4. Personal Enemy Number One
(0/5)
Before becoming a player, Yuki did not know people.
She had opportunities to interact with people at school or work—but those were never interactions dense enough to truly know humanity. Since entering this world, she has known others for the first time, and come to know what human beings are.
Those others appeared before Yuki in various relationships. Some were masters. Some were disciples. Some were rivals. Some were just acquaintances.
She is different from any of them.
She is an "Enemy." If I do not fight, I cannot protect myself.
(1/5)
Yuki received a contact on her mobile phone.
(2/5)
A message came from the agent. It said he would arrive in about ten minutes. Upon confirming it, Yuki looked away from the mobile phone and surveyed the room.
Yuki's room—Room 107 of Tochinoki Manor.
It was right after becoming a player that she came here. Yuki, who was sixteen at the time, could not sign a lease agreement on her own, but since a person from Management acted as her proxy, she was able to realize living alone.
Speaking of Yuki's room back then, it was truly terrible. Garbage bags and cardboard boxes that kept missing the chance to be thrown away were rolling all over the room, a large amount of fallen hair was scattered on the floor, she had only one jersey for clothes, the plumbing area smelled similar to a garbage dump, the refrigerator was packed tight with useless things bought who knows when, and mold was growing everywhere on the wallpaper on the four walls of the room.
Dramatic improvements were seen in all those items. Not a single garbage bag or cardboard box is here now. Fallen hair is also cleaned up regularly. Her clothes still center on jerseys, but her school sailor uniform has been added to the lineup. The plumbing area was still dirty as usual, but she somehow prevented foul odors from occurring. The inside of the refrigerator is neat. Regarding the mold on the wallpaper, although spots still remained here and there, she had succeeded in removing most of it. In general, it is clearly cleaner than a few years ago.
It is said that the inside of a room is a mirror reflecting a person's heart.
If speaking by that theory, I am changing. Changing in a good direction.
However, that also means I am not staying in one place—.
If summarizing this matter, in short, that is probably what it means.
Yuki put the mobile phone away in her jersey and shouldered the bag placed next to her. It is not a school bag. It is a shoulder bag she hurriedly bought at a nearby convenience store. Inside are a set of valuables such as her mobile phone charger and passbook. According to the agent, a set of furniture is prepared over there as well, so taking just this is sufficient. Yuki checked the contents of the bag once more, confirmed there was nothing left behind, put on her shoes, left the room and the apartment, and leaped out under the early morning sky which still retained some blueness.
"—Leaving, huh."
Then—she was called out to by the landlady who was in front of the apartment.
"Ugh..."
Not expecting to run into her, Yuki is surprised.
"H-hello, Landlady."
"Yeah."
"Did you not sleep since then yesterday?"
When yesterday's disturbance concluded, the time should have been around 11 PM. Yuki thought the apartment residents had gone to bed after that and would still be sleeping around now, but—.
"No, I slept," the landlady says.
"Bed at midnight, up at four."
"Four hours of sleep..."
"Old folks don't need to sleep much, you know."
Saying that as if spitting on the ground, the landlady then asked,
"So, you're going?"
"......Yes."
Yuki answers honestly.
"There was that incident yesterday. If I continue living here, something like that might happen again."
Regarding the hitmen matter, in the end, they handled it without reporting to the police. Because they handed over the victim, Awahime, to a Management hospital. Since Awahime came to see Yuki—in other words, the apartment residents got involved because Yuki lived here, and that was one of the reasons for moving.
However, along with that, there was a more selfish reason. If she lives here as is—if her address remains known to "The Secret Society," she doesn't know when or what will happen. This time, assassins might be unleashed against Yuki. There was also the aspect of moving out of fear of that situation, but since she couldn't explain that to the landlady, Yuki glossed over this.
"Decreasing by one person again, huh."
At the landlady's words which were somewhat sorrowful, Yuki explains, "Ah, no, but."
"I'm not moving out permanently. I mean, I haven't written a move-out notice, right? It's just living in a different place for a while. Once things cool down... or rather... once the situation settles, I'll come back here again."
This is true. Although she had the agent arrange temporary housing, she is only going there temporarily as if on a business trip. She will not move out of Tochinoki Manor.
Also, as an aside, just as she can't continue living in Tochinoki Manor, she probably can't go to school for a while either. She has no choice but to take a leave of absence.
"After I leave, if anything happens..." Yuki says.
"Please contact Fuchidori-san. I'm sure she will be reliable."
Possibly, "The Secret Society" might target the apartment residents. Even in that case, if Fuchidori is there, it will surely be reassuring.
"Ah... Seems so."
The landlady answered. In yesterday's incident, Fuchidori must have shown a reliable side.
"Well then, that's how it is..."
Yuki adjusts the bag on her shoulder.
"Is it okay if I go now?"
"Wait."
The landlady says.
"Before you go, there's one thing I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"About your background."
Scratching above her eye, the landlady says.
