Liar, Liar - Volume 3 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The One-Shot Killer

May Interschool Competition: ASTRAL—Day 2 Complete

Largest Territory Taken: Ohga School, Third Ward (642 hexes)

Eimei School Stats: 12 bases, 401 hexes, 322 Spells in inventory

Given all the chaos and confusion that dominated the latter half of the second day, we couldn’t do much but push forward and expand our territory. We were released from the AR world at the same time as yesterday, and we wasted no time hitting the Shiki Island Grand Hotel’s restaurant hall afterward. The atmosphere was completely different from yesterday.

“People sure are worked up, huh?” I muttered while scanning the table. I certainly couldn’t blame anyone. Seeing the Clone’s transformation and her proud declaration of war would rattle anyone. The threat was obvious. And now everyone was left to ponder over countermeasures.

“Hey, Hiroto, look over there…”

Akizuki pointed to a table deeper inside the hall where the team from Tokoyo School was seated. Each member was slumped in their chair like they’d been drained of life. One of them was profusely apologizing to the others.

“I’m really sorry, guys! I didn’t betray you, of course, but still!” I didn’t think he needed to defend himself. How could anyone blame him after seeing that video? He was the biggest victim of all.

“We…we’ve had unprecedented upsets today, viewers!” came a voice that cut through the clamor of dinnertime chat.

Kazami was hosting her daily highlights show on the restaurant’s screen. Unsurprisingly, most of her airtime today was devoted to the Clone and her recent plays. The clip was playing on repeat, and Kazami emphasized elements of it for effect as much as she could.

Huh… That’s weird. It seems a little different from what I saw…

I raised an eyebrow. When Himeji played back that portion of the live stream during the Game, there was no Libra commentary excluding Kazami frantically asking her crew what was happening. This clip, however, had everything reedited into a slick package like it was all according to plan. I guess they wanted to sweep those technical difficulties under the rug.

But it feels like Kazami’s a little off her game today, energy-wise. Her voice is as clear as usual, but she’s not smiling as much.

I considered the little differences, but honestly, I didn’t have the capacity to devote much thought to anything besides the actual event. The Clone was obviously a threat and an obstacle—for both players and Libra. We all needed to work out a strategy to deal with her immediately.

After watching the crowd a bit more, we decided to go up to one of the meeting rooms on the second floor to hold a strategy conference. The room had a glass table with six seats, three on each side. Himeji sat beside me as she had yesterday, while Enomoto and Asamiya took corner spots on opposite sides. Akizuki, reluctant to get between them, opted to sit on my left instead.

“…”

This meant I was in the middle facing an empty chair, which felt more than a little odd. I’d get over it, though. After clearing my throat to gather everyone’s attention, I launched into our evening discussion.

“This afternoon, the Clone revealed her true nature to the world. Before we start talking about countermeasures, I think we first need to understand exactly how her trick works.”

“Right! I’ve been wondering about that! What’s with it, huh? How the heck is anything like that even possible? Some kinda bug, maybe?” Asamiya said.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. We’re dealing with an outsider rebel claiming to be the true Empress, and she’s launched an attack on the entire event. Her account number is three question marks, and she looks exactly like the Empress… However, a moment’s consideration should be enough to know that’s impossible. This isn’t a girl dressing up like Saionji. The Clone is copying her voice and looks on a video screen. I admit the quality is astounding, but with advanced AR tech, it’s entirely possible.”

“Oh… But hmm…? So what’s that mean?”

“It means the Clone could take anyone’s appearance in the AR world, not just the Empress’s, and no one would know the difference.”

“Oh, right… So you’re saying she could even turn into me or Yukirin? Wow, that’s really bad, isn’t it?” Asamiya sat up and put her hands on the table as the threat finally dawned on her.

“Why do you think all the teams are so stressed?” Enomoto muttered under his breath. Asamiya stayed upright for a moment before relaxing back into her seat. I wasn’t sure whether she caught Enomoto’s remark.

“Hmm… You’ve said she can look like someone else, right? But it’s not like she can take over their device, yeah?”

Himeji nodded. “That’s correct, Ms. Asamiya.”

Asamiya’s question seemed offhanded, but it helped emphasize the point I wanted to make.

“The Clone,” Himeji said, “is simply imitating others’ appearances. If we rely on a nonvisual method of confirmation, like a data-gathering Ability, we should be able to expose the fake easily. Additionally, I don’t believe her transformations are possible without a few key conditions.”

“Huh? What d’you mean, Yukirin?” Asamiya questioned.

“If you want to pretend to be someone else, the presence of the real person is a hindrance. For example, if a copy of my master appeared in here, you wouldn’t suddenly believe he was the real one, would you? The real one’s already here, after all.”

“Mm-hmm…”

“But if my master left the room, and then an exact duplicate posing as him came in later on, what then? I get goose bumps whenever a man besides my master approaches me, so I’m certain I’d notice… Normally, though, there’d be no way to tell at all.”

“W-wow, you’re making this confusing really fast… But yeah, I think I get what you’re trying to say, Yukirin. Essentially, we can’t give this faker any opportunity to stand in as one of us?”

“That’s right.” Himeji nodded as she brushed back her silvery hair. No matter how much of an exact copy the faker might be, she could never deceive the real person they were trying to imitate, and she’d never get the chance to replace them if we didn’t give her one.

“So as far as our team strategy goes, it all comes down to making sure we keep visual tabs on each other at all times. The Clone can only impersonate someone while the AR app is active. As long as none of us goes off on a solo mission, the Clone won’t have any chance to blend in. When we’re in the Game, I want us to always work in groups of at least two and constantly pay attention to your partner’s location,” I said.

“Eh-heh-heh! Aw, that’s easy!   I’m alllllways looking at you, Hiroto, so you keep looking at me, too, okay?  ” Akizuki agreed with me, even though she tried to seduce me as she did so.

“Hmm. That seems reasonable, I suppose. Having to stay on constant alert sounds taxing, but barring someone running off without warning again, we’ll have no issues.” Enomoto, seated across and to the right of me, crossed his arms as he made his little barb. Whether he meant to sound sarcastic and aggressive or not, it still made Asamiya grunt irritably.

“Why are you talking all roundabout like that? You just want to complain at me, don’t you? ‘Don’t go runnin’ around like this morning,’ right?”

“I didn’t say anything like that. You’re the one dredging up that topic, Nanase.”

“You are such a liar. It’s so obvious how sarcastic you’re being. That’s how you talk when you’re really angry.”

“If that’s what you think, how about showing a little regret for a change?”

“Hmph.”

Having Enomoto act morally superior made Asamiya turn away, listlessly propping up her head with one arm. She kept quiet for a while, eventually letting out a light sigh.

“Look, I know, all right? I don’t care about Shinji, but I know I caused trouble for everyone else.”

Asamiya only grudgingly admitted to it, but that was still more than what she’d offered before. I supposed I should take it to mean she understood what she did wrong. Probably.

