「Everyone,
are you ready, Devi?」
「Yeah...
I'm good. Probably」
I gave
a small nod to Lili's question.
A
large, white room.
On the
main wall was a large monitor, and on the other three walls were a row of
doors.
Only
one of the doors behind me was red, and it stood out abnormally.
We
were already sitting around a round table in a death game area.
Once
again, I look around at the people surrounding the round table.
Clockwise
from me are Kurosawa-san, Akira Mizuki, President Kurashima, Kiyoka Yamauchi,
Kirihito Hikami, Ryoko, Ponpoko-san, Shima-san, Kyoko, Kaneko-san, and
Masaki-chan.
Akira
Mizuki, President Kurashima, Kiyoka Yamauchi, Kirihito Hikami, and Ponpoko-san
are still asleep. Lili has pinned their souls.
Wallets,
phones, watches. Everything they were wearing has been confiscated. The reason
is to lie about the time.
It is
now nine o'clock in the evening, but in order for them to misunderstand the
time, Lili will tell them it is nine in the morning.
Turning
to the others, Kurosawa-san has her hand on her chest and is repeatedly taking
deep breaths.
Masaki-chan
seems to be somewhat excited.
Shima-san
was writing the letters “人” on her palm and swallowing it.
Kyoko
threw her legs over the round table, folded her hands behind her head, and
rocked her chair.
And
Kaneko-san is staring at Kirihito Hikami.
「So,
what about Ponpoko-san?」
I asked,
to which Lili replied without hesitation.
「Don't
worry about it for now, Devi. As long as there are enough of us, it won't
affect anything, Devi. When there are fewer of us, we can adjust as needed,
Devi」
Lili
then turned to the others and raised her voice.
「The
mascot character will be in charge from now on, Devi, but in case of unexpected
events, I want you to act and react as your assigned character, Devi」
「Yes,
I'll do my best」
「Okay」
Masaki-chan
and Shima-san nod to each other.
「Leave
it to me」
Kyoko
gives a thumbs-up, and Lili gives her a stern look.
「You're
the one I'm worried about, Devi」
「What
do you mean? Am I not trustworthy?」
「Nee,
nee~. By the way, what kind of mascot is it? I think a cute one would be good.
Like a cat or a rabbit」
When
Kurosawa-san said that, Lili smiled.
「I've
got a really cute mascot, Devi. Something cute and a little freaky」
To be
honest, I'm a little worried.
Lili's
taste is too unique.
Well,
maybe devilish, if I put it that way.
「Okay,
let's get started, Devi. Everyone pretend to be asleep for now, Devi. Then,
start by waking up, Devi」
◇ ◇ ◇
「Uuuu....
Uuuuun...」
I
dreamed of whales.
A
majestic figure surging to the surface from the bottom of the water. I followed
it as it rose to the surface.
Gradually,
my consciousness awakens. In a corner of my mind, I think, “Is it morning...? I
don't want to go work...” as I rub my eyelids.
But
when I gently open my heavy eyelids, I find myself in an unfamiliar place.
（Where
is it? This place? When did I fall asleep?)
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↓ Continue to Read ↓
In my
foggy mind, I try to recall what happened before I fell asleep, but like a
small boat drifting on the ocean, my thoughts can't reach any shore.
「Ponpoko-san,
are you okay?」
I
looked up and saw Misuzu-chan looking at me with a worried face across the wide
table.
I
turned my eyes vaguely to the left and right.
Several
faces surrounded the round table, some familiar, some unfamiliar.
They
all seem to have woken up at the same time as I did, and they all look so
vague.
To my
right sits a woman with a peculiar short cut, wearing a black suit. I don't
recognize her.
On the
other side, to my left is a short-cut girl in a dull orange top that looks
vaguely familiar.
（I
wonder where I've seen her before)
As
soon as I thought about it, I had a flashback to the time when I was staring at
President Kurashima in the reception room of a First-Beauty Agency.
（That's
right! That's the girl who was in the reception room!)
I
tried to remember, but my memory was cut off after that reception room.
Looking
around the table again, I found that all the people who were in the reception
room at that time were there.
President
Kurashima, Manager Yamauchi-san, Misuzu-chan, Fumijima-san, and two girls who
looked like new models.
The
rest of the people I knew were Akira Mizuki-chan and Kirihito Hikami-kun.
And...
Chihiro Kaneko-san.
I have
no direct acquaintance with her, but I have offered to photograph her a few
times.
She
was a model that the editor-in-chief at the time favored. I believe she
belonged to First Beauty Agency, but she kept turning down offers, and before I
knew it, I no longer saw her in the media.
