Utsuro no Hako:Volume4 Chapter2
"I will win against you, Daiya!"
Kazuki Hoshino said that.
I couldn't help but laugh out.
"Absolutely impossible."
I am confident. Kazuki Hoshino has no chance of reaching his goal.
If he's really positive that he can win, then that's nothing but a mere delusion.
Kazuki Hoshino makes a basic misunderstanding.
Being able to stay in this room where one can watch over everything --- you may call it the Master Room --- I naturally know about this misunderstanding.
"......heh."
Still,
«Boredom --- there are people that blast their own brain out just to get rid of this beast.»
I like that phrase.
Indeed, boredom is a beast. If it wasn't, then I would surely not use the 'box' that can grant any 'wish' for something like a way to stave it off.
"Okay, I'll go then."
Kazuki Hoshino says so and turns towards the screen. His face gets illuminated by the blue-white light that's coming from the cheap game machine.
Several transparent hands reach out for Kazuki Hoshino who's staring directly at the screen. While looking very discomforted about those hands that overflow from there almost as if they wanted to devour him greedily, he gets drawn in. As if he was being plucked off by the hands, he slowly loses his color, gets transparent and eventually disappears.
Congratulations for that heroic determination.
But it's pointless, you know? Even if, by any chance, you manage to prevent everyone from killing, it would still be pointless.
The 'owner' of the 'Game of Idleness' isn't Daiya Oomine.
«'Natures' are like this. Every event changes its shape according to your nature. Things that you find enjoyable are pure boredom for people that have 'boredom' as their nature.»
«The 'box' can be no more than a way to kill time for people that are engulfed by boredom. Thus, this is only a game. A pointless game.»
It's me --- Koudai Kamiuchi.
Thanks for this lovely explanation of me, Oomine-senpai.
Heh, and Kazuki Hoshino misunderstood that. Our poor Hoshino-senpai got completely deceived by Daiya Oomine's cryptic wording!☆
Right --- that's why he can't win.
It's only natural. How could he win when he mistook his enemy?
"Oomine-senpai."
When I call him, Daiya Oomine turns wordlessly around to me.
"What do you intend to do with Hoshino-senpai?"
"Why do you ask?"
Daiya Oomine moodily responds to my call.
"Weell, you see, listening to your exchange, I got a little confused. Um, you told him, «you can survive if nobody kills anyone during these eight days», right?"
"I told him, yeah."
"But that's a lie, isn't it?"
Daiya Oomine doesn't answer.
"I mean, there's no way such a method would exist, is there? Or do you think I would create such a pointless escape route with this personality of mine?"
The game will be forced to end. His explanation was so persuasive, even I almost believed it. But thinking about it, it's impossible that he would know of such an underhanded trick when he's not even the 'owner'.
In short, bullshit.
Daiya Oomine flashes an expression of joy.
Heh, there I was wondering what kind of expression he would show me and then that.
I can't help but smile wryly as well. That guy just fed Kazuki Hoshino a random line, deceived him and now he's laughing at him!
No wonder he easily won the first round when he's like that.
"What the truth is does not matter. What matters is, whether Kazuki Hoshino believes it or not."
"Well, he believed it readily. How pitiful. So, my question was why you did that."
Daiya Oomine answers while scratching his head,
"Would you believe me if I told you that I just want to see how Kazu frantically runs around?"
"...hm? This phrasing means that it's a lie?"
"It's true."
I don't know whether he's telling the truth or not, but the feeling I now have that it's the truth is what makes me snort.
"You're evil, aren't you? Hoshino-senpai doesn't stand a chance in various senses."
"Well, yeah."
He answers indifferently without any expression on his face.
But I guess that's not the only reason. I know that he's not such a shallow human. If it's really true, then it's one of the things he wants to do the most.
"By the way, why are you doing this here? Why did you want to have something like a guide-role for [Kingdom Royale]?"
This 'box' is able to summon the players to this room and suspends them until their turn actually arrives. But for some reason I was unable to suspend him like the others.
