by Unknown
It can’t be——could it be that I’m the only one who don’t have any experience?
If that’s true then that’s a realitydespair I won’t be able to recover from, and as Sora clang to it with his eyes,
“Please be at ease Master, for I am brand new. Dora-chan too is just a young woman with the knowledge——”
“——Huuh!? T-That’s wron——wait I can’t deny or affirm that, can I!! A-About the size of Sora’s arms, you say, regardless of the possession or lack of experience, as long as you think about it normally you would die, wouldn’t you!!”
“……It doesn’t, matter…… everything about, that geezer, is…… disgusting…… scary…… *tremble*”
——Sora narrowed his eyes at the answering voices as it if was dazzling.
I’m glad——so I wasn’t alone……
“If I had to add, then before becoming smaller with the decrease of the dice——Master in his original size also has nothing to lament about.”
“S-Seriously……? S-So I’m alright?”
It wasn’t about the current 3.6 years old Sora with two dice, but about the size of the original Sora’s Sora.
Let’s put aside how Jibril knows that for now, but if that moving library——I mean.
If he has the flying library causing natural disasters—Jibril’s guarantee, then he can have some confiden——
“Yes. It’s a gentle size——or better, I memorized it as being the ideal if the other party is a child ❤”
“……Jibril…… you’re forgiven…… this is the best thing, you’ve said, this year……”
“I will give up on this game. Rather, I’ll retire. I’ll re-do the character creation……”
——Right, let’s re-do it, this life——as Sora let out tears,
“Aah Master please wait! This Jibril was talking about how it would be fine if I just restructured my body and became a child!!”
“……Jibril, I take it back, about forgiving you…… sink in the, bathtub…… and go count, your sins……!”
A loud sound of water echoed at Shiro’s “command”.
Jibril, who fell from above the screen into the bathtub like a cannonball was——
——Gobobobebababababa!
[Ahaaa~❤ I’m being kicked by the Master——it gives me shivers!]
“……Jibril. Just where are you heading to……”
Making bubbles flashily——did she bother to use magic for that?
As Jibril pryed the information directly from their brains, Sora let out a tired sigh.
——A game where people betray, deceive and steal each other’s lives.
While the peaceful conversation far too unbecoming of it echoed——he just said,
“Hah~ it brings me back to life…… the Elves onsen have magic in it, both beauty and fatigue——”
Maybe only Steph decided to give up on thinking.
Since her lengthy monologue of it’s a nice bath to run away from reality~ continued——
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
——Having suddenly opened his eyes, Sora looked around.
Seems like I was more tired than I thought, he scratched his head.
After the bath, he redistributed the dice with Steph and Shiro——he didn’t remember anything after that.
It’s only natural for a person to get so tired after staying in a extreme situation for so long, so his memories flew away.
But Shiro——the one who cornered him, and that was the biggest cause of his exhaustion, was——
“……Uu…… the muscles are…… don’t, come…… Nii, help, me……”
She was within Sora’s arms as if was something natural——no, simply obvious.
It seems like she’s fighting with the incurable wound even within her dreams.
……It’s too cruel. Is this violence something that can be allowed?
As Sora petted Shiro’s head, and pondered about complaining to Tet and telling him to do his job already——
“Oh? I’m very sorry Master, but did I wake you up?”
——Let’s see.
“I presume that, after picking up Shiro who came out from the bath and feel asleep, I brought her to this room where I also collapsed exhausted at the bed, and then woke up due to the mutterings about muscles wriggling——that’s about it, so?”
“I’m thankful for the explanatory tone, Master.”
“Not that, it’s about you. I understand the geezer, but——what are you doing here, Jibril?”
While being absent-mindedly illuminated faintly by the shine of the two dice on her chest and the light of the spirits,
Jibril was sitting on a chair while writing in a book as if it was also something natural.
It seems that Ino came to “question” Sora, but what about Jibril——?
“Nothing much…… Master slept without putting on a blanket so I thought it’d be a problem if youcaught a cold——”
Jibril answered Sora’s question with a gentle smile.
“It’s good that you two could sleep, since I had considered lying naked together to warm——”
“Damn it all! Why——why was I sleeping all carefree——!?”
If it was all dark, and with Shiro sleeping, then——!
I could’ve l-legally enjoyed touching many kinds of things and yet——!!
Why I am always like this in the critical times——as Sora held his head and trembled ashamed——
“……I came to see the Masters faces…… that’s all.”
She said, literally with a shadow in her smile illuminated only by the dim light,
As Jibril quietly told him so, Sora had an uncomfortable feeling and faced her again with his gaze, but.
Jibril kept on without stopping the brush that was writing in the book——a diary——
She simply responded with a sudden question that, like always, had no context.
“What does the Master think about…… ‘Reincarnation’?”