Everyone
looks puzzled, looking left and right.
I
guess they don't know what to do.
Of
course, I don't either.
Only
one person, a woman with dyed red hair and a short leather jacket who looked
like an old-fashioned rocker, was smiling with a loose smile on her face.
Suddenly--
「What
the hell! What is this!? Who's playing a prank!?」
President
Kurashima dropped his fist on the table and shouted.
「Why,
Kaneko is here! What's she up to?」
Then,
with his cheeks twitching, he pointed his finger at Kaneko-san, who stared at
him silently with glazed eyes.
Then a
red-haired rocker says, “Shut up, old man, you're scaring her”, and puts her
crossed legs on the table and starts shaking her chair.
「What's
wrong with you? Where's your attitude?」
「Hey,
shut up. Just sit down, you don't want to die, right?」
The
rest of the people are just watching the exchange between the two. No, only
Hikami-kun was looking at Kaneko-san with frightened eyes.
（You
don't want to die...)
Everyone
looked at each other uneasily at her disturbing words.
Just
as the president was about to shout even more, a noise rang out and a large
monitor on the wall displayed a flashing image.
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↓ Continue to Read ↓
A
black circle in the middle. Around it was white.
As I
watched with gulping breath, wondering what it was, the camera slowly zoomed
out.
It was
an eye, a round eye.
And
when the full body of the owner of the eye was shown, someone muttered in
dismay.
「...Salmon?」
It was
a salmon.
It was
a magnificent salmon.
Not a
deformed character or anything. It's a real salmon.
A
Tokishirazu salmon of that size could fetch a hundred thousand yen.
『Good
morning. I, Aramaki-san, would like to announce the time was 9 o'clock in the
morning, Jake』
The
salmon's mouth moved in time with the girl's voice.
Immediately,
a question mark appeared on everyone's head.
In a
word, what is this?
『Aramaki-san
is the mascot of this game, Jake! Please take care of me!』
Everyone
was just looking around, as if they didn't know what to do.
Fumijima-san,
for some reason, looked as if he was trying to hold back a headache, and was
holding his head.
「The
mascot... It's too plain, ain't it?」
The
short-cut girl next to me commented.
I
think she couldn't help but complain as she spoke in Kansai dialect.
This
is because people in the Kansai region consider it matter to make a joke.
『It's
rude, Jake. Aramaki-san is a cute and freaky mascot, Jake!』
As she
says this, Aramaki-san's eyes close up on the screen.
「Don't
close up all of a sudden! I know, I know, it's freaky, okay...?」
The
eyes of fish are indeed freaky and scary, because I can't tell what the fish
are thinking.
『Fuuuh,
I got sidetracked by a rude little girl, Jake. Anyway, let's get back to the
topic at hand, Jake』
So
says the self-proclaimed Aramaki-san as the image zooms out.
Then,
she (?) said again.
『From
now, you're going to kill each other, Jake』
At
that moment, I felt as if the temperature of the place had dropped.
I
don't think it's possible, but I've seen this kind of development before in
manga and novels. Maybe everyone else has seen it too.
「Is
it... death game?」
Misuzu-chan's
voice trembled, and Aramaki-san nodded dexterously on the screen.
『Yes,
Jake... But it doesn't mean that you have to kill each other directly, Jake. I
want everyone to decide who they want to kill, Jake. And I'll do the killing,
Jake』
「What
do you mean, “decide”?」
This
time, a girl with a baby face but unusually large breasts ask. The girl was in
the reception room at that time...
『Now
it's around nine in the morning, Jake. Let's vote on who you're going to kill
by nine at night, Jake. The person with the most vote will be killed, Jake』
「So,
does that mean one of us is going to die?」
Fumijima-san's
voice quivered with fear.
『No,
Jake』
Fumijima-san
let out a sigh of relief at Aramaki-san's answer.
But--
『Everyone
will die except the last two, Jake』
「「Hiiii!?」」
Misuzu-chan
and the baby-faced, big-breasted girl from earlier twitch their cheeks in fear
as Aramaki-san zooms in again.
The
close-up of the salmon is still very frightening.
『The vote
is daily. Voting continues every day until the last two, Jake! The final two
are safely released. As a souvenir, I'll include Aramaki-san's homemade salmon
roe, Jake』
Instantly,
President Kurashima shouted.
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「This
is ridiculous! What are you planning, money? Or a grudge!」
「I
can't do this, this is nonsense!」
Akira-chan
shouted after the president, and then a woman in a suit who was sitting next to
me kicked her chair and stood up.
「It's a
stupid farce. I don't know what you think you're doing, but surrender yourself!
