No Game No Life, Vol. 1

by Yuu Kamiya

  The bandits shouted, not comprehending why they were being laughed at. Regardless, the siblings conspired with each other in voices just too low for the bandits to hear.

  “So, they gang up on one person, cheat, and take everything they have—yeah?”

  “…Sounds…perfect.”

  Having talked it over, Sora clapped his hands twice.

  “Okay, that’s fine; we’ll play you. But I regret to inform you we haven’t got shit.”

  “Hrmm, no matter, lad; we’ll just—”

  But Sora went on, interrupting the bandit.

  “If we lose, do anything you want with us. Sell us off somewhere, whatever.”

  “—’Ey?”

  The bandit squinted at this proposal stealing a march on what he was going to say.

  “In exchange, if we win—”

  With a spine-chilling smile across his face—the brother continued.

  “—show us the way to the nearest city! Oh, and give us those robes those two are wearing. I mean, you know how the people from another world always stand out with their weird clothes. Oh, and tell us all about this world’s game rules!”

  Showing the adaptability of the brain to games, he rattled off requests as if he already knew he would win.

  Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Sora murmured.

  “Ten Covenants—hmm. Shiro, have you got them down?

  “…Mm. Interesting…rules.”

  His sister answered drowsily as if about to fall asleep. Once they’d been soundly beaten, the bandits had explained the rules of this world. He took out his phone, where he had jotted them down, and read them over.

  The Ten Covenants—. Apparently they were absolute rules set by the God of this world. The sister had memorized them easily, it seemed, but what the brother had on his phone was this:

  1. In this world, all bodily injury, war, and plunder is forbidden.

  2. All conflicts shall be settled by victory and defeat in games.

  3. Games shall be played for wagers that each agrees are of equal value.

  4. Insofar as it does not conflict with “3,” any game or wager is permitted.

  5. The party challenged shall have the right to determine the game.

  6. Wagers sworn by the Covenants are absolutely binding.

  7. For conflicts between groups, an agent plenipotentiary shall be established.

  8. If cheating is discovered in a game, it shall be counted as a loss.

  9. The above shall be absolute and immutable rules, in the name of the God.

  “And Ten—‘Let’s all have fun together’…”

  —…

  “It sounds like it’s ending with ‘The above’ at Nine, but then there’s Ten…”

  It seemed as if it were saying that having fun together was not mandatory. Or maybe, Not that I think you bozos are capable of having fun together. These ironic “rules” recalled the face of the “God” or whatever, who looked like he was having fun, at least.

  “That kid who pulled us into this world—if that’s ‘God,’ He’s not a bad guy.”

  The brother put away his phone and smirked to himself. As he lay on the bed and thought…it seemed that the fatigue finally caught up to him, as his consciousness clouded and his thoughts began to diffuse.

  “…Only natural when you think about it. After staying up for five days, suddenly there’s this…”

  Beside the mumbling brother, his sister held on to his arm, her breath already indicating that she was asleep. When she lay down and her bangs fell from her face, it revealed skin white as porcelain, a face composed like a work of art. It seemed like a bad joke that they were siblings. She was like a doll.

  “—I’m always telling you you should at least put on a blanket…You’ll catch a cold.”

  “…Mm.”

  To the brother who spoke to her, the sister asked for a blanket with her vacant response. He hesitated to put the dusty-smelling blanket over his sister, but it was probably better than nothing. Watching the sleeping face of his sister as he heard the sound of her breath, the brother thought:

  —Now, what are we gonna do after this…

  So Sora took out his phone and started fiddling with it. He looked to see if he had any apps that might be of use, and then it occurred to him:

  —In stories about people drifting between worlds, they always worry first about how to get home…

  —His parents were already gone.

  —His sister wasn’t accepted by society.

  —He himself could never accept society.

  —There was no place for him except in the screen—in that world.

  “…Hey. Why is it that, when the main character gets thrown into another world, they always try to go back to that world?”