“……? Even if you ask me that, is there even a cycle of transmigration in this world? ……So now it’s anything goes, huh.”
——Reincarnation, cycle of transmigration.
Although its existence hadn’t been proved, there are many who believe in it even in the previous world.
So even if she asked him about his thoughts on such common sense——
“Ah, no. There isn’t.”
——So there isn’t, Sora directed his gaze with his eyes half-open at her as she parried the question.
But Jibril, still not stopping the brush, continued indifferently——
“……The [soul] that loses its [vessel] melts in the Spiritual Circuit and disappears.”
She indifferently——spoke about this world’s [death].
“……Just like how [water] can’t accumulate in a broken [cup], a soulwater that lost its bodycup will stain the ground and melt in air, returning to the planet…… This world has no cycle of transmigration——but.”
And so, Jibril stopped the brush. Then she turned to Sora with a meek look in her face and continued.
——Although it’s a possibility that’s infinitely equivalent to zero.
——Although it’s the same irrational argument as saying a monkey will be able to write a novel if he kept typing endlessly.
“For someone possessing ‘exactly the same soul’ to appear once again——theoretically, it’s possible.”
——When was it exactly that the existence of the [soul] was asserted as common sense?
At the time, Sora had vaguely understood it as “something like DNA”, but——
“……Basically, it’s that? The story about how it’s possible for someone with the same genesa clone be born by chance?”
So if the soul or whatever, holding even more information than the genes, were to appear in a completely equal state, then.
I see, maybe you could possibly call that a way of reincarnation.
; “……Master, this is just a supposition but——if ‘Shiro-sama was someone’s reincarnation’ then what would you thin——”
“I wouldn’t think anything, it doesn’t matter and I’m not interested, either.”
Jibril asked meekly but——Sora answered immediately.
“Shiro is just Shiro. She isn’t anyone of the past, and even if she’s someone of the future, it won’t be Shiro.”
Taking a billion steps back, even if such reincarnationclone were to appear,
It would be just “an unknown someone” with Shiro’s appearance.
“……Then let’s suppose even more, but…… what if, something was to happen to Shiro-sama——”
……That’s a supposition beyond unimaginable.
If you want to make me cry then just say so, as Sora grumbled in his heart.
“And the ‘reincarnation’ with the exact same soul were to rely on Master, what would you think?”
——Until where it would be oneself and by which means it would be a stranger.
As he got asked such a philosophical question——Sora who wasn’t blessed with a noble brain.
“HAHAHA, the premises won’t hold with that, you know.”
“……Why is that?”
“It’s because ‘it’s someone else’! Regardless of how I think——before anything else, it won’t become attached to me and won’t rely on me, you see!”
——A Shiro, who becomes attached to him, and walks alongside him——he wondered.
Compared to someone with exactly the same genes as her appearing naturally——the probabilities of there having someone like that are far lower, right?
Saying so, tears shined in the corners of his eyes——but maybe it wasn’t a satisfying answer.
Jibril silently lowered her face——at that moment, quietly.
“……Nii…… that’s, wrong……”
“——Hey little sister, since when were you awake?”
“……Since, the moment…… the word…… [lying naked together] …… came out……”
*glare* and took the place of Sora, who drew back after being overpowered by the red eyes in the gloomy darkness.
Shiro who faced Jibril——said with the same small, whisper-like voice she always used.
“……Shiro, don’t understand…… what Jibril…… wants, to ask……”
It seems as if Sora and even Jibril, herself, didn’t seem to understand.
But Shiro——with the awareness of being disinterested in people’s subtleties——though, exactly because of that.
I don’t know what you’re seeking but——I don’t give a damn, she said plainly.
“……Shiro, won’t acknowledge…… something like, a reincarnation……”
Both probabilities and suppositions should just screw themselves, she said with a whisper-like voice——but with a tone that wouldn’t approve disagreement.
“……If it’s, Shiro’s, ‘reincarnationclone’ then…… it will, go once again, to Nii’s, side.”
————.
“……No matter how many times, I reincarnate…… I’ll search for Nii, as many times as necessary…… I’ll go, to his side.”
As she said so with the red eyes looking over to him, Sora asked himself.
“……Nii, too…… surely, won’t…… reject…… that……”
The figure looking up to him with this white hair, this faint voice, and with these red eyes.
——It’s another person. It’s not Shiro——would he be able to push her away like that?
“……But, having Shiro’s, appearance…… Shiro’s, voice…… dressing like, Shiro……”
——Then the story is simple, and Shiro, just like a child sulking and whining,
“……Someone who, isn’t Shiro…… being stroked by Nii, and laughing…… happily……”
——With watery eyes, she concluded.
“…………I definitely, won’t acknowledge…… something like that……”
I see, it’s a simple story, Sora gave a wry smile in the middle of the silence.