Once we’re in battle, it could be tough to maintain visual contact with each other. We’ll need to stick close…

Despite realizing as much, I couldn’t think of any brilliant strategies to deal with that issue. Now that our discussion was finished, we filed back downstairs so we wouldn’t miss dinner.

It was past eight in the evening. I looked around the dining hall. It wasn’t nearly as busy as before. But as I went to sit back and let out a sigh…

“H-hey, Hiro?”

“…?”

“This might not be anything important… But you’re being watched again. You know, by that ponytailed girl you wanna be rid of. She’s staring right at you.”

Huh?

Kagaya’s warning interrupted a sigh and prompted me to look around. It didn’t take long to find who she was talking about. Senri Kururugi, Hell’s Priestess from Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute in the Sixteenth Ward, was watching me. She was the master of the one-shot kill, and when it came to team events, she was as feared as the Empress.

“…”

She looked like a serious-minded member of the kendo club. I couldn’t tell if she’d noticed my gaze on her. Her almond-shaped eyes trained on me unwaveringly—as if trying to dominate me or perhaps adjust her crosshairs for the final shot.

Hahhh… Man. All these threats popping up out of nowhere…

I finally completed that long, drawn-out sigh that was cut short a moment ago. I resolved to gather as much info as possible on Kururugi tonight.

The late-night hours, when I was away from my teammates, were a time of restful relaxation for me. Unlike during ASTRAL, when I had to deceive all my teammates except Himeji, I could finally take a breather at night. I hadn’t expected rooming with Enomoto, but all he did was read. He didn’t interfere no matter whether I reviewed Libra footage, gathered intel on STOC, or took a nap.

When presented with this unstructured free time that I wanted to make the most of…

“I know! If you win, you can make me do anything you want!”

…I spent it taking orders from a middle schooler in gothic-Lolita clothes.

“Ahhh, noooo, Hiro’s going to become a sex offender… Ohhh…,” Kagaya groaned sarcastically through my earpiece, which I kept on for certain strategic reasons. I wasn’t doing anything inappropriate, though. Yes, I was sitting on a bed where I could feel Shiina’s body temperature. Her clothes and underwear were tossed in a heap in one corner of the room. However, the latter was because she’d changed attire before letting me in. And while I did think she was cute when she flashed that playful smile, Kagaya had the wrong idea.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Shiina pointed at me, still holding the Cerberus from last night, with the purest expression on her face. Not erotic, not bewitching—just innocent.

How do I explain this situation? I’d come to fulfill my task of delivering dinner to Tsumugi Shiina, as assigned by the hotel staffer last night. Unsurprisingly, Shiina didn’t let me leave easily. She insisted I play her in a huge number of different fighting games, and whenever I thought my big chance to leave came along, she begged me for “one more game” under some other set of esoteric conditions.

“Ugh…” I shrugged a bit, cursing my fate with a wry grin. “Aren’t you getting sleepy at all? It’s almost two in the morning.”

“No, not really. I’m an ancient and honorable member of the Darkness Clan! I function a lot better when the sun goes down, you know.”

“…When the sun goes down, huh?”

“Ah! Hiro’s imagining something dirty!! Call the police!”

“Er, you know, you said the same thing last night, but you wound up falling asleep before me,” I said. “And on me. Not that you were heavy or anything, but I had a lot of trouble carrying you around.”

“L-last night was, um… My mana was going a little haywire, that’s all. It wasn’t my fault.” Shiina averted her eyes and started petting the head—sorry, heads—of her Cerberus to distract herself. Then she turned her eyes, or the visible one at least, to me.

“Hey, are you going to play one more game with me? Or do you…not want to?” There was an audible drop in her voice. She wasn’t trying to be unreasonable. She wasn’t begging me, or going full doe-eyed, but seeing her wither like this after being so excited left me feeling guilty, despite myself. It was like a reflex.

“…All right. Just one more game, okay?”

I picked up the controller I’d tossed on the bed. And then…

“Ohhhhhh… You’re just so good at this… Do you have a world rank?”

I’d tried to prolong it as much as I could, but I pretty much dominated her in the game.

Shiina wasn’t bad with the controls or anything, but she got so excited whenever something flashy happened on-screen and was always a beat behind. She also enjoyed calling out her moves in real time, so it was fairly easy to tell what was coming. I got pretty good at fighting games back when I was in Japan. Really, it would’ve been harder to lose to Shiina.

After a long string of defeats, Shiina dropped the controller at long last and stretched. “Why can’t I win at all? I’m the best out there in online play.”

“Because you keep getting too excited. If you just played like normal, I bet you’d be quite good.”

“Aw… I can’t help it. It’s too much fun! I get to join Event Week during the day, and then you come in here at night… Unlike yesterday, I’d give today a full ten out of ten!”

She collapsed into bed, yawning a bit as she spoke with a broad smile. Seeing her reach out and play with her plush was so boundlessly cute. But…

Hmm… That was kind of a weird thing to say.

Something about Shiina’s words felt odd, but I couldn’t deduce what. There was just this vague sort of trepidation that I couldn’t quite identify.

Shiina, ignorant of my doubts, cocked her head. “So what’s your order? You can ask me for anything, remember?”

“Huh? Ah… Oh. Hmmm, let’s see…”

I quietly considered it. Kagaya said, “If you’re going to push her into bed, do you want me to turn off communication?” However, there was no need to react to that nonsense. Instead, I decided to ask Shiina something I’d been wondering since yesterday.

“Well, you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but…you’re a really shy girl, right, Shiina? Enough so that you don’t even want the hotel staff to bring you meals. What do you do about school?”

“Oh, I don’t go to school.”

“Huh? Not at all? You don’t take online classes or whatever?”

“Uh-uh. I belong to a normal school, but I haven’t gone in…like, half a year, I think?”

The unexpected answer silenced me temporarily. From what I could tell, Shiina didn’t have any deep reason or dark background preventing her from attending school. She listlessly kicked her feet around while lying in bed, as though bored.

“It’s just more fun to play games at home than go to school. When I’m outside, I have to talk with people and go with the crowd.”

“Ah…”

“I think you understand. I’m probably in my hundredth reincarnation as a human being. That’s how much of a genius I am, and superpowerful, and full of this overflowing dark power, so why do I need compulsory education? I don’t. I just wanna keep doing fun things forever.”

Shiina spouted all these crazy notions with complete sincerity. I was a bit exasperated, but I had to praise her ability to take those childlike impulses and actually make them her reality.

As such, I had another question.

“If you don’t like interacting with people, then why am I okay?”

“Why not? Of course you’re okay.”

Shiina raised an eyebrow, like she didn’t understand the meaning of my inquiry. She sat back up, stretching her arms before leaping at me.

“After all, I loooove you!”

“Whoa! Hey…”

“Fwahhh…sssp…zzz…”

“Don’t just pass out!”