  Knowing she was asleep, he went and tossed out the question anyway, but, as expected, there was no answer. After their four nights here, what should they do next? He gave a shot at thinking about it—but, before he could reach a conclusion, sleep shut off his train of thought.

  —Knock, knock. The gentle knock was enough to wake him—. Probably the jumpy nerves from arriving in this unfamiliar land. Shushing his body’s screaming that it needed more sleep, Sora’s brain started up rapidly.

  “……Mnng…”

  —This did not, however, seem to apply to his sister. She was still clutching her brother’s right arm, her face deep in sleep, dripping drool. This comforted him like nothing else; she presented an enviable sight, “in the dream.”

  “That’s right; come to think of it, in this world, bodily injury and plunder are impossible…”

  In other words—the things they’d normally have to watch out for didn’t matter in this world. Perhaps grasping this—no, undoubtedly he grasped it. Quickly adapting to this world, Sora smiled bashfully at the peaceful face of his sleeping sister.

  “I guess I sure can’t beat you in brain quality…”

  —Knock, knock, knock. Hearing the gentle sound again, Sora answered.

  “Uh, yeah, sorry, who is it?”

  “My name is Stephanie Dola. Regarding the matter you spoke to me about during the day…”

  …Ste-pha-nie… Oh. He took out his phone and checked the photo he had taken. The classy-looking girl with red hair and blue eyes. That’s right, at the tavern downstairs—the one who had been playing a game to be the new monarch or something.

  “Ahh. Right, I’m coming.”

  “…Mng…”

  “—Sister, your love makes me delighted to be a brother, but let go of my arm; I can’t open the door.”

  “…?…What…?”

  His sister, still looking more than half asleep, finally let go of his arm. Sora peeled his heavy body off the bed, squeaked across the wood floor, and opened the door. The expression he saw on the other side was quite different from the one in the photo on his phone—the Stephanie standing there looked crushed.

  “—May I enter?”

  “Uh, sure, come in?”

  For the time being, he went with it and let Stephanie into the room. Offering her the little table and chair in the corner of the cramped room. Then Sora sat on the bed with his sister, who was swaying left and right, still not quite awake. Stephanie was the one who spoke first.

  “…What is the meaning of this?”

  “—Of…? Oh, just to make it clear, we’re siblings, all right? It’s not like—”

  “…Geh… Brother rejected mee…”

  —Let me correct myself. His sister wasn’t half asleep—she was 80 percent asleep, and she was leaning into his back. He didn’t know what the manners were like in this world, but he defended himself just in case.

  “Uhh, it’s really not like that? I’m Sora. I’ve never had a girlfriend in my life, and I’m looking!”

  “…That is of no concern to me!”

  However, seeming to lack the drive to engage the matter, Stephanie continued weakly.

  “What concerns me is what happened during the day.”


  Day—day. What was she talking about? To begin with, what time was it? He didn’t see any sunlight from the window, but—. Glancing at his phone, he saw that four hours had gone by since he’d gone to sleep—no wonder he was tired.

  “During the day, you told me as you passed by, ‘You’re being hoodwinked.’”

  While making sleepy noises, the sister still perhaps had heard them, for she said with her eyes closed:

  “…So…you lost?”

  The sister’s attitude seemed to strike a nerve.

  “Why, yes… Yes, I lost! Now everything is over!”

  As Stephanie stood up and cried out, Sora covered his ears.

  “Uh, I’m sleep-deprived and you’re giving me a headache, so, if you could please not shout so much…”

  Stephanie slammed her bag onto the table in a blind rage, apparently having no ears for Sora’s modest request. Her shriek rose further.

  “If you knew she was cheating, then couldn’t you at least have told me how she did it? If I showed everyone, I could have won!”

  Remembering the notes he was looking through on his phone before sleeping, Sora said:

  “Hmm… The Eighth of the Ten Covenants: ‘If cheating is discovered in a game, it shall be counted as a loss.’ That one.”

