60 That’s the End of It!
In the darkness, she couldn’t even tell what was happening to her.
Only the terrifying fear of death enveloped her entire being, and she felt as if her skin was burning just by moving—Misato remained curled up and motionless.
If she stopped thinking, she wouldn’t feel the fear.
At first, she thought she had resisted desperately. But the hell that seemed to go on forever had robbed her of her sanity, and darkness had closed in on everything.
……………………………………………
…………………………………
…………………
…………
……A faint light shone through.
It was a dim, gentle light like sunlight that had filtered through curtains and fell upon my eyelids as I woke in the morning.
I didn’t know what it was. I just had to grab it.
I tried to reach out, but a searing pain shot through me.
“…………Ryuugo”
His name floated up from the depths of my hazy thoughts.
That’s right. I had to save him.
I couldn’t remember why I had fallen in love with him. Maybe there was no particular reason. It had just happened naturally as we spent time together.
I had to get out of here.
Ryuugo would never stay in a place like this forever.
‘I’ll punch anyone who pisses me off.’
That was his creed.
He was honest about his feelings, yet somehow rational, as if two personalities coexisted within him. And yet, he was fundamentally simple.
I had yearned to live like that.
‘Let’s beat the crap out of them, Misato. Whoever’s pissing you off.’
“Yes…”
A wave of terror made my skin crawl. The hairs on my neck stood on end.
“I want to…beat the crap out of him, too…”
I fought the urge to instinctively pull my hand back and kept reaching for the light.
“So, so…wait for me…”
I had to find out where this light led. Driven by a sense of mission, I burst out of the darkness that had enveloped me.
“…Ryuugo!!”
◇
As Misato squeezed her neck, Era did her best to keep her airway open.
“Gah…ugh…!!”
“Ryuugo!!”
Misato had called him by his real name, not his nickname.
It was unclear what effect this had, but it seemed to inject a surge of energy into his legs, which had been trembling in pain.
“U…oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
He charged at us with a ferocity that would put even a demon to shame.
Which one? Which one should I stop?
If I stop Misato, Ryuugo will kill me.
If I stop Ryuugo, Misato will still be strangling me.
There’s no doubt that we have the advantage since I can use hypnosis. Stay calm……stay calm, and find the right answer.
No, there is one way to ensure victory.
“Ryu-kun! Destroy that smartphone!”
Along with the order, she tossed the bat she was holding to him.
“Wh-!?”
Ryugo, who had received it, seemed to have understood what he was being made to do.
However, there was no leeway to resist.
This was the end.
If he were to destroy Enka’s smartphone that had fallen, it would be game over. After the lighthearted music and the flowing ending, the world that Ira had wished for would finally come true.
The fulfillment of the wish had been set up in advance. The app had an explanation that the wish would be granted once the game was completed.
In other words, if it became ‘a world where Ira would be forgiven no matter what she did’, as she wished, Misato would release Ira from her confinement.
And, taking advantage of Ryugo being preoccupied with destroying the smartphone, she would give the order.
Victory.
“Stop it…”
Enka jumped in to stop him, but the distance was nowhere near enough.
Ryugo raised the bat high, his face blank. It was surely locked onto Enka’s smartphone.
“It’s over…!”
The bat that was swung down――
“…bleh”
–struck Ira in the side.
The bat’s trajectory had been altered by an obvious feint, causing it to curve and lose momentum, but it still had enough force to attack Iraq.
Excruciating pain shot through her, and she exhaled the air that had been left in her lungs.
On top of being strangled and having difficulty breathing, this happened. Sparks crackled in her vision, and her consciousness became hazy.
She was released from Misato’s grasp and collapsed without being able to brace herself.
The dull pain that reached her internal organs was so intense that she couldn’t even utter a sound.
“…If only you had said one more thing!”
Ryugo chuckled.
“One…more…thing…!?”
“You told me to ‘destroy the smartphone’…I thought I was done for…but there it was. Another smartphone.”
“Ah…”
“Ira, I ‘interpreted’ your order to destroy your smartphone.”
◇
Interpretation of orders.
Ryugo himself had always been careful about it. There was no point if the other party misinterpreted the ‘order’.
However, only those who had used the app for a long time would be aware of that.
