King's game : purgatory 10.29 ep 6

..........

[Saturday, October 30, 08:15 pm]

After using the shower for club activities, Yumeto headed to the schoolyard. At night, the schoolyard is silent, and yellowish-white lights illuminate the flat ground from outside the grounds.

"... It looks like it's better not to get too close to the school gate."

As I moved along the school building, I could see the lights on in several classrooms. Apparently, the classmates are divided into pieces.

...Are they wondering who to vote for? Or maybe each group already decides who to vote for.

"Vote in 4 hours..."

"Seem like that"

Suddenly, I heard a man's voice behind me. When I turned around, I saw Ryuji in training clothes. With his head slightly tilted, Ryuji approached Yumeto with a sigh.

"I searched for you, transfer student."

"Did you look for me? Why me?"

When Yumeto asked a question, Ryuji scratched his head annoyed.

"I have something to talk about. Come hang out with me."

Ryuji walked away without even hearing Yumeto's answer. Reluctantly, Yumeto chased after Ryuji. Ryuji stopped in front of the concrete equipment room near the gymnasium.

"Well, I wonder if this is okay."

"...…So, what are you talking about?"

"What was your name?"

"Yumeto...I'm Yumeto Sasayama."

"Yumeto, isn't it? That's an unusual name."

Ryuji narrowed his eyes and looked down at Yumeto.

"You should give a speech before voting."

"Speech?"

"Oh, say, 'Everyone, please vote for me!' Say it! You can say that you want to kill yourself"

"...I don't want to commit suicide."

"It's okay to lie about that. If you say you want to kill yourself, the people in your class will vote for you, right?"

"I see. Is that so?"

Yumeto glared at Ryuji, who was over 10 centimeters taller than him.

"You want me to be a suicidal person and round up the vote for me?"

"Yeah, our group all decided to vote for you, but it's still 5 votes for it. It's kind of bad. A lot of people hate us."

"Because you bully your classmates."

"Hmm, do you know about Tomoki?"

Ryuji twisted his mouth and smiled.

"Tomoki was a pure guy. He desperately searched for the owner of a stray cat that wandered into school. He worked hard for nothing."

"…..Why were you bullying Tomoki-kun like that?"

"If you have a blank sheet of paper in front of you, you want to get it dirty, right? That's how it feels. Well, Tomoki had a problem too. What we did was like a soft bullying. It's your fault if you die like that."

"Because of that bullying, we may have been caught up in the king's game."

Suppressing his anger, Yumeto said.

"I don't want to take the side of the king, but I think what you guys did was the worst."

"Hmm. That's a strong attitude. Even though you are thin, you're quite of brave..."

Suddenly, Ryuji's fist sank into Yumeto's stomach.

"Ah..."

Yumeto knelt on the ground with his mouth wide open. Hold his belly with both hands and try to breathe. He tries to breathe, but the air does not enter his body. Seeing Yumeto's face distorted in pain, Ryuji laughed.

"Oi oi, KO in one shot. How pathetic."

"... What are you doing?"

"You'll listen to me if you get hurt a little, right?"

Ryuji grabbed Yumeto's hair.

"So what are you going to do? Are you ready to make a public speech?"

"I don't .... like it. i don't want to die...."

"You're such an idiot"

Ryuji's punch hits Yumeto's cheek. There is a gurgling sound, and lukewarm liquid accumulates in his mouth.

"I'll ask you again. You're going to say 'I want to kill myself' in front of everyone, right?"

"...I'm....re...fuse....."

Blood dripped down at Yumeto's feet.

"I'm.....not physically strong, but..... I have never lost a fight... No matter how many times you hit me, it's useless...."

"Hey! You're a troublesome guy. I guess I'll have to change my strategy."

"Change....strategy...?"

"You talk a lot with Yuna. Do you like her?"

"Wh.... She's just a regular classmate."

"Is that so? I think she's pretty cute. Compared to Narumi and the others, she doesn't have that much glamor, but she's pure type, right? If she's in a normal class, she'll be number 1"

"Do you like Yuna-san?"

"Don't say stupid things. I just want to do it."

A lustful smile appeared on Ryuji's face.

"Apparently, the police don't seem to get involved in our dispute, so killing Yuna would be a good idea. Then, I'll tell them that she go to kill herself"

"...…Are you seriously thinking about such a thing?"