  So just knowing that they were cheating wasn’t enough. “Discovered”—it meant you had to prove they were cheating for it to count as a loss.

  “And now I’ve lost! Thanks to you, I’ve been eliminated from the running for the monarch!”

  “…In…other words…”

  Shiro gurgled out a sleepy comment.

  “…you lost…so you’re pissed, and you’re taking it out on…us?”

  The words showed no intent to couch their meaning, and Stephanie ground her teeth at their accuracy.

  “Oh, Sister. Let’s not pretend to be sleeping as we throw fuel on fire.”

  “…Hmph… What, how’d you know.”

  “Come on, I know you woke up when I said I’m looking for a girlfriend…We already don’t have anyone on our side in this place, you know; we gotta, like, be nice—”

  —But. Sora, having said that much.

  Suddenly—got an idea. Sensing something in the change in her brother’s expression, Shiro spoke no more. Meanwhile, as if he’d had a change of personality, Sora’s mouth twisted in a grin:

  “—Well, my sister is right, after all. It’s no wonder the human race is failing.”

  “…What did you say?”

  Stephanie pulled the corners of her mouth taut. But Sora ignored her and intentionally cast his eyes crassly over her body. A frill-covered puff of a dress befitting a princess in a fantasy world was not enough to hide her voluptuous figure as he licked his eyes over it. Choosing exactly the words best suited to infuriate her—he said:

  “You couldn’t even see through cheating like that, and now you’re taking it out on us…and then showing your anger on your face when a little kid calls you out on it—you’re such a stooge. If this is the old king’s bloodline, no wonder you’re failing.”

  Sora looked at her with the kind of eyes used to pity an animal of low intelligence. Stephanie’s eyes opened wide, and then she glared with an expression trembling in anger.

  “………Take…it back.”

  “Take it back? Ha-ha, what for?”

  “Myself aside—I cannot allow you to mock my grandfather!”

  Stephanie looked as if about to eat him alive, but Sora just grinned back, even waving his hand.

  “You couldn’t see her cheating because you were on the defensive—people like you who just want to win safely without taking risks are too busy protecting themselves to see what the other player is doing.”

  And, chuckling contemptuously, he let it rip.

  “Simpleminded, short fuse, can’t control her emotions, conservative. Honestly speaking, there’s no chance.”

  “—If you’d just shut up and listen to me—!!”

  Stephanie got up from her chair looking as if about to grab him, but Sora interrupted.

  “Then let’s play a game.”

  “…Uh, um, wha?”

  Taken aback. But with unconcealed suspicion, Stephanie listened to Sora’s words.

  “What, you don’t have to think too hard about it. Just rock-paper-scissors. You know it? Rock-paper-scissors.”

  “Rock—? I, uh…well, certainly.”

  “Great, I’m glad to hear you have it in this world, too. So, we’ll play that. But—”

  He lifted a finger. Slowly and carefully, Sora explained:

  “Not ordinary rock-paper-scissors—you ready? I’m only going to throw paper.”

  “—What?”

  “If I throw anything else, I lose… But, if I throw something else that beats you, you lose, too, so it’s a draw—and, of course, if I throw anything else and you have the same thing, then I lose.”

  “”

  If he throws anything other than paper, he loses? Not comprehending what this man was saying, Stephanie tightened her guard still further.

  “—And what is the wager?”

  Sora grinned as if to say—Glad we could get straight to the point.

  “If you win, I’ll do anything and everything you ask. I can explain to you the reason you lost, the truth about the cheating…and if you tell me to die for having insulted your gramps the foolish, then that’s that.”

  “……You little…!”

  “—And! If I win. You have to do anything and everything I ask.”

  With a face that was jovial, yet colder than ice, stretched by an unsettling smile. Crudely, repulsively, and—mercilessly, even, he continued:

  “I’m putting my life on the line here—surely you don’t mind staking your chastity and such?”