Just think about it backwards——someone with my appearance, someone who isn’t me is stroking Shiro.
It doesn’t matter what Sora, Shiro or the others would think of that.
What do you think about it——it can end with just that.
——Maybe this time the answer had been satisfying.
Jibril cast down her eyes, closed the book she had once again ran the brush through and stood up——
“I am very sorry for intruding during your rest. It’s about time for me to leave so please take your time and relax.”
“……By the way. In the end, you haven’t really answered what you came here for, have you?”
While she stroked happily the two dice on her chest, Sora asked with his eyes half-open towards her back as she stood to leave——but.
“I came to see Masters’ faces…… it was really, just that ♪”
[Though there was a greater harvest than that], Jibril laughed as if jesting,
“Lastly…… a [report] and a [confirmation]——one of each.”
Starting from the report, Jibril gave a somewhat complicated smile.
“I was correct to come here——it was an extremely happy time.”
And now onto the confirmation, still with a meaningful smile, but resolutely——
“……This game——it’s alright if I win it, isn’t it?”
This game is a game where the players betray and deceive each other.
Regardless of what each one thinks behind the scenes, there’s just one single thing that won’t waver.
——Only one of them will be able to [win]ascend——
Sora had said——everyone made it so that they would be the ones to win.
Then IJibril, too——receiving the Masters’ permission, must’ve done that——she confirmed with her eyes——
“Obviously. Likewise, obviously——we won’t be letting you win.”
“……Jibril, really…… will, get…… punished, so……”
As the two of them answered challenging, she bowed deeply——
“……Forgive me, but this time alone I’ll have you let me win this. No matter what methods I have to use.”
Saying so, Jibril turned on her heels and flapped her wings, flying through the window to the night sky.
She disappeared suddenly like when she appeared and, gazing at the place she was standing, Shiro suddenly asked.
“……Nii, what about, the dice……you handed out, to Jibril……?”
“Huh? But, Jibril had two dice, you know? I had her re——”
——turn, but Sora, who has about to say that, noticed startled and stopped his words.
What about such memory? ——There’s nothing.
On Sora and Shiro’s chests, there were nine dice each——and if there’s one with Steph, who must be sleeping in another room, then——
“~Jibrill~lll!! What do you think you’re doing, performing such a stingy cheat right after giving outsuch a exaggerated proclamation of war!?”
——As he shouted, blaming the one who disguised the number of dice with magic and nicely “borrowed and ran away” with eight dice,
“……Nii…… super, idiot…… super, dumb……”
But that was originally for a stupid reason——it was a transference he did for the sake of running from Shiro.
As the voice said that it was entirely Sora’s fault, there were no allies nor room for him to disagree.
Sora simply went back to holding his knees——……
Chapter 3 — Incorrect Persuasion(How)
——204th Square——Fifth move——Number of dice remaining, three.
Hatsuse Ino looked down to his own hands that had rejuvenated to how it was before his thirty years old.
The square was being illuminated by the light of the red moon, as if it had been tailored—— he smiled bitterly
at that sense of nostalgia.
That’s right……when he first met her, it had been more or less at this time of the year, in a night like this.
It had been during the time when the many islands that didn’t even had yet the name of Eastern Union were swept away—— by that storm(her)…….
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
“Isn’t it a nice moonlit night, “Hatsuse”……since this night feels so good, won’t you try playing with me?”
More than half a century in the past, under the night illuminated by the red moon.
There was a petite, bright red fox—— but with two powerful tails dyeing the night red, even more violently than the moonlight.
The [storm](girl) that had trampled upon the East stood in front of Ino, and called his family name with a voice that was like a bell.
The rumors about the storm(her) had reached even his ears, who was just the chief of one island at the time.
The last one of the persecuted golden foxes—— a girl with [Blood Devastation].
She rose up from the very bottom of the island that had persecuted herself, and finally subdued it——
With overwhelming five senses, thought speed and trickery, she jumped out of Kannagari and bore her fangs towards all islands where the Werebeasts lived and to all tribes. She cut off the ocean, severed the trade(lifeline), brought forth self-destruction through internal collapse, eliminated all other options aside from complying to the game—— and became the “storm” that had swallowed the East, bringing them down and ruling without pardon nor concession.
Facing that storm, Ino had no right to reject the game.
“……I thought that we had the same aspirations of concern about the current situation, but……it seems it was a terrible miscalculation, huh.”
Sighing just once, he firmly stepped in the ground.
——At first, Ino had expectations for the storm(rumors). He had hopes for it. He longed for it.
Someone finally appeared to put an end to the swamp of futility that is the antagonism between fellow Werebeasts.
——But.
The ground he stepped upon broke and soared up, and the number of reds dyeing the night increased to two.
Making the blood boil, the red beasts gnawed and broke down the shackles of the physics—— and one from the opposing two said.