The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria Book 4: Chapter 2

Before 12 PM

• Break ti, stand by in your quarters.

12 PM – 2 PM

• Assemble in the common area.

2 PM – 6 PM

• Spend thirty minutes in the room of a character of your choosing (Private eting).

• The King may choose characters to Murder.

• The Sorcerer may perform Magic (or the Knight may perform Death by Sword). (Characters targeted by Magic or Death by Sword will die at 5:55 PM.)

6 PM – 8 PM

• Assemble in the common area.

8 PM – 10 PM

• al in your own quarters. (If you don’t have any rations at this point, you will be mummified and die.)

• The Revolutionary may perform Assassinate. (Characters targeted by Assassinate will die imdiately after being selected.)

10 PM

• Break ti, sleep.

“L​o​O​K​ ​a​t​ ​t​h​i​s​ ​t​O​ ​c​H​E​C​K​ ​w​H​e​n​ ​t​O​ ​d​o​ ​t​H​I​N​g​s​.

“O​h​ ​y​E​A​H​. T​h​e​r​e’S ​o​n​e​ ​m​O​R​E​ ​t​H​I​n​g​ ​I​ ​n​E​E​d​ ​t​o​ ​t​e​L​l​ ​y​o​u​.

“K​i​n​g​d​o​m​ ​R​o​y​a​l​e​ ​i​S​ ​a​c​T​U​A​L​l​y​ ​a​ ​g​A​M​e​ ​y​o​u​ ​p​l​A​Y​ ​o​n​e​ ​a​T​ ​a​ ​t​i​m​e​.​ ​W​h​E​N​ ​i​t’S ​y​O​u​r​ ​t​u​r​n​ ​a​L​L​ ​t​h​e​ ​o​t​H​E​R​ ​p​L​A​Y​e​r​s​ ​a​r​e​ ​N​P​C​s​ ​s​o​ ​e​V​E​N​ ​i​f​ ​y​o​U​ ​k​i​L​L​ ​t​H​e​m​ ​t​h​e​ ​r​e​A​L​ ​o​n​e​s​ ​w​O​n’t d​i​E​.​ ​A​W​E​s​o​M​e​ ​r​I​G​H​t​?​ ​Y​o​U​ ​c​A​N​ ​b​U​m​p​ ​p​e​O​P​L​E​ ​o​F​f​ ​w​o​r​r​y​-​f​r​e​e​ ​a​N​d​ ​j​U​s​t​ ​h​A​V​E​ ​f​u​N​ ​p​L​A​Y​i​n​g​ ​t​h​e​ ​g​a​M​E​.

“H​u​h​?   J​u​s​t​ ​b​e​C​A​u​s​e​ ​t​h​e​y’R​E​ ​N​P​C​s​ ​d​o​E​S​N’t ​m​E​A​n​ ​y​o​u​ ​c​A​N​ ​p​l​a​Y​ ​i​T​?

“If slow-minded trash like you kicked the bucket, your pathetic life wouldn’t even warrant a blurb on Yahoo News, so where the hell do you get off talking like that? Just give into the mont and follow your desires. I have trouble telling you apart from a dosticated pig anyway; might as well act like one.

“……

“J​u​s​t​ ​k​I​D​D​i​n​g​. ◾ D​i​D​ ​I​ ​s​T​A​r​t​L​e​ ​y​O​U​?​ ​N​o​i​t​a​n​ ​h​E​R​E​ ​i​s​ ​y​O​U​r​ ​m​a​S​C​O​T​ ​s​o​ ​o​F​ ​c​o​u​r​s​e​ ​I​ ​d​O​N’t ​t​H​I​N​k​ ​a​N​Y​t​h​i​n​g​ ​l​i​K​E​ ​t​h​A​t​. ◾

“A​n​y​W​A​y​ ​h​A​V​e​ ​a​ ​b​L​A​S​t​ ​W​I​t​h​ K​i​n​g​d​o​m​ ​R​o​y​a​l​e​!”

I’m in the midst of sights I can rember only in dreams.

“I’ll be honest—things are not developing as I had hoped.”

Though I should be familiar with whoever it is in front of , I still can’t quite discern the features of their face.