She gripped me tightly, like a daughter hugging her mother. Once again, I had to support all her weight. Yelling at her did nothing, of course. I know I was loud, yet she gave no indication of waking. She was just slumped there, looking completely at peace, breathing rhythmically. I guess there wasn’t really an issue.

“It’s super late anyway…”

I carefully placed Shiina in bed, watching to make sure her outfit didn’t get wrinkled. She went to bed at around four, so I needed to hurry.

“…Okay, good, Hiro. Now sloooowly push open the door.”

A few minutes later, I was following the instructions from my earpiece as I attempted to escape Shiina’s room after two hours of fighting-game nonsense.

All right…

Bracing myself, I quietly pushed on the door. The third floor of the Shiki Island Grand Hotel was normally open to girls only. I’d forged a secret pact with the front desk to keep the alarm from going off, but it’d still be a huge problem if someone spotted me. It could even torpedo my rep as a Seven Star, so I’d enlisted the Company’s aid in keeping me safe.

“Um…,” came Kagaya’s eternally sleepy voice in my right ear. “Your destination is Room 318, about two hundred and thirty feet straight ahead. You’ll pass by two stairwells along the way.”

“Stairs? The fourth floor is girls only, too. They could come from any direction, huh?”

“Right. The second floor’s open to the public, too. It’s late, but you never know who might come by, right? It’s all over if you’re discovered…”

There was more than a hint of worry in Kagaya’s voice as she trailed off. Between hearing all that in my ear and being on a girls-only floor, I was starting to get a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“!!” Kagaya let out what sounded like a silent scream. I immediately fell silent, tapping on the earpiece to ask for more information.

“Oh… S-sorry, Hiro, I just panicked a little. I’m sensing a device from one floor above. Two of them, actually. And one of them belongs to…”

“What is it? It wouldn’t happen to be the Clone or something?”

“No, um… You better sit down for this, Hiro. They’re both… They’re both supercute!!”

Do I really need that intel right now?! I shouted internally. Recomposing myself, I decided to head downstairs, creeping slowly along to avoid making any sounds. There, I waited to make sure this pair wasn’t following me. Once they’d passed, I returned to the third level, thankfully encountering no other trouble on the way to Room 318.

“Thank you very much, Kagaya. I’ll contact you later.”

I was about to have a conversation that I didn’t want the Company listening in on, so I shut off our link for now. Then I cleared my throat and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed with no reaction. Right when I started to get worried, I heard a voice from the other side.

”Who is it? I don’t remember calling anyone in this late…”

The questioning, the anxiety, the bold front…and a slight bit of expectation. I knew she couldn’t see me, but I smiled a little anyway.

“C-come in…”

I was invited into Saionji’s room after about a minute. That might sound like an oddly long time, but if anything, that was quick, because she refused to open initially. In fact, the first thing she said upon recognizing me was “G-give me ten minutes!” Sitting out in the hallway of this girls’ floor threatened to give me a heart attack, though. Following my impassioned plea, she reluctantly allowed me to enter.

“…”

Her room was, as expected, pretty much the same as mine. She had only occupied it for two days, so things were still neat. However, I was met with the oddest sweet aroma upon stepping inside. The school uniform hanging on the wall and the backpack that I’m sure she’d hurriedly zipped up moments earlier looked so strangely vivid. My heart raced.

“H-hey… Don’t look at my stuff so much, you weirdo.”

As I surveyed her room, Saionji crossed her arms, looking embarrassed. She was dressed pretty casually, to say the least—a sheer camisole with a pair of white shorts, topped with just a cardigan and nothing else. The shorts were practically concealed beneath the rest of her outfit. I could almost picture her thighs provocatively pushing out from underneath the camisole.

“H-hello…? Hey!” Saionji stood there squirming like she’d do anything to escape my gaze. “Look, Shinohara, I know I told you not to look at my room, but that doesn’t mean you should just ogle me instead! You didn’t give me a chance to change clothes or tidy up… I’m embarrassed about all this, okay?”

“Uh… W-well, what do you want me to look at? Should I put on a blindfold?”

“That’s not what I mean—Uh… Here, why don’t you just look at the city from the window? The First Ward looks really pretty from here.”

“I’d love to, Saionji, but if I open the curtains, I’ll be visible to people outside. If I’m spotted, I’ll have a lot more to worry about than the Game. The Seven Star transfer’s tryst with the genius rich girl will be the talk of the Academy.”

“?!?! T-tryst…? S-s-stop saying nonsense! I’d never have a relationship like that with you!”

Saionji’s cheeks burned red as she tore across the room and shut the curtains tight, all but panting as she glared at me. The whole process was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile. It made her cross her arms and grunt at me again.

“Ugh. Hey, how did you even get on this floor?”

“Mm? Oh, well, I had some help. My device doesn’t set off the alarms now. Can I sit down? I want to talk a little.”

“Oh, right… Okay. Can you sit on that desk chair?”

“All right. Not that I mean anything by this, but why is the bed off limits?”

“Why do you think? If you leave your body heat on it, I’ll get so worked up that I won’t be able to slee—”

“…”

“I mean that in a bad way, understand?! Having your stink all over the mattress would be so awful. I’m sure I’d have the worst nightmares ever! My heart would race so badly that I’d probably jump out of bed and hit the ceiling!”

“All right! I get it!”

Saionji hurled insults at me to keep me from her bed. I guess she was still dealing with the shock of my abrupt arrival. Her thoughts were as unorganized as her wardrobe. It’d be fun to tease her a little more, but this wasn’t the time.

“Whew…”

I exhaled, sat on the desk chair, and took out my device. Seeing that must have calmed Saionji down a little, because she retrieved her own device from the nightstand, spun around, and sat on the edge of her bed. We faced each other, knees almost touching, and the angle was such that I had to consciously avoid looking at her chest through her camisole.

“I think you already know this…but I’m here to talk about her.” Naturally, I was referring to the Clone—the third Sarasa. It hadn’t even been half a day since the incident this afternoon, but she’d gone beyond viral on the Academy. STOC, the anonymous forums, the comments on ITube—every conversation about her was ridiculously active. Some people heaped praise on her astounding sneak attack, some derided it as a cowardly move, and more speculated about all the potential exploits to come. Everyone had their thoughts on the Clone, but they all agreed she couldn’t be ignored.

“Hey, Shinohara…can you look at this real quick?”

Saionji showed me her screen. It displayed an STOC account with ??? as the username. Apparently, it was created a few hours ago, and there was only a single post.

I am someone, but also no one—and that is why I can be, and transform, into anyone.

Saionji leaned forward and sighed. “She can be anyone, huh? This is such an annoyance. She started by copying me, so every time someone brings her up, all these eyes stare at me even harder.”

“I don’t think anyone suspects you’re the fake one… I guess this is part of Kurahashi’s plan, too. He’s trying to wear you down mentally.”

“Yeah. And I hate how good of a performer she is. Posing as other players, getting teams to distrust each other, destroying them… You’d think it would engender universal disapproval, but the reaction’s fifty-fifty on STOC. People are criticizing her, but I’m worried her diehard fans will drown them out.”

