?”
After taking a single breath, he looked at the faces of everyone lined up around him, pointing in order.
“Then first, Izuna is [not guilty(white)]. There’s no way she could win against me and Shiro on deception and exclusion.”
——*twitch* Izuna’s ears twitched and her eyes became round.
“Gramps’ also [not guilty(white)]. There’s no way he has the guts to use Miko-san’s life only to leave us out of it.”
——*pachi* Crackles ran through Ino’s glasses as his face became red with blood vessels popping up.
“Plum’s also [not guilty(white)]. There’s no way someone who completely and perfectly lost to us would take such a risk.”
——*suu* Plum’s eyes slowly became sharp and his lips twisted a little.
“Jibril is also [not guilty(white)] since it would be all over if Shiro and I were to say ‘confess’. Even more so when there’s no way she would ever think of something so scary as leaving her great master that is Sora-sama out of it, ri~ght?”
——Yes! Jibril’s eyes opened up, but, she followed with an insecure smile.
“And you are an exception, excluded, not even worth a single thought! Done proving it!!”
“Wait a second!? Wasn’t I, alone, too much miscellaneously!?”
“And then, lastly, Shiro and I are ‘two people as one’——So, was all the above satisfying enough, I wonder?”
“…………ah……”
——Noticing the intention of her brother, Shiro revealed a small smile.
Exactly…… This is a [game].
The possession or lack of memories didn’t matter as there’s countless things that could be affirmed——for example.
Sora is an 18-year-old virgin——There was no way you of all people have ever held hands properly or something.
Everything is decided by games——in [World on Top of a Game Board(this world)].
Tet flashily made and even prattled it was the utopia Sora and Shiro saw in their dreams——this world.
This development suits it way better than the one from a sure liar game.
Yes, it was the same as——
——What’s so wrong about being a confined sniper(ignoring standards)?
“That’s how it is! The contradiction this is a game against an Old Deus, yet the Players have to kill each other has been solved! That’s why it’s been proved to be a collaboration game——‘a game you can win if you trust each other!’ So relax and throw in your blank【Tasks】and give the dice to me——Ah no, let’s say it more politely.”
Then, he stopped and started gesturing like a pretentious stage actor——Ah, Ah……
And with a really good voice and a smile even God would find lovely.
“Cooperate with me so I can win by giving me all of your [lives(dice)], you servants. As a proof of trust❤”
……After Sora said that, one by one they filled out their【Tasks. 】
They walked to the room beyond the door that isolated everyone from each other.
And, while exiting——Sora laughed completely aloof and nonchalantly.
This game was really simple, who was the traitor——it could be anyone.
——We’re playing with those members, after all——Since.
————They can sincerely believe I’ll betray everyone, right?
Chapter 1 — Rejuvenation and Aging(Closed Circle)
——Seven hours must have passed since the star
t of the game with the Old Deus.
Sora was currently running through an alley covered by the darkness of the night.
——There were no stars in the night sky separated by the squares of concrete.
Droplets of a small rain and rough footsteps were hitting the hard asphalt.
A handgun was ready in his hands and the approaching shadow reflected in his eyes——was only the [Enemy].
[————Chh!!]
He clicked his tongue once. Overlaying his sights on the enemy, he pulled the trigger with machine-like thinking.
The hammer stroked the detonator, the explosives’ shell casing reacted and detonated——the shock caused his hand to shake.
The supersonic gas born from the conversion to solid phase pushed everything out from inside the gun and made it accelerate——
——The lead blown from the muzzle split the air. The flash of light uncovered the shadow.
With a process in less than milliseconds, it turned into a deadly weapon piercing through the dark night——the lead and the light.
It shot the following shadow with a frightening speed——hitting the body of the small Werebeast uncovered by the flash of light.
——Yes, it was at the [body]…… He won’t aim at the [head].
The firepower of a handgun from such a weird game couldn’t be trusted. No, even with the handgun that Sora knew from the old world, the bullet would slip on the bone with the smallest angle of deviation. That was even more true when it was the cranium, the toughest bone in the human body.
Even more so when the [enemy] wasn’t human…… they were Werebeasts and monsters greater than that.
The aim was the triangle made by the jaw and both chests. It’ll steal the combat capacity no matter where it hits and, if it hits the center, he can hope damage to the vital organs——Now, what will a coldly and rationally fired bullet pursuing the kill will do he wondered.
It teared into the small Werebeast who slipped on the road with the same speed as when she followed——and turned into a corpse.
——He killed it. That’s right, he killed it.
This game is really simple, Sora laughed darkly.
————If the traitor isn’t known, then it doesn’t matter who it is.