"You—are doing something dangerous, aren't you?"
Yuki did not answer.
"What were those guys yesterday? No matter how you look at it, they weren't normal. You, and Fuchidori too, I've vaguely thought since a while ago, but you are clearly not normal. To say it more directly—not honest folk. Not people in a decent position."
"............"
"What are you doing? You."
"......I'm sorry," Yuki answers. "I can't say that."
Silence descended on the early morning apartment.
After exhaling a breath, "Phew," the landlady said. "I don't know the detailed circumstances but—"
"If you're gonna do it, do it until you're satisfied."
"......Eh?"
It was slightly unexpected words. Yuki asks. "Isn't the talk that I should stop because I'm doing something dangerous?"
"Nah. Not that. If you want to do it, do it."
The landlady closed her eyes. After a short time passed, probably thinking about the arrangement of the story in her head, she began to speak.
"How to put it. When you get to this age, you think so especially. Humans, when they get old, stop understanding what they want to do. It becomes incomprehensible. And then, they regret a little. Thinking I should have done something with more effort."
"......Is that so."
The landlady looks like she behaves as she pleases every day, but is that how she feels inside?
"You used to be gloomier. When you came here, you had a face like a dead person. Well, that's still the case now but... You were worse back then. Even if I preached to you, it didn't resonate at all. But, you've improved recently, haven't you?"
"Well, maybe, to some extent."
"I don't know what you're doing, but it's thanks to that, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, keep doing that, you."
The landlady piles on more words.
"Do it thoroughly while you can so you don't regret it."
"......Yes. I will do so."
Yuki answered.
She was a little happy. The landlady's preaching might have resonated with her heart for the first time.
"I too, will continue being a landlady until you return," the landlady says. "You'd be troubled if the system changed when you came back, right."
"Yes. That helps," Yuki decided to say a joke. "I'll return before you kick the bucket, Landlady, definitely."
"Yeah. I'm counting on you."
The landlady answered without even smiling. Did it convey as a joke? She doesn't know the truth. Feeling the subtly mismatched atmosphere common in conversations between the elderly and the young, Yuki said, "Well then, I'm off." The landlady waved her hand to see off Yuki leaving the apartment.
The arrangement was to meet the agent not in front of the apartment, but at a slightly distant location. This is to avoid surveillance eyes that might still be at Tochinoki Manor. Keeping a sharp lookout on the surroundings so she could immediately sense if there was a tail, Yuki thinks.
I will definitely return to that apartment.
And, wipe the mold remaining in the room.
(3/5)
At the same time.
In a certain square, two humans met.
(4/5)
It is a certain square in a certain regional city.
There was large-scale redevelopment work a few years ago, and since then, it has turned into a stylish design. Although it was a place used as a relaxation spot for citizens during the day, the number of people is small because the current time is early morning. Figures of middle-aged men sleeping off their drunkenness and couples who confirmed their love all night are only slightly seen.
One human came to such a square.
She is a slender, tall woman. Her name is Shiratsugawa Manami—also known as Hakushi. She was a skilled person who was a player of the killing game until a few years ago and recorded ninety-five clears, but she is a person with a history of retiring due to accumulated injuries.
Hakushi approached one of the humans in the square. That person, sitting on a bench with excellent design probably conceived by a famous architect, was a child about middle school age. He is holding a large bag in both hands. A character bag. It is a character from a work that was popular about ten years ago, and now, almost no humans are seen carrying it. That bag was, so to speak, a "mark." The one holding "that" is the person Hakushi is meeting.
Hakushi was perplexed that the partner was a child. Could it be not the person himself? Is it a messenger—while thinking so, Hakushi called out to him. "Greetings."
"Greetings."
He replied.
"You are Hakushi."
"And you are Kuron?"
"Correct. I am happy to meet you."
After all, it seems there is no mistake it is him. He is the person Hakushi has been searching for—.
"Pardon me for the child's appearance. I just succeeded the position last year."
She doesn't know what "succeeded" means, but there seemed to be circumstances. Then she shall not doubt. Hakushi does not commit the narrow-minded act of not treating him with a serious attitude just because the partner is a child.
"I don't mind," Hakushi said.
"I am happy to meet you too. It was truly long until coming here."
"......That is the same for me. It was truly long until making contact with you."
Kuron answers.
"However—why is it? Why were you probing Management?"
"Because I quit being a player and had free time," Hakushi answers. "Then, I suddenly became curious. What kind of world I was in. What kind of story I was in."
Since retiring as a player—Hakushi had been investigating Management. She tried to place the organizational form, scale, origin, history, and purpose all under her recognition. The reason was as Hakushi just answered, but she also expected to learn something about the ninety-nine clears she had made her goal.
Since the story regarding that becomes terribly long, she cannot tell everything to people. However, Hakushi prided herself on having done well. As a result of the investigation spanning about two and a half years, Hakushi learned everything. And—she obtained the opportunity to contact the top of Management.