“Ironically enough, it’s Daiya Oomine, your would-be enemy, who is responsible for this developnt. No…perhaps it would be more accurate to say he did this because he is your enemy.”

But even as he (she?) says this, their smile reveals not a hint of worry. It’s just as unnerving as ever.

“The reason is that you and I share a similar goal.”

Goal?

Sothing about the word genuinely bothers . I an, nothing I’ve seen has suggested this person has any sort of ultimate objective. I’ve always thought they simply enjoyed toying with us.

I can’t believe our goals could be similar. In fact, they should be diatrically opposed. I an, you’ve been trying to wreck my normal life this whole ti, despite my best attempts to preserve it, right?

“If that were so, do you think I would have helped you in destroying the Box when you were being possessed?”

Wasn’t that only because you wanted to keep observing ?

“Heh-heh… That is rely a hobby, not a goal. Well, perhaps it could be said that having a hobby is the goal.”

I don’t understand.

“So you say, but are you really any different? You only declare your vague intent to keep your life normal. Does that sound like a clear-cut goal to you?”

My instinctive response is to hold my tongue.

“It’s difficult to understand, and that is what makes such a goal hard to sustain. I’m impressed that Daiya chose to go after it for this very reason. But I don’t believe even this will be enough to change your true nature.”

I’m irritated by their constant equivocation, but I ask for their reasoning.

“If you were such a simple person, I never would have discovered you.” The smile remains in place as they continue, “It seems Daiya said you are one who crushes the wishes of others. I believe that is correct in every sense. I have to say, his accuracy on that point is very intriguing. Still, it’s a view from only one angle. I can’t say it suffices as an answer. You grind the wishes of others into nothing—”

As they finish the sentence, their expression turns smug.

“—or perhaps you grant the wishes of soone else.”

A pungent stench hangs in the air, reminiscent of paint thinner.

It’s a harmful odor, the kind that causes hallucinations, even breaks a person. But it also invites a dependence on it.

Like a sauna made just for , this black space is pleasant, though I still wouldn’t call it comfortable.

You can spend your life here with hardly a care in the world.

My ti is slipping away before my eyes. It’s all so easy to see and understand, like the balance of a bankbook slowly dropping down toward zero.

Ahhh… This feels great.

Spending is pleasurable, after all. People addicted to shopping get relief and peace of mind not from buying things, but from the act of using money. They know they’re putting themselves in a more difficult position later on, but they can’t escape the pleasure.

This Box is the sa.

It’s a paradox, but I find pleasure and peace in endangering my life—in frittering it away.

Does that sound foolish?

I’m sure it does. But I don’t care. No matter how you go through life, you’re still bound to end up thrown in so old folks’ ho with a nurse wiping the shit off your ass and quietly cursing you the whole ti. If that’s all that awaits you, better to seek pleasure rather than subject yourself to the torture of working hard to achieve sothing. Right?

With these equally pointless thoughts in my head, I reflect on the inhuman being that gave this Box.

“Do you have a wish?”

I noticed sothing off about them right away. I can’t rember if they were a boy or girl. I guess that doesn’t really matter. But this strangeness was more than enough to spark my curiosity amid my boredom.

I’m pretty sure my answer was sothing like “I can’t co up with a wish, but I find this world unbelievably boring.” An unreadable smile appeared on their face, and then they offered the Box.

I could tell right away that it could truly grant wishes.

I briefly wondered whether I actually wanted it, and I wasn’t sure. But, hey, if they were giving it away, might as well take it. I ended up accepting it, like it was a pack of tissues advertising so prep school.

While they explained on and on about all this confusing stuff, I just thought about whatever, like how maybe I should preorder a copy of that new ga I saw when I was flipping through this week’s Famitsu, since it did look pretty interesting.

Then I imagined a ga that could be even more interesting.

And I was like, Hey, works for .

That’s how the “Ga of Indolence” was born, for the sole purpose of playing Kingdom Royale to take the place of that unreleased video ga.

Well, well, well, back to the matter at hand.

“I will beat you, Daiya.”

So Kazuki Hoshino declares.

I can’t hide my amusent.

“Not a chance in hell.”

I’m absolutely certain of it: Kazuki Hoshino will never be able to achieve his goal.