"Yeah. I heard that those who survive in Hokkaido are forgiven for all their sins. Can't you use the excuse of attacking Yuna-san because you couldn't stand the tension of the king's game?"

"Yuna's your classmate. And yet, do you want to do such a terrible thing?

"A terrible thing? I'll just do something that feels good. Anyway, it's nothing to do with you, right? To you, Yuna is just a classmate."

".....Your heart are really dirty."

"That's what humans are"

Ryuji lifted the corners of his lips.

"You're going to vote for someone after all, aren't you? For your own survival. Then you're the same as me"

"No."

Yumeto looked straight at Ryuji while wiping the blood from his lips.

"Sure, I was going to vote for someone, but I wouldn't be as mean as you."

"Let's vote fair and square? You idiot! You can do whatever you want to survive. You can match your votes with your friends, or you can threaten them with violence."

"...Even if everyone were to do the same thing, would you be able to say that?"

"I can say. In the King's Game, the strong survive and the weak die. It doesn't have to be strength. You can use your parents' money, or you can survive by being popular. If there's a guy who can't do any of those things, then there's no point in living."

Ryuji raises his fists in front of his chest.

"I will use my friends and the power of violence to survive the King's Game. Apparently, the king doesn't want to punish us all at once. If i can stick around, the police will do something about it. If you refuse, I'll beat you until you faint, and then I'll go see Yuna."

"....I understand. Should I say that I want to kill myself in front of everyone?"

"Oh! Say that from the beginning. If you had done that, you wouldn't have been hurt"

Ryuji patted Yumeto on the shoulder and laughed.

"Well done, fool the people in my class. The reason why you want to kill yourself is that you despaired over the king's game, or whatever. And finally, "Please vote for me." Don't forget this line"

"....."

"Hey, what was your answer? If you don't follow my orders, even if you survive, I'll kill you. Of course, I'll kill Yuna too"

"...Yes"

"Good! Well, you're out of luck too, transfer to another school, and then got caught up in the king's game. However, dying isn't bad, is it? You can go to a world which without pain and suffering like this."

"I.....agree....."

"Take care everything so that you don't have any regrets in this world. What if you confess to Queen Narumi, How is it? If you say you're going to die, she might sympathize with you."

"I'll think about it."

"See you later, transfer student."

Ryuji left Yumeto while whistling.

"... It's not bad to die... huh?"

Yumeto spat out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth. The inside of his cheek is cut, and every time he moves his mouth, it hurts.

"It's true that when you die, the pain goes away..."

The light leaking from outside the site made Yumeto's eyes shine like a cat.

....................

[November 30th (Sat) 11:50 pm]

"Vote in 10 minutes..."

Standing on top of the podium, Iwamoto muttered while looking at his watch. Students are gathered in the classroom, staring at the box placed on the teacher's desk with a tense expression. The box is made of cardboard and has a circular hole at the top for the arm to fit in.

"Teacher, are we really going to vote?"

Yohei waved the 10-centimeter-square piece of paper he had received.

"The one with the lowest score will be punished. Is that okay?"

"It can't be helped. The police couldn't find the king, and they didn't give any instructions. We have no choice but to do it at our discretion."

"Damn! They're not useful at all."

"There is no point in complaining to the police. If you don't vote, everyone is likely to be penalized. You have to do it!"

"Hey, teacher."

Narumi raised her hand.

"Does it have to be a student here to vote? Sousuke-kun is also a classmate, right?"

"That's impossible. Sousuke didn't come to school, so he wasn't infected with the Keldo virus. Yes, it's highly likely that the vote will be invalid."

"Really unfortunate. I thought I'd vote for punishment for one who skipping class."

Narumi tapped her desk with the red pen she was holding.

"Then it's okay to vote for the teacher, right? He's infected with the Keld virus just like us."

Iwamoto's cheeks twitched at those words.

"...Yeah. I'm in the same position as everyone else. It would be disqualifying for a teacher to make students vote like this, but if that's the way to minimize the sacrifice, There is no choice but to do!"

"Yes. I have no choice but to vote without a grudge...."

"Alright! Everyone has pens and ballots, right? So..."

"Wait a minute, Sensei."

Ryuji stood up from his chair.

"It looks like the transfer student has something to talk about."

"Yumeto?"