"I think that is not the only reason though," Kuron says.
"What do you mean?"
"Some inexplicable points are seen in your actions. For example... you should have had one opportunity to know all the truth immediately, right? Do you remember a player named Shiro?"
"Ah."
"You received contact from her. The detailed content of the conversation is not something I know but... judging from the situation, she probably proposed the following deal to you. She will teach you all the information she possesses—for example, the truth of the perk for the achiever of ninety-nine clears. In exchange, she wants you to teach the know-how as a player you possess. Is there no mistake in this condition?"
It was exactly so. "No mistake," Hakushi answers.
"And, you refused this deal."
"That's right."
"Why is that? Even though the truth you desired was within reach."
"Because there was no guarantee she held the truth. It's useless to listen to mere rumors. What I desire is only the truth."
"......I see. Then, let's say that's fine regarding that," Kuron rested his chin on the character bag he held in his hands. "Then, how do you explain saying OK to the meeting with me? I might have intended to kill you. Where is the guarantee that I haven't hidden soldiers in this square or deployed snipers? Management hates having its background probed terribly. If the top of such Management says 'I want to meet directly'—isn't it natural to be wary of that?"
"If that were the case, I intend to be able to sense the presence in advance," Hakushi answers. "Don't underestimate me too much. Even now that I've retired, that degree of sense remains."
"You're quite good at excuses."
Saying so, Kuron laughs.
"For me, I think you are doing a kind of 'suicide,' you see. By intentionally making an enemy of Management, you are trying to have yourself disposed of."
"Why would I do such a thing?"
"Surely, you are feeling unbearable, aren't you? Ninety-nine game clears. Because that goal was cut off right before your eyes. You are unconsciously in a desperate mood."
"That's not true. I have a disciple."
"That's it, you. That is the cause of your distortion. In other words, even if you intended to entrust the goal of ninety-nine times to your disciple, in your true heart, you hadn't entrusted it completely. So you are agonizing. However, you can't return as a player now. Because on the surface, you certainly entrusted it—at the stage where you hid the gun under the raccoon dog in that game and literally 'entrusted' it to your disciple, you were no longer a player. So you unavoidably played a game against Management. How about it, this explanation."
"It's completely off the mark," Hakushi answers immediately. "An extremely ill-natured interpretation. Are you making such an interpretation because you are struggling to find a successor?"
Probably not expecting to be told such a thing, Kuron laughed as if bursting out. "You got me. I concede a point," he says.
"Let's stop getting too deep into this matter. It seems the damage will be greater for me."
"Isn't the condition for succession a bit too strict? Ninety-nine clears is not easy, you know."
"Good grief, it is as you say but... As you know, originally it wasn't a life-risking game. More like an event where we did slightly dangerous things and took viewing fees... Failure didn't necessarily mean death, and the difficulty was far easier compared to now. The condition of ninety-nine times was set in that era. I have to admit it is a strict condition now."
"Can't you move the condition?"
"It's not that I can't, but moving it now is... If I did that, it would be apologetic to the challengers until now. For example, you, if told starting tomorrow ninety clears is fine, could you accept it?"
"I couldn't."
"Then, that's what it is."
Kuron leaned his back against the bench. He stretches greatly.
"About Shiro whose name came up earlier," he says.
"Do you know she is having trouble with your disciple?"
"No, it's the first I've heard."
"Since they are both aiming for ninety-nine times. They seem to be clashing."
"Isn't there no need to clash? That Shiro person is probably playing the game for the 'Perk'."
"Yeah."
"And, Yuki has no interest in the 'Perk.' I think they could share the benefits well."
"No, that is... Your disciple declared hostility to Shiro. She says she doesn't want to be involved at all from now on. This means—it is also a declaration not to let Shiro participate in the ninety-ninth game which becomes the succession battle. Your disciple might not know that far, but to Shiro, it will sound like that meaning."
"I see. ...That is dangerous."
"Do you think it will become dangerous?"
"Depending on how Shiro thinks. If Yuki achieves ninety-nine times and obtains the 'Perk,' naturally, the operation of subsequent games will be as she wishes. If Shiro views the situation where a human hostile to herself takes the throne as dangerous, it wouldn't be strange if she makes the choice to eliminate Yuki."
"Will your disciple realize that?"
"Of course she will realize. She might not grasp the situation accurately, but her intuition should work. Because she is a player too."
"A dispute outside the game... Disagreeable thing. I didn't set the 'Perk' for such things. They should just enjoy our game..."
"Conflict is human nature. It's unavoidable."
At that time, a melody rang. It is from the clock tower installed in this square. It plays a song three times: morning, noon, and evening. It seemed to mark a break, and "Now," Kuron says.
"Let's end the small talk around here and get to the main topic. You came here to 'check answers' of the information you obtained. Is that right?"
"Ah. It will be a little long, but will you keep me company?"
"I don't mind. I am the patient type. After all, I've been waiting for nearly three hundred years already..."
(5/5)
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