“Yeah. You saw how her nickname’s shifting from the Clone to the Chameleon on STOC and ITube, right? It was on the trending word list.”

“The Chameleon… I think that suits her pretty well.”

Saionji solemnly nodded. That nickname was pretty apt given how ASTRAL was played by color-coded teams that expanded their territories across the battlefield. It also meant that the whole “I’m the real Sarasa Saionji” backstory was one of a hundred faces the faker could take. Maybe that claim was just a cover? The Clone claimed she would take the Empress’s throne—an easy-to-follow, headline-grabbing declaration. But perhaps it was a smoke screen to distract from her real intention.

“I think I let my guard down. She likely intended to take things in this direction from the start,” Saionji said.

“Yeah… I’m sure she did.” I felt obliged to agree, as much as it clearly frustrated Saionji. That put a damper on things, but I’m not sure what we could’ve done differently. The Chameleon’s strategy in this event was just too strong to deal with. ASTRAL took place in augmented reality, a virtual world mixed with the real one. Everybody knew going in that it wasn’t wholly real, but it was still impossible to figure out who the Chameleon was posing as. Worse yet, the team breaking and body swapping was a unique tactic sure to garner attention. Whether people praised or slammed her, it didn’t really matter. In a Game this big, whoever built the most buzz could seize an advantage.

““…””

With a single move, the Chameleon had disrupted the Game, and this was undoubtedly only the beginning.

“You know what, Shinohara? After such a big opening move, she doesn’t need to do anything else. Her shadow will manifest in other teams even if she does nothing.”

“Her shadow? What do you mean?”

Saionji fixed me in her ruby eyes. “You can’t tell her from the real thing, right? Everyone’s trying to think of ways to deal with her, but I doubt there’s a foolproof method. Starting tomorrow, I bet you’ll see a lot of teams lose their trust in each other. Players won’t know who to believe; they’ll feel more and more constricted. Remember, this Game has friendly fire. We might see teams self-destruct without the Chameleon even lifting a finger.”

“You’re right… That’s totally possible.” I nodded gravely. Teams breaking down, teammates trying to take each other out—honestly, it was probable. That’s how badly the Chameleon had upset everything.

“Phew…” Saionji sighed gently. She placed her device on her thigh and shook her head. “We have no idea who the Chameleon is or how she’s going to work her way through this Game. We’ve got no choice but to hold out for the time being. Things are going well with the Ohga School team. What about you guys?”

“Judging by our territory and resources, we’re doing all right, but…”

“But?”

“Well, I got caught in a side competition with one of my teammates. I have to take out two more Commanders by the end of tomorrow, or I’ll be forced to trade jobs with him. Then everyone will see that I’ve got the Action Level of a Three Star, and I’ll have a lot more to worry about than winning.”

“Huh?”

“Plus… I think this Chameleon thing will affect my team more than others. I’ve got two members who are constantly at each other’s throats on a good day. Stir them up a little, and they’ll go crazy. It’d be like an airplane breaking up in midair.”

“Whoa… Don’t sound all casual when you say that!” Saionji was evidently surprised by my candidness. Turmoil, worry, and a little bit of irritation churned in her eyes. Given our relationship, I suppose it was a pretty natural reaction. However, it wasn’t like I had no options.

I had a certain “magic wand” in mind. It still needed some working out, but if it succeeded, I’d solve both problems at the same time. Depending on how things went, this secret move could even let me beat the Chameleon at her own game.

“W-wait a second, Shinohara. Do you have some plan for making it through all that?”

Saionji leaned in with eyes wide, as though she’d read my mind. Now her ruby-red hair was even closer to me. Our knees brushed against each other. Ignoring that, or pretending I did, I nodded.

“Yeah. I wasn’t going to risk sneaking onto a girls’ floor just so I could whine about the Chameleon to you. I wanted to hear your thoughts. The Chameleon’s made her move, and the whole ASTRAL event is suffering from the aftermath. However, I have a plan to ensure this ends with us as the winners.”

“Um… Are you sure? Because we’re supposed to be rivals in the Game.”

“I know. But we’re joining up to fight the Chameleon together, right?”

“…Heh-heh!” Saionji let out a soft chuckle. Brushing her dazzlingly red hair back, she grinned slightly. “There’s just no stopping you, huh, Shinohara? Well, all right. I’ll lend you a hand…just for now!”

Her expression was so bold I had to fight to keep from being captivated.

So here we were, in the first half of ASTRAL’s third day. This marked the halfway point of Event Week, and just as Saionji predicted, it was a massacre.

Two hours were all it took for three teams—three—to get knocked out. Each one was for a different reason, too. The Chameleon only directly struck at one team, annihilating it with ease. One of the others was nowhere near her, but they were so rattled by the Chameleon’s presence that they fell apart and descended into all-out mutiny. The final team was done in by an inspired player who took advantage of the Chameleon craze and used an Ability called Mimic, which temporarily scrambled people’s visual displays to make him look like someone else, to copy her tactics. It would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so scary.

Clearly, the Chameleon was a huge wrench in the works. Libra’s viewer count grew by the second all morning, making it clear just how much attention the Game commanded.

Undoubtedly, more spectators were interested now because ASTRAL was heating up. Teams seized the territory of enemy teams they defeated. The longer the Game went on, the greater the risk with every attack. Seijo surpassed Ohga in territory size today, and Ohga held three times what my group had.

I really wanted to expand our territory before we got left behind in this inflation race, but…

“Whoa! Nanase! You’re running too far ahead!”

It was now 11:42 in the morning, and I couldn’t even pretend that the mood among our teammates was bright. I couldn’t blame anyone for it, though. We knew the Chameleon was lurking around, which meant we carried suspicion for our teammates constantly. Our decision to keep in sight of each other was essentially a method of monitoring everyone. It didn’t exactly contribute to morale.

Asamiya stopped cold at Enomoto’s words “…What?” she asked. Brushing her blond hair back, she turned around, obviously annoyed. Placing a hand on her hip, she frowned at Enomoto. “I’m not going completely out of sight or anything. I’m the best suited for combat, so I’m just trying to help out the team, okay? Where do you get off?”

“You’re still in view for now, but given how you never think about anything, I’m sure you’ll run ahead on a ‘surveillance mission’ or whatever. I just want to remind you of your role before you make a lethal mistake,” Enomoto replied.

“Oh, really? And it’s not your fault for failing to keep up with me, Shinji? It’s the Mage’s job to support the Soldier. Stop whining at me all the time!”

“…”

Enomoto silently shook his head at Asamiya as he marched forward slowly. His pace stalled because he regularly checked the map data I sent him to survey the area. Asamiya was probably too worked up to realize that, though.

“Ughhh… Man, this is pissing me off… That dumb Chameleon, too. It’s all just so stupid!”