Iwamoto's gaze shifted to Yumeto.

"What do you want to talk about in this situation?"

"..."

Yumeto didn't answer Iwamoto's question. His lips are tightly closed and his fingers are interlaced on the desk.

"Hey, transfer student. Talk about what you just said!"

Ryuji's voice grew louder. Everyone's eyes turned to Yumeto.

Yumeto took a deep breath and stood up from his chair. He slowly looks around his classmates and stops his gaze at Ryuji.

".....Talking about earlier?"

"Oh. You said you wanted to kill yourself, didn't you?"

"...That's right."

Yumeto laughed with a pale face.

"You want me to kill myself, so you told everyone to vote for me, didn't you, Ryuji-kun?"

"You..."

Ryuji moved his mouth open and closed.

"Hey, Don't make the weird way of saying. You want to die, right? You told me in front of the equipment room. You want to kill yourself."

"No. Ryuji-kun threatened me by saying that. If I don't, he'll change his target to another classmate, right?"

"... You, don't be silly."

Ryuji pushed his desk away and approached Yumeto. Ryuji's right hand grabs Yumeto's shirt.

"Don't think you'll be safe after doing this. I'll kill you before the vote."

"If you kill me now, I think your chances of dying will increase a little bit. Voting for the dead will also be an invalid vote for you. Is that okay?

"...Don't regret it, transfer student. If you live under this order, I will definitely kill you. Even murder is be forgiven in the king's game."

"I'll accept it then."

Yumeto glares at Ryuji while still holding onto his chest.

"As long as we're both alive."

"Both?"

"Yeah. I might get the lowest score, but Ryuji-kun might too."

"There's no way I'm being punished!"

"Is that so? You guys bullying Tomoki-kun, weren't you? Maybe some of your classmates think they're caught up in the king's game because of that?"

"....."

"Well, Ryuji-kun, even if you get punished and die, there's no problem, right? You said it's not bad that you can go to a world which without pain or suffering."

"I told you to shut up! Damn it!"

Ryuji pushes Yumeto away and looks around the classroom.

"You guys should definitely vote for the transfer student. Even if it's anonymous, it can be checked by handwriting! If you haven't voted him, later this...."

"Ryuji, That's enough."

Hideyuki grabbed Ryuji's shoulder from behind.

"Voting will start in one minute. Take your seat."

"…...Tch! Understood, Chairman."

Ryuji glared at Yumeto with sharp eyes as he returned to his seat.

...............

[October 31 (Sunday) 00:15 am]

"Okay, let's count the votes."

Iwamoto stared nervously at the ballot box in front of him.

"I'll read it out, so Miki can tally it up."

After being nominated by Iwamoto, Miki, the vice chairman, stands up with a pale face.

"Well then, I'll write it on the blackboard. I think everyone will agree."

"Yes. There are plus points and minus points, so just use white and red chalk."

"Got it"

Miki moves onto the podium and picks up white and red chalk.

"Okay! Then the first one."

Iwamoto reached into the ballot box and pulled out a folded piece of paper. All eyes are on the paper. Iwamoto's hand opens the paper.

"... Plus point, Seiichiro Fujiwara, Minus point, Yumeto Sasayama."

Yumeto's heart jumped. I heard Ryuji's laughter behind me.

"Next ... Plus point, Narumi Makimura, Minus point, Seiichiro Fujiwara"

A few seconds after Iwamoto's voice, Miki wrote the names of the students he called on the blackboard. Seiichiro and Narumi were written in white chalk, and Yumeto and Seiichiro's names were written in red chalk.

――With this, I got a minus point, Seiichiro-kun got both plus and minus points, so he got 0 points, and Narumi-san got plus 1 point. The first vote would be someone from Seiichiro's group.

Yumeto glanced at Seiichiro. Seiichiro smiled and looked at the blackboard. However, his complexion was pale, and I could tell from a distance that he was nervous.

"Next...…Plus point, Yohei Nakajima, Minus point, Ryuji Matsunaga."

"Yohei, you!"

Ryuji raised his voice and stood up from his chair.

"Don't vote for me!"

"Not me"

Yohei shook his head left and right.

"Since it's anonymous, you don't know who voted, right?"

"Don't be silly! There's no one who gives you a plus point other than yourself!"

"Oi, Ryuji."

Iwamoto glared at Ryuji.

