Leave a comment

After some discussion, we decided to play the game of life next. It only took us less than three minutes, though. The issue now is what the next punishment should be.

「Who’ll choose the next punishment?」
「Why don’t we let the winner decide? It’ll be tough on Kotone if she has to come up with ideas every time, after all.」

Yeah, I might run out of ideas fast. I probably can’t do things the way I did in the past, the security people would do everything to stop it.

「Punishments from Aya and Hadzuki sound really scary, though.」
「Don’t worry about it. Even we wouldn’t go overboard with our ideas. Probably.」

The “Probably” doesn’t make you sound any trustworthy. Not that I’ve had any hopes in that regard to begin with. Anyways, we have to prevent these two from winning at all costs.

「For now, let’s not use roulette. Since we have a few people here who can likely manipulate it.」

If they get consistent with their output of power, they might have full control of their steps. That’s why I suggested dice instead and everyone agreed. Incidentally, three people actually admitted they’re capable of this.

「Just to be sure, you can’t control the dice, right?」
「Nope, impossible. Might be possible with some practice, though. But I won’t be doing that this time.」

You really can do anything, huh, Hadzuki. Since he can cheat all he can, couldn’t he get filthy rich in Vegas or something? Challenging this guy in anything with stakes would be stupid. Well, we’re doing it right now, though.

「Hey, Hadzuki! Can we choose anything as punishment?!」

With sparkling eyes, Kotori asked Hadzuki for confirmation, but this made a chill run through my spine. The gaze she has directed at me is unmistakably a predator’s gaze. One more wild card, huh. And the victim, me.

「As long as it wouldn’t cause a trauma, anything would be fine. Also, it will depend on the person involved.」
「If it gets turned down, I’ll think of something else!」

What the heck do you have in mind, Kotori? I really hope that heavy breathing of hers is just my imagination. And for some reason, it seems like Rin who’s right next to her is brimming with enthusiasm too. As for Minadzuki, I can’t read him well.

「This is giving me nothing but anxiety.」
「Well, you’re being targeted after all, so I can’t blame you. By the by, I’m targeting you too, Kotone.」

It’s just all enemies around me, why? If by any chance I ever land last place, there’s no telling what they’ll make me do. Thinking of a new punishment is trivial compared to this, I’ll leave that for when I actually win.

「Excuse me.」

I’m getting a call on my smartphone, so I moved to the entrance door. Checking who it is, it’s Isami’s old man, so it’s probably about the punishment game. I’m well aware that I’m causing trouble for the people outside. I couldn’t care less, though.

「Hey, hey.」
『Get your a̲s̲s̲ outside.』
「Sure thing!」

His voice sounded awfully harsh, so I can tell that he’s angry. I don’t think I’ve gone overboard, though. The punishment just now was cute compared to what I did with Isami and the guys back then, after all.

「Old man, it’s been a while~」
「Don’t give me that.」

The instant he saw me, I ate an iron claw to the head. While feeling nostalgic, I tried to keep a smile and failed. The gripping pressure warped my face with pain.

「Ow, it hurts! It seriously hurts!」
「Then control yourself, damned fool. You know what could happen if you go as far as you did back then, don’t you?」
「No, not at all.」
「Don’t give me that crap!」
「Gyaaa!!」

The old man is pretty different when he’s working compared to when he’s at home. He’s a bit high strung, or rather more serious, probably since he’s on work mode. Still, how he treats me hasn’t changed.

「Your situation is completely different now. Have some awareness that you’ll cause trouble fooling around.」
「So you know about it too, huh. Ah, by the way, I am aware of it. I just completely ignore that fact.」
「Your appearance might have changed, but you haven’t changed one bit.」

That’s probably why people recognize me despite becoming Kotone. He let go of my face, but he was completely taken aback by what I said.

「So, why did you call me?」
「Hearing how you speak knowing that it’s you on the inside is really weird. Makes sense that Hatsune was confused.」

I never saw her ever looking confused, though. After all, she’s the type to barge into the bathroom after recognizing me. I guess she wasn’t as composed as she seemed.

「As for why I called, please keep the ruckus indoors. We’re the ones who’ll get in trouble when you take it outside.」
「For real?」
「How many do you think are capable of catching up to Nagatsuki? Even Kyousuke who got training from you can barely keep up.」

As expected of Kyousuke, I guess. I was wondering who was escorting him, but only one out of multiple people could properly tail him, huh. Would this affect the assessment of the security companies?

「I understand the warning and all, but I’m the only one in here who’d listen to it, you know? I can’t control the others.」
「Just do it.」
「That’s unreasonable.」

There’s no way I can control them on my own. As it is, it’s our first gathering together, so their excitement is at its peak. Telling me to deal with that is beyond unreasonable.

「You organized this to begin with, so at least take responsibility. How many times do I have to tell you this?」
「Sure, you’ve told me that before and even now, but like I could even handle them.」

In the past, it was Isami and the group. Currently, it’s the twelve families. Both of them are beyond my ability to control by myself. In that case, rather than trying and suffering on my own, it’d be less of a burden to just join them. Though in exchange, the casualties increase more.

「Chief, please don’t move on your own!」
「See, aren’t you acting on your own, too?」
「I’m specifically here to deal with you. What’s wrong with that?」

You’re telling me to take responsibility and all that, but didn’t you irresponsibly leave your post? Not that I’d say that. It’ll be better to play goody two shoes here. Acting too chummy with the chief of a security company is weird, after all.

「Ms. supervisor, thank you for your hard work.」
「Kisaragi. Please have more self-restraint.」

Not just a little, but more. Seeing how her hand is on her stomach, it seems like she’s experiencing a lot of stress. And yet the old man is fine as a fiddle. Their boldness is way different.