Asamiya griped to herself before looking back at Enomoto again. She traipsed along without going into Sight Mode or checking the map, so she moved pretty quickly. However, that meant she steadily moved farther from the rest of us.

“Hey, Asamiya! I know the Chameleon’s irritating you, but can you calm down a little? The team needs to stick together, or we won’t be able to handle any surprise attacks. Akizuki hasn’t checked these hexes for Traps yet, either!” I called.

“Huh? But… Yeah, okay. Sorry, Shino. Thanks for the tip!” Asamiya was about to fire back at me but thought better of it, putting her hands together in apology.

Enomoto snorted with clear dissatisfaction. “Hmph… Nanase listens to all of your orders, Shinohara…”

“Huh? What’re you, jealous of him? This is a team battle, so of course I listen to our Commander’s instructions. Besides, Shinji, Shino’s way more reliable than you,” Asamiya said.

“I’m not going to complain about your personal preferences. I’m just saying that you’re rocking the boat too much. Now isn’t the time for stubbornness.”

“You’re the one being stubborn, Shinji!”

The Game hardly seemed to matter to these two upperclassmen any longer. It’s like the game system automatically debuffed them whenever they were together. Their total lack of compatibility was no longer a joke.

“…What should we do, Master?” Himeji whispered in my ear. She and I shared a hex. I guess she’d had enough of the bickering. “If this keeps up, it’ll affect our progress. If you like, I could intervene…”

“Mm? Nah, if we do that, I should be the one, so—Huh?”

“Agh?!” Himeji exclaimed in surprise, jumping. She put all her body weight on me. Her white-gloved hands were against my chest, and her silver hair brushed my cheeks. A gentle scent flooded my nostrils. These weren’t the main problems, however.

“Why’d it go dark?” I muttered.

This AR world was usually bathed in bright light, but out of nowhere, it had been encased in a deep jet-black darkness. It was like someone put a lid on the whole Game or we’d jumped forward in time to late night. That’s how quickly the dark had fallen.

“S-sorry, Master… I, um, I was kind of startled.” My whispering must have snapped Himeji out of it. She hurriedly removed herself from me, cheeks flushed. As cool and expressionless as she typically was, I guess she wasn’t immune to all surprises.

Kind of cute… Wait, this is bad, isn’t it? This darkness… I have a bad feeling…

I tapped my earpiece while a cold shiver ran up my spine. I got an answer immediately.

“Hello! Hello! Your wish might not be Kagaya’s command, but she’ll take it as a suggestion, at least! We genies aren’t omnipotent, you know!”

“…”

“ Are you ignoring me?! I worked so hard at that greeting, too… All right. I’ll just have Shirayuki heap praise on me afterward!”

Kagaya sounded legitimately irked. I could hear Himeji softly answer “No, I won’t,” but Kagaya didn’t seem to care.

“So here’s the deal. I did an analysis on my end, and in all probability, this is the work of an Ability. Probably the general-purpose one called Blackout. You use it to make a designated area dark and blind everyone inside. It’s active across a pretty decent range, so we’re probably talking level five or higher.”

“…Mmh.”

“But Blackout affects the user, too, so it’s not easy to abuse unless paired with another Ability. We’ll have to see what happens.”

Kagaya muttered to herself while tapping on her keyboard, accessing some kind of data. I didn’t need to know any more. My body tensed.

Damn. This is the last Ability I wanted to see.

Kagaya said the Ability only really worked when paired with another one, but in this case, I wasn’t so sure. We had just decided last night that we’d keep our eyes on each other as an anti-Chameleon tactic. But now that our whole world was dark, I couldn’t even see Himeji, and she was supposed to be beside me.

Clearly, this was an attack.

I don’t know if it’s the Chameleon or some other team capitalizing on her success, but…

I bit my lip, bringing a hand to my chin.

Eventually, the Blackout Ability faded away, and the usual AR scene returned. Unfortunately, it was exactly as I’d feared. Things were completely different. Asamiya and Enomoto were in front of me, facing each other. The former languidly played with her hair, while the latter had his device out, ready for battle.

“Answer me one question,” Enomoto demanded. “Nanase, what is your birthday?”

“Huh? July seventh. So what?”

“A Blackout on us at that exact moment was clearly suspicious. We four were bunched together, so we could make each other out, but I lost sight of you, Nanase. None of us had a visual on you.”

“Huh?! You tryin’ to say I’m the Chameleon?! You’re delusional, Shinji! This is the falsest accusation ever!”

“I’m not accusing anyone,” Enomoto said. “I’m only saying that if there’s any doubt on the table, we need to clear it up as soon as possible. Next up… This one’s a little more obscure. What did you do for my birthday last year?”

Asamiya scowled. “I don’t remember! I don’t remember, and I don’t have to tell you! If you lost sight of me, that means I lost sight of you, too, Shinji! And now you’re trying to kill me! You sound a lot more like the Chameleon to me!”

“That’s ridiculous… I just told you that we all were in a group except for you, Nanase.”

“So what? You saw how dark it was. You could claim you saw anything!” Asamiya sniffed at Enomoto’s accusations. It clearly riled him, judging by his clenched hands. However, he had to admit that Asamiya wasn’t being illogical. He offered no further objections.

Ah, I saw this coming…

I gritted my teeth as I watched. That Blackout was engineered to create this exact situation. I was certain of it. The Ability user had created a chance for the Chameleon. It didn’t matter whether someone was actually replaced. The idea was enough. A couple of taps on a device was all it took to tear a team apart.

“It’s not me, all right? It’s you, Nanase.”

“You have got to be kidding me. Spouting wild accusations makes you way more fishy, Shinji.”

This argument was like a lit match. Both sides were ready to fire Magic Missiles at a moment’s notice. But thankfully, the clock struck noon, marking an end to the first half of the third day. All the relevant apps closed on our devices, releasing us from the AR world. I looked around, feeling oddly exhausted. Enomoto and Asamiya were unchanged. Neither of them was the Chameleon.

“…!” Asamiya stomped off. She shoved Enomoto while wearing a terrible expression. “Move. I’m done, okay? If that’s how Shinji’s gonna be, I’m staying in my room. I’m sick of people doubting me, and I’m not joining the Game this afternoon.”

“What? Don’t give me that. What’s wrong with you?” Enomoto shot back.

“You’re the one spouting a bunch of total bullshit. If you’re gonna constantly fight with me, then it’s better for the whole team if I’m not around, right? We’ll all be better off… I know that’s what you think, Shinji!”

“Hey! Nanase!” Enomoto tried to stop Asamiya, but she wouldn’t be swayed. Once she was out of view, he brought a hand to his forehead.

“This never works,” he muttered. “I’m sorry,” he said to me. “I need to go cool down, too. I’ll do my best… But I’m not sure Nanase and I can participate this afternoon. Perhaps it’s for the best that we don’t.”

“…”

Given their horrible relationship, I had worried something like this might occur, but it still left us in a tough situation. Two Six Stars were temporarily leaving our team. If I allowed that to happen, we’d be fighting through an entire afternoon with only three players, never knowing how the Chameleon might strike. It was an impossible ask.

