38: Crazy Eights
“Even so, I can’t believe Madoka would accept such a proposal.”
Kouki’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“It’s thanks to exploiting her weakness of being in love.”
“Stop it. You’re making me sound like a terrible person.”
“I guess that’s how it came across to you…”
It was true that he had taken advantage of Madoka’s convictions and goodwill, but it still bothered him to hear her say such harsh things.
Ryugo and the others were led to Iroha’s house, where they were told to wait.
She was a celebrity, after all. There was no telling when she would return, but it would be a nuisance to show up at her workplace.
The last time they had come, they had stayed quite late, but they still hadn’t been able to meet Iroha’s mother.
It seemed like this was going to be a long wait.
“Tanuki-kun, it’s just…”
Madoka played a card. Two aces of spades.
“It’s weird.”
“Weird?”
They were currently playing Old Maid in the living room.
Cards were spread out on the rug, with Iroha across from them, and Madoka and Koki on either side. A short distance away, Misato watched with a look of exasperation.
“One minute he’s furious, and the next he’s completely calm. And he didn’t hesitate to break your fingers and arms… After all that happened, it’s strange that he can just play a game with me like this.”
“Even if he’s your enemy, it’s tiring to be glaring at each other all the time.”
“He’s just too fearless. Even after what Misato did to him, he doesn’t bat an eye when she’s right in front of him. That’s weird too.”
“I can guess why he’s following you. He can’t get his memories back without your app. So Misato has no choice but to follow you in order to get them back.”
“Ding-ding-ding. Correct answer.”
She discarded two pairs of cards, leaving her with four.
Madoka drew a card from Ryugo’s hand and discarded it as well.
Next, Iroha yanked a card from Madoka and grimaced. She must have drawn the Old Maid. It was all too obvious.
“Ugh…”
“Oh, come on, Iroha. Don’t let it show on your face.”
“Shut up, you murderer. Why don’t you turn yourself in to the police before you give me advice on how to play?”
After dismissing Madoka’s advice, Koki drew a card from Iroha.
“Personally, I don’t care where some loser I don’t even know by name dies, but I think he should pay for his crimes.”
Ryugo then drew a card from Koki. He had a pair of sevens, so he discarded them. He was doing quite well, but in a game like Old Maid, a good start doesn’t guarantee a win.
“I agree. Of course, now that the body is gone, there’s no way to bring him to justice.”
“But one could argue that his mother’s mental breakdown is already punishment enough for his crimes.”
“That would mean his mother is the one being punished. The person who committed the crime should be the one to pay.”
“That’s true too.”
The game continued, and Koki and Iroha were the first to get rid of all their cards.
As expected, their initial good luck had turned against them.
Ryugo was left with a four and the Old Maid—the joker.
Madoka had one card left.
If she drew the Old Maid, they would win. If she drew the four, they would lose.
“……………………”
Ryugo watched with a cold expression as Madoka stared intently at his hand.
He still couldn’t bring himself to see her as an enemy, someone who could be so focused on a silly card game.
If not for the Experiments, could they have had a normal relationship?
“This is it!”
Enka drew… the Jack.
She desperately tried to shuffle and hide her cards, but Ryugo easily drew four and rose to third place.
“Nooooooooo!”
Enka flailed her legs and fell backward with a thud.
From behind, Misato spoke spitefully to Enka, who was genuinely upset.
“Aren’t heroes and villains supposed to stay away from each other?”
Ryugo and Enka are on opposing sides. If Ryugo is the hero, then Enka must have set herself up as the villain.
Even in her behavior since revealing her true identity, there was something vaguely theatrical about her.
“Hmm?”
Enka sat up, her smile still in place as she tilted her head in confusion.
“There are different kinds of villains, you know? Era is just a villain who gets defeated. But I’m a villain who competes with Raccoon-kun in games. Even if we’re enemies, sometimes we call a truce.”
“Don’t mess with us…!”
The voices of Misato and Era, burning with anger, overlapped perfectly.
Despite provoking everyone around her, Enka showed no remorse. She could afford to be so relaxed because, no matter what, no one but Ryugo could defeat her.
No one stopped Era as she grabbed a chair in a fit of rage. Whether she intended to hit Enka or throw it to relieve stress, everyone else present simply didn’t care.
“…Die!”
Whether she lacked the strength or not, Era swung the chair around with great effort, but Enka remained unmoved.
She simply uttered the words, “Stop for three minutes,” and—
“――――Wha!?”
Era’s movements came to an abrupt halt, her body completely frozen.
It was as if time had stopped, but while her body remained motionless, her face was a flurry of activity.
Her angry expression turned to bewilderment, then her mouth trembled violently in fear, only to return to anger as she realized the cause of her strange condition.
“You…”
“It’s an ‘order.'”
