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.
ăWhoâll choose the next punishment?ă
ăWhy donât we let the winner decide? Itâll be tough on Kotone if she has to come up with ideas every time, after all.ă
Yeah, I might run out of ideas fast. I probably canât do things the way I did in the past, the security people would do everything to stop it.
ăPunishments from Aya and Hadzuki sound really scary, though.ă
ăDonât worry about it. Even we wouldnât go overboard with our ideas. Probably.ă
The âProbablyâ doesnât make you sound any trustworthy. Not that Iâve had any hopes in that regard to begin with. Anyways, we have to prevent these two from winning at all costs.
ăFor now, letâs not use roulette. Since we have a few people here who can likely manipulate it.ă
If they get consistent with their output of power, they might have full control of their steps. Thatâs why I suggested dice instead and everyone agreed. Incidentally, three people actually admitted theyâre capable of this.
ăJust to be sure, you canât control the dice, right?ă
ăNope, impossible. Might be possible with some practice, though. But I wonât be doing that this time.ă
You really can do anything, huh, Hadzuki. Since he can cheat all he can, couldnât he get filthy rich in Vegas or something? Challenging this guy in anything with stakes would be stupid. Well, weâre doing it right now, though.
ăHey, Hadzuki! Can we choose anything as punishment?!ă
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 predatorâs gaze. One more wild card, huh. And the victim, me.
ăAs long as it wouldnât cause a trauma, anything would be fine. Also, it will depend on the person involved.ă
ăIf it gets turned down, Iâll think of something else!ă
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 whoâs right next to her is brimming with enthusiasm too. As for Minadzuki, I canât read him well.
ăThis is giving me nothing but anxiety.ă
ăWell, youâre being targeted after all, so I canât blame you. By the by, Iâm targeting you too, Kotone.ă
Itâs just all enemies around me, why? If by any chance I ever land last place, thereâs no telling what theyâll make me do. Thinking of a new punishment is trivial compared to this, Iâll leave that for when I actually win.
ăExcuse me.ă
Iâm getting a call on my smartphone, so I moved to the entrance door. Checking who it is, itâs Isamiâs old man, so itâs probably about the punishment game. Iâm well aware that Iâm causing trouble for the people outside. I couldnât care less, though.
ăHey, hey.ă
ăGet your a̲s̲s̲ outside.ă
ăSure thing!ă
His voice sounded awfully harsh, so I can tell that heâs angry. I donât think Iâve gone overboard, though. The punishment just now was cute compared to what I did with Isami and the guys back then, after all.
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ăOld man, itâs been a while~ă
ăDonât give me that.ă
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.
ăOw, it hurts! It seriously hurts!ă
ăThen control yourself, damned fool. You know what could happen if you go as far as you did back then, donât you?ă
ăNo, not at all.ă
ăDonât give me that crap!ă
ăGyaaa!!ă
The old man is pretty different when heâs working compared to when heâs at home. Heâs a bit high strung, or rather more serious, probably since heâs on work mode. Still, how he treats me hasnât changed.
ăYour situation is completely different now. Have some awareness that youâll cause trouble fooling around.ă
ăSo you know about it too, huh. Ah, by the way, I am aware of it. I just completely ignore that fact.ă
ăYour appearance might have changed, but you havenât changed one bit.ă
Thatâs probably why people recognize me despite becoming Kotone. He let go of my face, but he was completely taken aback by what I said.
ăSo, why did you call me?ă
ăHearing how you speak knowing that itâs you on the inside is really weird. Makes sense that Hatsune was confused.ă
I never saw her ever looking confused, though. After all, sheâs the type to barge into the bathroom after recognizing me. I guess she wasnât as composed as she seemed.
ăAs for why I called, please keep the ruckus indoors. Weâre the ones whoâll get in trouble when you take it outside.ă
ăFor real?ă
ăHow many do you think are capable of catching up to Nagatsuki? Even Kyousuke who got training from you can barely keep up.ă
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?
ăI understand the warning and all, but Iâm the only one in here whoâd listen to it, you know? I canât control the others.ă
ăJust do it.ă
ăThatâs unreasonable.ă
Thereâs no way I can control them on my own. As it is, itâs our first gathering together, so their excitement is at its peak. Telling me to deal with that is beyond unreasonable.
ăYou organized this to begin with, so at least take responsibility. How many times do I have to tell you this?ă
ăSure, youâve told me that before and even now, but like I could even handle them.ă
In the past, it was Isami and the group. Currently, itâs 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, itâd be less of a burden to just join them. Though in exchange, the casualties increase more.
ăChief, please donât move on your own!ă
ăSee, arenât you acting on your own, too?ă
ăIâm specifically here to deal with you. Whatâs wrong with that?ă
Youâre telling me to take responsibility and all that, but didnât you irresponsibly leave your post? Not that Iâd say that. Itâll be better to play goody two shoes here. Acting too chummy with the chief of a security company is weird, after all.
ăMs. supervisor, thank you for your hard work.ă
ăKisaragi. Please have more self-restraint.ă
Not just a little, but more. Seeing how her hand is on her stomach, it seems like sheâs experiencing a lot of stress. And yet the old man is fine as a fiddle. Their boldness is way different.