“Wait one minute, please, Mr. Enomoto.” It was Himeji, not me, who spoke up. She took a graceful step forward, her clear blue eyes looking straight at him. “I understand that you and Ms. Asamiya are not in peak condition. Leaving this event for now might indeed be best in the long run, but have you forgotten about your competition for Commander with my maste—?”

“Oh, right… Well, what’s the point of that now? Whether Shinohara’s qualified for the job or not, if I leave now, that pretty much proves I’m not up to the task.”

Enomoto sounded terribly dejected as he walked off. I suppose he had no intention of taking back his words.

“Hahhh…” Akizuki heaved a theatrical sigh at the scene. “Boy. I really wish those two could learn to suck it up a little.”

“Suck it up?”

“Like, if they really hated each other, why would they always hang out? You can call them frenemies or whatever, but it’s obvious they don’t despise each other deep down… Eh-heh-heh!   But this means you and I are all alone now, Hiroto!  ”

“Are you purposefully ignoring me, Ms. Akizuki?” Himeji asked.

“Huh? You’re just his maid, aren’t you, Shirayuki? Shouldn’t you support your master’s love exploits?  ”

“No. My role as a maid is to swat down the gnats flying around my master.”

“The whats?!” Akizuki used all her devilish wiles to act as surprised as possible. Himeji brushed it off, face clear as daylight. I watched listlessly, my mind on our two wayward teammates.

They don’t hate each other deep down, huh…?

I could believe it. Given the right situation, perhaps they’d forgive each other. There was nothing to do but try.

“Phew…”

We’d made it to halftime on the third day of ASTRAL. The second half was fast approaching, as was the deadline for my promise with Enomoto. The Chameleon was bound to cause more havoc this afternoon, too. It was going to be a critical second half for us.

My two-hour break was mostly spent talking strategy with Himeji and Akizuki. It wasn’t really a conference, though. Mostly, I told them about my plan. I’d feared this might happen since yesterday, so I’d considered how we’d fight without our Soldier and Mage. It put us at a big disadvantage, of course, but at long as we weren’t facing a monster like Hell’s Priestess, I thought we might still take down a team or two.

Ultimately, Asamiya and Enomoto followed through on not joining the afternoon session. I guess expecting them to fix their broken relationship in two hours was a little unfair. They weren’t allowed to rejoin us in the middle of a session, though. They wouldn’t be able to rejoin the Game until tomorrow morning.

And…well… Things started happening the moment this session began.

“Hmm… Looks like a pincer attack.”

It was 2:12 in the afternoon on the third day of ASTRAL. Kagaya’s voice in my ear informed me that she’d detected enemy activity nearby. It wasn’t just a single team, either. One approached from the north, while another was moving in from the south, aiming to crush us as we proceeded eastward.

I told Himeji and Akizuki. Neither of them looked pleased.

“Oh, wow. At the worst possible time, too. It’s totally spoiled our date,” Akizuki remarked.

“If that’s how you see this session, feel free to consider it ruined,” Himeji replied. “A pincer attack is certainly no laughing matter, Master. Do we know how strong the enemy forces are?”

“Yeah. I can’t see which schools they’re from yet, but the northern attackers have a full group of five, fifteen bases, and four hundred and seventy-seven hexes under their control,” I said.

Himeji nodded. “I see. A little bit more than us, then. What about the south?”

“That team appears to be on its last legs, actually. Just two people remaining. I think they’re taking advantage of the northern force’s attack to swipe at us. I can’t see what they got in their arsenal, though. Must be Cancel Interference at work or something.”

“A team of five and a team of two… Seven in total. Sounds like trouble to me. We’re down two members, too…” Akizuki pouted. I certainly agreed with her that the timing was rotten.

“I mentioned this already during the break, but I suspect this is all part of the same scheme. That Blackout occurred only half an hour ago in terms of active Game time. We didn’t detect any nearby teams then, meaning these two must have mobilized as soon as the lights went off. They couldn’t have done that unless they predicted our team breaking down. Someone in one of those two teams has to be responsible for the Blackout,” I said.

“Oh… B-but how did they read us so expertly? All Blackout does is turn the lights out. I don’t think it’s a guarantee that we’d start arguing,” Akizuki replied.

“Not normally,” I agreed. “Even with the Chameleon in the mix, losing your eyesight for a little bit wouldn’t typically be enough to cause players to quit. However, Enomoto and Asamiya’s sour relationship is famous, right? They dragged each other down and lost to an inferior team last year, too. I’m sure a lot of the players here know about that.”

“Ahhh… Yeah, that makes sense.” Akizuki flashed a vague sort of smile as she nodded. Committing to that Blackout strategy would’ve been tough for anyone going on rumors, but those who’d seen Enomoto and Asamiya lose last year had to realize it was viable. That was especially true of the top-ranking monsters who joined all the interschool events.

Someone like Kururugi, for example. Something tells me she’d be the first to take advantage of all this Chameleon disarray. She’s been prodding me since the start of Event Week, and for all I know, she could be the Chameleon. What a nightmare that’d be…

What a sobering thought. Did the Chameleon orchestrate this pincer attack, or was it the work of a third party? Either way, the threat didn’t change.

“So…um, what’re we gonna do, Hiroto?” Akizuki took a step toward me, peering up at my face like she wanted to cling to me for warmth. “If they were trying to run the president and Miya out of the Game, that means a battle’s on its way.”

“Guess so, yeah. Their Blackout strike went perfectly. They’ll want to finish this today, before Enomoto and Asamiya return,” I said.

“H-hey, do you really think our plan will work? I mean, you and I are the strongest couple ever!   And the maid along for the ride is pretty useful, too, but if it’s three against seven… Shouldn’t we run for it?”

“I will explain to you in detail why I am not ‘along for the ride’ later, Ms. Akizuki. Regardless, I generally agree with you. We are outclassed in resources…and we are facing an extremely crafty foe.”

Akizuki was clearly nervous, as much as she tried to hide it. Himeji, meanwhile, had her ever-loyal eyes on me. She’d admitted that things looked grim, but I could tell she had no intention of running.

“Hmm…”

Taking this in, I ruminated for a moment. We were definitely in a tough spot. Our enemies were fully prepared, and we weren’t at all. Could this even be called a fight? It promised to be a one-sided stomping.

From a different point of view, I actually don’t think it’s looking too bad for us…

We undoubtedly faced a terrible situation, and that’s why it seemed like a great opportunity to me. Even if we weren’t pitted against the Chameleon, if I defeated both of these teams, I’d obtain enough resources to fight that impostor on an even level. Plus, if both teams still had their Commanders alive, beating them would put an end to my competition with Enomoto. With his trust secured, getting him and Asamiya to reconcile wouldn’t be too difficult. Three birds with one stone. If I failed, I’d lose it all, but this promised to propel us to a commanding lead if it worked.