“Grrr… I’ll kill you…”
“Era, you’ve always relied on others for violence~. Even if I hadn’t interfered, I bet you could have dodged it easily~”
“Cut it out.”
Ryugo kicked Enka in the back, sending her tumbling to the floor with a “buheh.”
“If Era’s mother comes home while she’s like this, it’ll be a pain.”
“Is that really what you’re worried about!?”
And then it happened.
The sound of a door opening with a thud echoed through the house, signaling someone’s arrival.
“Uh, wait…”
A woman’s voice called out from the entrance, “Era? Are you home?” There was no mistaking it. It was Era’s mother.
What timing.
It was an unusually early return for a celebrity, but if not for the current situation, it would have been perfect timing for them…
“There are a lot of shoes here. Do you have friends over?”
“Speak of the devil…”
Misato groaned, clutching her head in exasperation.
“Hurry up and undo this.”
As Ryūgo said that, Enka shook her head.
“No, a ‘command’ with a specified time cannot be undone halfway through…”
“Huh!?”
It was the first time I’d heard of such a setting, but even so, there was nothing I could do if I was told to do something impossible.
Everyone began to panic.
However, before we could come up with a brilliant idea, Aira’s mother appeared.
Her hair was long and brightly dyed. Her face was young and beautiful for a woman in her early forties, but she couldn’t hide the signs of aging.
Ryūgo recognized Aira’s mother as soon as he saw her face.
Manami Matsubara. Her last name was a stage name.
I had seen her on a quiz show before.
However, the impression of the celebrity on TV was completely different from the mother in front of me.
She sold herself as a gentle former idol and mother of one, but at home, Aimi’s gaze was colder than the glaciers of the North Pole, and she didn’t seem like the same person who was teased on the show.
“My, there are so many people here. Hello… what are you doing?”
Aimi looked at Aira, who was still holding the chair, with a puzzled expression.
No one answered. There was no way we could.
However, if the silence continued for more than three seconds, she would become suspicious.
“Muscle training.”
Ryūgo answered as calmly as he could.
“Muscle training? With a chair?”
“Yes. It’s been popular at school lately. They say that by holding a chair up and staying still, you can work out your whole body.”
“Oh, really? Young people come up with such strange things.”
“hahahaha…”
“It’s fine to play with it, but don’t break it. It’s a pain to buy another custom-made one.”
Aimi said in a bored voice and walked to her room while looking at her smartphone. She didn’t seem interested in Aira at all.
Everyone relaxed as the tension eased.
“Hey! Do I still have to do this!?”
Aira, who had been forced to do muscle training, inspired in exasperation.
“My arms are about to give out!”
“Just one more minute.”
“Whaaat!? Give me a break…”
Time passed, and when Aira was finally released, she grumbled as she rubbed her arms.
“Jeez, I can’t believe you told such a ridiculous lie and didn’t get caught. Hey, Raccoon.”
“Something’s not quite right with what I heard.”
“What?”
“If you really wanted her to enter the entertainment industry, wouldn’t you be more involved?”
I couldn’t feel any desire for her daughter to follow in her footsteps. It was even questionable whether she wanted to have a conversation.
“By the way, why did you come home at this time? It’s five in the afternoon.”
“Isn’t it a nap?”
Aira replied.
“Should we take action now, then?”
There was no way they could chase her all the way to her workplace.
Ryogo and Madoka quietly tiptoed up the stairs, aiming for Aimi’s bedroom.
“Should we ask Aira why she wants to join the entertainment industry ‘under orders’ directly?”
“I think it’s better not to.”
Madoka shook her head as she followed behind him.
“Aira knows that ‘orders’ are different from ‘attitude’, right? If it’s not something she would tell a complete stranger, she’ll get suspicious.”
“That’s true. But if we don’t find at least a clue to the goal, neither of us can start the game.”
When they reached the second floor, the door to the room they were looking for was half open, and the sound of a TV could be heard coming from inside.
They peeked inside carefully.
Aimi was sitting on a chair, fiddling with her smartphone. They could see her from a slightly behind and to the side, so they wouldn’t be noticed if they didn’t make any noise.
She seemed to be watching the TV hanging on the wall, occasionally glaring at it before returning to her smartphone.
“Looks like she’s chatting?”
Madoka analyzed the situation, and Ryogo nodded.
“She’s clicking the bottom of the screen a lot, and there’s no flashy sound. It’s probably a social media app.”
Aimi’s face as she worked on her phone looked slightly flushed. The corners of her mouth were also turned up.
She was enthusiastically sending replies, using the TV to kill time while she waited, but as soon as a reply came in, she reacted immediately.
Maybe there was a hint there?
“So, which should we do… ask her directly or check her phone?”
If they made a mistake, it would be game over. They wouldn’t be able to fulfill their promise to Aira, and they wouldn’t be able to end this experiment.
One was the right answer, and the other was a dud.