When I questioned him about that, he told me something about being able to interfere with others' 'wishes' because he's also an 'owner'. Well, frankly speaking: what the fuck?
Then I asked him why Maria Otonashi, who seems to be an 'owner' as well, wasn't able to do the same, but apparently it's not like she can't. Her turn has simply not come and she's still suspended, therefore she didn't have an opportunity to perceive the existence of this 'box' yet.
In other words, Daiya Oomine is only able to move because he was released from the «suspended» state once in order to play the first round.
Anyway, Daiya Oomine took advantage of this circumstance and did things like explaining [Kingdom Royale] to Kazuki Hoshino or shitting him.
"Don't make me repeat myself. Didn't I tell you it was because I want to see Kazu's pathetic dance?"
"But that's not all, right?"
"Then let me say this: I don't intend to give you an answer."
"Ooh! What a daring answer, considering I'm the 'owner' that lets you move freely! Do you understand your position? Well, even if you don't want to answer, I don't really care. It's not like I'm that interested in it anyway."
Everything's right as long it seems interesting. In fact, it seems fun to watch Kazuki Hoshino be deceived and get frantic.
Apparently amazed that I withdrew so easily, Daiya Oomine sighs.
"...come to think of it, I forgot to ask. Why did you choose us as players?"
"Well, don't you usually want to fight against as strong enemies as possible? The HARD-mode's much more fun than the EASY-mode, isn't it? Therefore, I've chosen the people from our school that are said to be brilliant."
"What about Kazu? You can't call him brilliant, can you?"
"Aah, yeah. To tell the truth, I originally wanted to choose someone else! Um, that second year «Ryuu Miyazaki». But since he's not a student of our school anymore, I gave up on that. It's better if the enemy characters have some sense of unity, don't you agree?"
"Kazu in place of Miyazaki, huh. It would be hard to find anyone more inappropriate for that role."
"Ah, you're not being honest with yourself again, Oomine-senpai. I know that you value Hoshino-senpai pretty highly! Besides this, it's not really like that. Sure enough, Hoshino-senpai isn't even a small fry when he's alone, but combined with Maricchi, he can be quite troublesome."
Daiya Oomine frowned, displeased.
"...maybe. But is that something you would know before starting the game?"
"Ah, 'O' told me that."
Hearing this, Daiya Oomine gets surprised for a second, but then flashes a wry smile.
"What's with that smile?"
"No, don't mind me. It just made a lot of sense to me."
He says and turns his eyes towards the screen. Kazuki Hoshino talking with Noitan is being displayed on it. He's exactly the kind of clown that amuses me, being so serious while not knowing anything.
Daiya Oomine was watching this comical Kazuki Hoshino with intensity as if each single moment was precious.
Hah?! Didn't you want to laugh? What's with that serious visage?
"......"
Whatever, huh.
"Hey."
Daiya Oomine says without looking away from the screen.
"...what?"
"...let me confirm this: your NPC neither knows the details of the 'Game of Idleness' nor about himself being the 'owner', right?"
"If he knew, it would be unfair and boring, right?"
"Hmpf, your NPC behaves like this without knowing anything? I bet you think that this 'Game of Idleness' as well as the killing in [Kingdom Royale] have no meaning."
"Hah? Of course they have none. Do you think something else, Senpai?"
Daiya Oomine thinks briefly and answers,
"...leaving me aside, I bet Kazu thinks like this:"
"...?"
Daiya Oomine raises his head and gazes at me.
Then he opens his mouth.
"«I'll find a meaning in this 'Game of Idleness' then»."
For some reason Daiya Oomine seemed a little happy when he said that.
"......"
---What an annoying visage.
To me his expression seems as if he had actually faith in Kazuki Hoshino, while letting him dance all the same.
Although such a feeling couldn't possibly exist between enemies.
But what if those two were actually conspiring against me...? ...Aah, no, that's impossible. I watched their conversation just now after all, and I also watched most of what happened in-game though the game machine. If they were conspiring, I would notice.
...well, and even if they are conspiring---
Well, I don't care, after all.
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