That’s why escape was absolutely unthinkable.

“…Yeah.” I smiled slightly. Himeji and Akizuki exchanged a look at my odd behavior, but I didn’t care. “All right. Before the enemy reaches us, we better go over some strategy. I’ve got the perfect way to turn the tables on both teams.”

Nightmares can be categorized a few different ways. The worst type was the one that made you wish to escape reality entirely.

“Well, well, Seven Star! What’s it been? Two days?”

Approximately ten minutes after Kagaya’s warning, we encountered our second enemy team of the Game. I didn’t mind that on its own. The issue was the team in question. Those sharp eyes pointed straight at me, that dark hair in a ponytail. A nearly invincible girl stood with four teammates behind her.

Ugh, it just had to be you…

I had to stop myself from saying it out loud. Senri Kururugi, Hell’s Priestess herself, the second-year from the Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute in the Sixteenth Ward, was here. She was a born talent who had pushed her school to a shockingly high ranking in the space of a year. Enomoto had advised me to run if I saw her.

However, I’d expected her to come. With everyone feeling the pressure from the Chameleon, it took someone truly clever to use that fear as a weapon. Or maybe Kururugi was the Chameleon. Either way, I’m sure she knew about Enomoto and Asamiya’s falling out.

“…”

I took a step forward, my mind focused.

“Well, thanks for coming. I really wish we could have taken you on when we had everybody. It’s kind of rude to be two players down when we are hosting such honored guests.”

“I don’t see the problem. I’m the one who set things up so they wouldn’t be here, after all,” Kururugi said.

“So you’re fine with admitting it, huh?” I replied. “Guess you’re not as smart as you look.”

“People say that a lot. But isn’t that part of the fun of a Game? That trial-and-error process as you test the limits of the rules? You may not think I’m being serious, but when it comes to winning, I’m dead serious. Trust me.”

“Oh, I believe you.”

She seems so utterly calm even as she tosses out threats. A berserker with good looks, I guess.

I scowled internally at just how much of a dominating “boss character” type Kururugi was proving to be. Then I concentrated my attention on what was happening behind me.

“Eh-heh-heh! And who are you two?” came Akizuki’s voice.

“Uh… Um, we’re from the Kagurazuki School, in the Ninth Ward… Y-you’re from Eimei, right? And is that…Hell’s Priestess?!”

“I told you this was a bad idea! L-let’s get outta here! They’re gonna kill us!”

“Ahhhh…”

“Wow, you two came all the way here to say hi to ol’ Noa, huh?   Eh-heh-heh! Boy, I’m so delighted!  ”

“N-no, I didn’t say that—wait, ‘Noa’? Are you the Little Devil of Eimei…?”

“Sorry, guys! I have to disappoint ya. I’m glad you dropped in, but I’m already in love… Eek!!  ”

“Sh-she’s not listening…”

Ignoring the nature of that conversation, it sounded like Noa Akizuki was dealing with the team behind us. She was grinning in her usual, devilish way. Although up against two Five Stars from the Ninth Ward, a boy and a girl, she didn’t flinch. The pair from Kagurazuki School had hurried over after spotting the Blackout, only to find themselves caught in an Eimei and Tsuyuri grudge match they desperately wanted out of.

Once I’d confirmed that Akizuki would be all right, I returned my attention to the scene before me. Kururugi was wasting no time marching over, her sharpened eyes cutting into me. She was the face of pure tranquility as she spoke, as befit her title of Hell’s Priestess.

“I think it is about time to begin…or should I say, to end this. After all the groundwork we’ve laid, the rest isn’t much more than simple mechanical labor. But don’t ever let your guards down. I want to see everyone’s full power on display,” she said.

“Heh… I’m looking forward to this,” I replied.

Kururugi was born for this role. I’m sure she knew Libra’s cameras were rolling, as she all but welcomed us to our imminent doom. I knew that One-Shot Kill was in her arsenal, but I couldn’t get swallowed up in the story she was weaving, or I was dead. My expression told her I didn’t believe for a second that I was in danger.

Neither Kururugi nor I made the first move. That went to Noa Akizuki.

“Eh-heh-heh… I think I’m gonna cheat a little.  ”

Miming a kiss on her device, Akizuki invoked an Ability titled Predict Behavior. It had been derived from the green Unique Star in my possession—a special power with potency depending on the user’s compatibility. For Akizuki, it was beyond a perfect match, all but letting her read her opponent’s minds, truly a fearsome Ability.

The actual star had made its way over to me after the Fourth Ward Challenge, begging the question of why Akizuki had access to Predict Behavior.

“All right, Master… The rest is up to you.”

The answer could be found in Replace, one of Himeji’s Abilities. Akizuki and I had just swapped a single Ability, giving Predict Behavior back to the Little Devil, its most experienced user. Himeji spun around and made a beeline for Akizuki. I’m sure the Ninth Ward duo never expected we’d devote two fighters to a couple of stragglers, because they promptly turned and ran.

“…You can’t be serious,” Kururugi muttered. “You want to take my team on all by yourself…?”

She sounded doubtful, but the Eimei School team did only have three people, and two of them were chasing down the fleeing players from the Ninth Ward. That meant I alone had to take on the full Tsuyuri force.

It was because of this, I presume, that the vote numbers began to shift on my Sight Mode display. Paring it down to just the three teams present, Kagurazuki was in last place by a mile, with Eimei in second with twice as many votes. However, Tsuyuri commanded a powerful lead with double our votes. It made perfect sense. I was a Commander, a role not suited to combat, and I was outnumbered in opponents and resources.

But I knew that going in.

I smiled softly at Kururugi, who stood only a short distance from me, and took a step forward. Perhaps the normal thing would’ve been to keep a prudent distance, since Kururugi’s Attack Spells could have One-Shot Kill empowering them. I paid that no mind, however. I played it off quite naturally, because none of the Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute team’s members reacted.

Well…except for one.

“Not one step farther.” Senri Kururugi’s honed voice commanded me to stop. She held out her device. “Do you not realize your situation? You’re alone, and we’re five people. This is neutral territory, and we beat you in every kind of resource. Whether you’re the best in the Academy or not, I really don’t think you can turn the tables on us.”

“Are you sure about that? Because against you five, I alone am more than enough,” I replied.

“What?”

Kururugi clearly hadn’t expected that response. Her eyes widened a bit, and her ponytail bounced as she looked down. I took advantage of this brief falter, giving her as bold a look as I could, despite the seemingly desperate five-to-one predicament.

“Hah! What’s wrong? You have a tremendous advantage, and you’re hesitating? Any one of your Spells could kill me in one shot. You could lob a Magic Missile at me from a few hexes back and still win.”

“…”

“Or would you prefer to finish in style with a Sword Flash? That seems fitting for someone who’s into kendo. I’ve got a Defense Wall or two I could break out, but they won’t hold forever. What’s the harm in giving that a shot? That’s assuming you don’t mind if the Game ends for you immediately afterward.” I curled my lips into a sneer as I delivered the foreboding message.