"Don't complain about each and every vote. Everyone votes under the same conditions. Besides, it's a rule that there's no problem even if you vote for yourself."

"Damn it! Do nothing but annoying things!"

Iwamoto puts his hand in the ballot box as Ryuji sits on the chair.

"... Plus point, Hideyuki Hayashi, Minus point, Seiya Takahashi"

Every time a new name came out of Iwamoto's mouth, it was written on the blackboard.

"Plus points, Wakaba Suzuki, Minus points, Junichi Takeoka... Plus points, Souta Kanzuka, Minus points Yumeto Sasayama....... Plus points, Narumi Makimura, Minus points, Ryuji Matsunaga..."

A student whose name is called with a Minus point stiffens their expression. They looked around the students with suspicion, wondering who wrote their name.

"... Plus point, Iori Shirakawa, Minus point, Hinako Muraoka..."

Over time, the voting was biased. Plus points were gathered for Narumi, Wakaba and Chairman Hideyuki, while minus points were gathered for Yumeto, Seiichiro, and Ryuji. However, Seiichiro had several plus points, make the total number was -2 points.

Yumeto bit his lip hard as his own score dropped to -5. There is no student with more minus points than Yumeto, and Ryuji is following with -4 points.

"Plus points, Takeshi Oshii, Minus points, Yumeto Sasayama... Plus points, Fuka Matsuzaki, Minus points, Ryuji Matsunaga..."

Added more Minus points for Yumeto and Ryuji.

Yumeto turned his head to look at Ryuji in the back seat. Ryuji stared at his name written on his chalkboard with an angry expression.

"... Plus points, Sakura Iwashita, Minus points, Satoshi Kumagai... This is the 28th one, so there's only one left."

In Iwamoto's words, Yumeto sees the name written on the blackboard. Yumeto scored minus 7 points and he fell tied with Ryuji who also scored minus 7 points. No other student has minus 6 points.

.....Does this mean that either I or Ryuji-kun will be punished? No, there is a possibility that both will be punished with the same score.

Yumeto straightens his back and closes his eyelids.

"Okay, this is the last one."

Saying that, Iwamoto reached into the ballot box and took out the folded paper. Only the rustling sound of opening the paper can be heard.

"... Plus point, Yumeto Sasayama, Minus point, Yuna Ito."

When Iwamoto's voice reached his ears, Yumeto exhaled his breath.

"Then the one who will be punished is Ryuji..."

I heard someone's voice. Everyone looked at Ryuji at once. Ryuji shook his fists on his desk. His wide-open eyes are bloodshot, and his lips have turned blue-purple.

"Ryuji....."

A low voice leaked from Ryuji's mouth.

"Who gave me a Minus point?"

No one answers Ryuji's question.

"What? Don't be silent! Seven of you voted for me... No, it must be the 8! I put my name on the plus point. C'mon, come out!"

"I put it in"

Yumeto said in a calm voice.

"Since I just transferred to another school, I don't have a lot of relationships with my classmates. In that situation, Ryuji-kun got involved with me. And It's not look like a good relationship"

"You... Don't be silly!"

"I'm not kidding. Besides, Ryuji-kun, you voted for me too, right? Both of us."

"Both of us?"

"Yeah. Ryuji treats himself too special. That's why he bullies his classmates without knowing how hard it would be if you were in the same position"

"..."

Ryuji's large body began to tremble. His thick eyebrows lift and his clenched fists turn white.

".....I'll kill you."

Ryuji approaches Yumeto with long strides.

"Prepare yourself. After killing him, the person who voted for me..."

Suddenly, Ryuji's legs stopped.

"Ah...a..."

Ryuji moves his mouth around and falls to his knees.

"I can't.... breathe... a..."

Ryuji's face turns purple and saliva drips from his open mouth. A trembling hand clenched his throat. It's like he want to opening a hole in his throat and trying to take in oxygen.

"A....."

Ryuji fell on his back on the floor, still on his knees. His scratching hands have stopped moving, and his bloodshot eyes are popping with dust. It was clear to everyone that he was already dead.

"Punishment for the King's Game..."

Yumeto mutter in a dark voice. Ryuji's eyes, dead at his feet, seemed to stare at me.

"...I pray that there will be a world which without pain and suffering."

Yumeto closed his eyes and bowed his head towards Ryuji.

...............