  Stephanie felt the blood that had boiled up to her head draw back with a chill. This did, however, cool her head, and, carefully—she asked:

  “—What if…we draw?”

  “I’ll just give you a hint about the cheating…and, in return…”

  Sora made a sudden reversal, smiling while scratching his head bashfully.

  “Perhaps you can grant me just one little favor. We should be able to get by for a few days with what we’ve got—but, to tell you the truth, after our four nights here, we won’t have any food or place to stay. We were already worrying about what to do next…”

  “—In other words, you want me to provide you with accommodation?”

  Sora responded to Stephanie’s words with a bubbly smile.

  —Was that all? Apparently this guy just wanted to freeload for a while.

  “What do you saaay? You backing out?”

  “……”

  “Well, it’s true that even if you learn about her cheating now, it’s not like you’ll get to be queen anymore. I can see you love to play defensively, and there’s no real need for you to take such a risk, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

  An all-too-blatant provocation. It was too easy to see through—but Stephanie decided to go along with it regardless.

  “…Very well, Sir, I shall take you up—Aschente!”

  —This word was an oath signifying a game under the Ten Covenants. An oath to the God that one was ready and willing to follow the Ten Covenants—in a gamble that was absolutely binding.

  “Okay, then I’m down…Aschente.”

  Sora made his oath, accompanied by a grin—and a comment that obscured his true purpose. Stephanie, however, was already furiously churning through thoughts in her head.

  —He’s only going to throw paper? Does he think that if he says that I’m just going to obediently throw scissors? Looking at the conditions he proposed—his intention is obvious. He’s playing for a draw—that’s the only way to look at it. This man just wants a place—and he doesn’t even actually know how she cheated. Surely that’s the truth? If he loses if he doesn’t throw paper, then the odds for each of my choices are—Rock: two wins to one loss. Scissors
: two wins to one draw. Paper: one win to two draws. After he declared that he’d only throw paper. If I was just going to throw scissors, he’d throw rock. He must be thinking of laughing at me, Yep, just as I planned; props for innocence, moron. That said, if I throw paper—I won’t lose no matter what. It will almost certainly be a draw, which is just what he wants.

  —This cur thinks there’s no way I’ll throw rock—. Because it’s the only way I could lose!

  —Playing me for a fool—! Whether I throw rock or scissors, my odds of winning are two to one. I won’t let him have his way—I won’t let him have his draw!…Stephanie stared daggers through Sora.

  “—!”

  —But after glaring at Sora’s face, she swallowed. Truly he was a base and contemptible fellow—but that wasn’t why. It was his cold, thin smile, that of a man who calmly knew he was going to win. Seeing Sora’s expression—once again her risen blood dropped as if splashed with cold water.

  —No, calm down; think objectively. Stephanie admonished herself and circled her thoughts once more. He’d called her a stooge, emotional, simpleminded—should she allow herself to be provoked by this to prove his point? As she admonished herself thus, Stephanie realized something.

  —Of course. It’s so obvious. This man—this rogue—has no choice but to throw paper as he declared! There is no other way he can win. Which means—no matter what I throw, he can only throw paper as he declared…If he wins, then lucky him, and, if he draws, it’s just as he planned—that’s how it is! Because he can lose—no matter what he throws!

  “Well, you about ready yet?”

  Sora was smiling as if he had already won—but.

  “I only await you. Are you prepared to uphold the Covenants?”

  Stephanie answered with the same surety of victory. I can see your hand already—cry out in defeat!

  “Okay, then let’s go; yeah, rock, paper—”

  —scissors. Was what Stephanie threw. But her eyes.

  “Wha”

  Opened wide at Sora’s rock.

  “Wha-wha—how could…That wasn’t…”

  “I give you points for not letting yourself be baited and going straight for the rock—but that’s not enough.”