Ira had only recently acquired it, and she probably hadn’t used it much either. It was only natural that she would make a mistake at the crucial moment.
“Ah… uuugh… gooooh…!!”
As Ira collapsed, her smartphone fell out of her pocket.
The screen was badly cracked and bent in the middle. It was clearly damaged beyond use… no, destroyed.
The overwhelming fear she had felt until just now had disappeared.
“I…did…it…”
Ira’s smartphone had been destroyed. The app was gone.
I can’t even afford a double suit.
It’s impossible to continue the game.
“This is it… it’s really over… hahahahaha!”
I throw my whole body into the air and fall flat on my back to the floor.
Every nerve fiber running through my muscles screams with such intense pain that I’m exhausted.
“Haaa… I can’t… stand up anymore…”
“Dammit…”
Aira curses in frustration.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!! Dammit… ha… ha… dammit!”
He’s furious with pain and irritation. He just keeps pounding the ground and shouting meaningless insults.
I wanted to laugh out loud, but I don’t have any strength left.
“Jeez… you’re such a pain…”
“Uwaaa!”
“Heh, scream all you want… it feels good…”
Speaking of which, what happened to Koki and Makoto…?
I’m worried about them, but I can’t stay conscious anymore. I feel my ego fading away. My brain is its reaching limit and forcing me to pass out.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Goo…d…”
The moment I close my eyes, my consciousness is cut off like a reap.
When I woke up, the first thing I saw was a familiar ceiling.
Am I lying in bed? It feels like I’m being enveloped in something soft and yielding. It’s probably a luxury item.
I move my heavy head and look around.
“…Misato?”
My best friend, who saved me at the last minute, is sleeping propped up on the bed. She probably fell asleep while staying by Ryugo’s side.
So, is this Misato’s house?
“No… wait a minute… this is Aira’s house, isn’t it?”
It’s the same as when I came before. I can’t be mistaken.
“Is it okay to wake her up?”
“Uun… Tanuki…?”
She blinks her eyes and looks up at me with a sleepy face.
“It’s… oh, it’s already eleven o’clock. You slept a lot.”
“What happened to Koki and Makoto?”
“Oh, that? The bunny suit helped them. The experiment… no, the game? It’s over. Or rather, it’s confusing when you change the name…”
“I see. They’re safe… that’s good.”
“They’ll be out of action for two weeks, though. They’re still alive.”
“…I should go and apologize.”
I’ve put them through a lot, so I should make it up to them. I’ll probably be forced to buy them yakiniku.
Speaking of which…
“A, are you okay, Misato?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to push yourself.”
“W-Why are you being so overprotective? Ahahahahaha, Mr. Raccoon helped me out just fine, you know?”
I wonder what happened with that whole humiliation thing with Ira. Honestly, she’s smiling too brightly for something to have happened.
…Did Ira go out of her way to make up that lie just to piss me off?
It can’t be one of those sadistic villain backstories where she actually wanted me to stop her or something. If that was the case, she would have gone a little easier on me.
“Speaking of Iraq,”
Misato suddenly started talking.
“It seems like she really liked me. She would always act all clingy. Maybe that’s why. She tied me up, but she didn’t do anything else.”
“So even she had a heart.”
“Think about it. I’m the one who beat the crap out of Ira with a bat, but she only ever held a grudge against Enka.”
“Is that right?”
“That’s right. Well, knowing Iraq, it could have been different.”
That’s what’s so scary about that woman. You can never be sure about anything with her.
“So, what about Ira? Is she in the hospital too?”
“She’s in this house. She got punched in the side, but her smartphone cushioned the blow, so she’s not that badly hurt. Right now, she’s being super sulky.”
“Ah, I see. So, Enka is…”
“Keeping an eye on Ira. She has an app for that. It’s better to leave it to her.”
“I see…”
It seems like it’s really over. I don’t feel like it is, but the muscle ache in my legs is proof that this isn’t a dream.
“–Are you awake?”
“Uwahhhhh!?”
Suddenly, Bunny Suit appeared in the room. It was so sudden that it was worse than some cheap horror movie jump scare.
“You’re overreacting.”
“Don’t screw aro…Nevermind. What do you want?”
“I’ve come to grant your wish.”