It's still not much of a crime, now」
『So?
Detective Terashima won't join the game, Jake?』
Once
again, Aramaki-san’s image zooms out.
Apparently,
this woman is a detective. To be honest, I was relieved. I felt as if I had
found my salvation.
「Of
course. You're just a piece of sushi! The way out is through that red door
anyway, right?」
As she
started to walk towards the red door, Aramaki-san let out a sigh on the screen.
No, it looked like that.
And
then...
The
female detective disappeared.
To my
eyes, she seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
I
turned my head and saw that the floor was wide open where she'd been.
She
fell!? Almost as soon as I noticed it,
「Gyaaaaaaah!!」
A
female detective's scream echoed from inside the hole in the floor, making
everyone want to cover their ears.
「「Hiii!?」」
「「What!?」」
Everyone
rushed to the side of the hole, peered down, and choked on their voices.
Inside
the hole, there was a steel stake about ten centimeters in diameter sticking
out of the bottom.
The
female detective was pierced through the guts by the stake like a cripple of a
shrike and was trembling.
「Uaaaaah!」
「Hiiiiiiiiiii!」
Everyone
turned away their heads and fell back on their asses as if they had lost their
backs.
Immediately,
the floorboards slammed shut, and a heavy silence descended.
『She is
stupid, Jake. ....Well sometimes, there are these stupid, misguided women,
Jake. It's a shame fewer people are joining the game, Jake, it's inevitable,
Jake』
Aramaki-san
spat, and Hikami-kun was dumbfounded, “Seriously... “.
Looking
at the others, all of them have a stunned look on their faces.
Probably,
so am I.
Especially,
President Kurashima, Akira-chan and Hikami-kun were pale.
But no
one could move. In the midst of such a heavy atmosphere...
「Hahaha...」
There
was only one person who let out a laugh like that.
When I
turned my eyes in the direction of the sound of laughter, I saw a rocker in a
leather jacket with her legs thrown up on the table, smiling and clacking her
chair.
「Don't
be so scared. You're going to see people die every day anyway」
「Y-you're
part of this!?」
When
the president raises his voice, she spits it out in a dull tone.
「No,
old man. I'm just an experienced player. I'm just a survivor of the last death
game. I didn't expect to get caught up in this again. That's bad luck...」
As the
president continued to raise his voice, Aramaki-san interrupted him.
『Hello,
can I continue my explanation, Jake? If you don't listen to me, you could die,
Jake』
With
that, the president had no choice but to be quiet. Everyone looks at each other
in confusion and sinks back into their chairs.
Of
course, so did I.
I no
longer have the energy to disobey.
There
is no doubt in my mind that this is indeed a serious death game.
Then,
Aramaki-san cleared her throat and resumed her explanation.
**
『Cough,
uh... I said I'd get rid of the person with the most votes, Jake, but it's by
no means a chance, Jake. If you complete the mission I've set for you, you can
make the voting results disappear, Jake』
「Mission?」
『Yes,
the mission will be announced at each vote count, Jake, and if you complete it,
in addition to avoiding death on the spot, you will not be voted in next time,
Jake』
「...But
there are only two of us left, right?」
Kaneko-san
murmured, and Aramaki-san nodded, “Yes, Jake”.
『The
doors on the walls around you are your rooms, Jake, except for the red one. On
the door is your name, Jake, and you are free to use that room, Jake』
Then -
the screen almost goes dark for a moment, and Aramaki-san appears again, as if
remembering.
『Oh,
yes. For other detailed rules, there are Death Game Handbook available in each
room. You'd better read them carefully, Jake. It'd be boring if someone died by
accident, Jake』
Then
President Kurashima let out a groan.
「You...
Who the hell are you?」
『Fufu,
Aramaki-san is just a part-time worker, Jake. For every person who dies, my
wage increases by 10 yen, Jake. So I want you all to die in high spirits, Jake』
「Is it money!
I'll give you money! How much do you want?」
『Nnn...
I can't do that, Jake. If you released, they'll kill me, Aramaki-san, Jake.
After all, one of you is Aramaki-san's employer, Jake』
With
that, Aramaki-san disappeared with a rather elaborate effect.
- So, Ryoko is out.
- The basic point of view will be Ponpoko-san's.
NEW SERIES!!!
There's a new work that I absolutely recommend immersing yourself in: 'Starting as a Male Idol in a World with a 1:99 Gender Ratio.' Follow Shirogane Aqua's captivating journey of stardom, where he overcomes challenges, encounter fascinating characters, and embrace his unwavering passion. For the new work: click here!