Let’s be honest for one second. Everything I said, from start to finish, was both completely made up and a total bluff. I was passing myself off as having some sort of clandestine knowledge, but attacking me wouldn’t have triggered anything extraordinary. I’d take damage and lose before too long. My heart beat so hard I was surprised I kept myself standing upright.

Despite my anxiousness, I was certain of one thing.

Himeji mentioned that Kururugi’s One-Shot Kill only works with the right conditions. Kururugi always sets her team up to meet those prerequisites as quickly as possible. Which means she can’t set off One-Shot Kill alone. She needs her teammates’ support.

That much was clear from the Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute team’s performance at past events. I’d gone through the data on Hell’s Priestess yesterday, and in every example I found, Kururugi had required her teammates to meet the conditions. As a result, or perhaps it was just her natural approach, Kururugi always placed her team’s needs first. I stood there with nothing to stop her. She ought to have been able to defeat me singlehandedly, yet she couldn’t take the leap for fear that my words and attitude concealed a Trap. After all, how many could stare down Hell’s Priestess so calmly? Any who did surely had something up their sleeve. She didn’t know what but obviously felt confident I had something planned since I was the most powerful student on the Academy.

Attacking me had to be a bad idea.

That’s what you’re probably thinking, right?

I smiled just a bit harder while Kururugi was evidently lost in thought. After waiting for just the right moment, I raised an arm into the air.

All right. Have fun drowning in your delusions… Please, I’m begging you!

I snapped my fingers, looking as smug as possible. Immediately, one of Kururugi’s teammates lost her balance. The Sight Mode readout told me she’d just lost two Life Points, and I followed that up with a Magic Missile, bringing her to the brink of death. The next moment, this mystery attacker struck again, their cooldown time having expired quickly. Kururugi’s teammate disappeared from the AR world in no time.

Once I was sure it all went without a hitch, I smiled. “There’s the first one down… That Magic Missile sure worked well, huh? Guess that one was your Spy?”

“Damn… Damn youuuuuuuuuu!”

Losing an ally made Kururugi fly into a rage. Himeji, the key to that attack just now, quickly ran back to my hex to escape Kururugi’s attack range.

“Phew… I’m back, Master.”

“Great job, Himeji.”

That’s right. If you don’t mind me spoiling the trick, Himeji hadn’t gone to aid Akizuki. With Predict Behavior at her disposal, Akizuki wouldn’t have had any trouble defeating a couple of weaker opponents. Considering the difference in firepower between the Tsuyuri and Eimei teams, having Himeji’s support was pretty much a must.

It was still four on two, though, and sitting here waiting to be beaten wasn’t a winning strategy. As Yuikawa from Ibara School had said, a Commander and Guardian were about the least effective combo out there when it came to offense. If we tried a frontal approach, we’d be wiped out without taking anyone with us.

So I’d come up with a plan. Akizuki would take on our Kagurazuki attackers from the south, while Himeji and I dealt with our main enemies. Himeji pretended to support Akizuki to divert Kururugi’s attention away from her. She quickly returned under the cover of Stealth, and at my signal, she cast a few surprise Spells to remove whoever would go down the easiest. That was the basic idea.

“…!”

Seeing Himeji must have helped Kururugi realize what happened. Her face twisted in frustration as she glared at me, her eyes sharper than ever.

Now for the big question. Did taking one teammate down make the conditions for One-Shot Kill impossible?

I met Kururugi’s hard gaze while secretly praying. I’d done all the research I could. Unfortunately, the requirements to activate One-Shot Kill appeared to differ depending on the Game. I couldn’t tell if defeating one of her teammates would affect it at all.

“Master, look out…!”

Suddenly, Kururugi raised an arm in a natural motion as she cast a Magic Missile. If One-Shot Kill had been triggered, I was done for. Thankfully, Himeji’s Defense Wall somehow caught the attack in time.

However…

“?!”

…at the moment of impact, Himeji let out a gasp…and I couldn’t blame her. Her Defense Wall had gone up in time, yet four LP crystals above her head shattered.

“Hmm… So it can’t finish someone off while they’re under the effects of a Defense Wall?”

Kururugi placed her device in her hip pocket, as though sheathing her sword after a lightning-quick strike. All she did was launch a Spell, but I could almost see the whip-slash of her blade in the air.

She took most of Himeji’s LP even though there was a Defense Wall in the way! That’s crazy!

I kept it cool on the outside despite my internal incredulity. Defense Wall’s description claimed it rendered the user impervious to damage, but in actuality, it must have reduced incoming damage by a high value. Apparently, Kururugi’s One-Shot Kill did an even more massive amount of damage, making this a case of the unstoppable spear striking the impenetrable shield. In the end, the Game engine let Himeji survive but cut her LP down to one.

This was sheer, overwhelming power. There was no defending against Hell’s Priestess at all.

“…!”

I knew just how fragile our situation was, but I didn’t let that show on my face as I moved from hex to hex. I wasn’t merely running, either. I moved in a random pattern, doing everything I could to keep my distance from Kururugi.

In short order, a transformation spread across the field.

“Hmm…?”

I stopped for just a moment to survey the scene. Although not every single one, many of the hexes I’d crossed were turning bright green, a total of twenty.

“Nice trick,” the frustrated Kururugi spit. “You’re using Neutralize to claim part of this area to try building an advantage.”

“I might be. Or maybe I’ve got some other motivation,” I replied.

“Some other… It doesn’t matter. I’m not here to argue with you. You’ve already wasted enough of my time.”

Kururugi approached me again.

Certainly, claiming at least a little bit of this neutral territory helped expand our options considerably. Using Neutralize for that purpose was a perfectly viable strategy. However, Kururugi’s assumption carried two mistakes.

We’re trying to build an advantage, huh? Don’t be stupid. Even if this whole area was Eimei territory, it still wouldn’t make us any more powerful than you.

I wasn’t trying to reengineer the battlefield. Those green hexes I’d spread around while getting away from Kururugi might have seemed random, the effort of someone desperately trying to squeeze some advantage from a tough situation, but I’d actually followed a set pattern. No army would deliberately move into a region where it knew it would have a disadvantage. And I’d taken advantage of that thinking to lure Kururugi and her team south.

If I can keep this up, then the bait should do its job just fine… But we’re not out of it yet. We haven’t disabled Kururugi’s One-Shot Kill. I really want to take another one of her teammates down soon…

I kept a watchful eye out for deadly strikes that could come at any time. Suddenly, a cool, reserved voice spoke in my ear.

“Master, do you have a moment?”

“What is it?”

“I believe I have an idea, something we can execute right now that might take down one of Tsuyuri’s members… However, it’s not guaranteed to work. Failure will likely mean I will be retired from the Game. Would you mind leaving this to me? Can you trust me?”

Himeji kept her focus on the Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute team behind us as she spoke. Her tone was mostly the same as always, yet I couldn’t help but feel she was forcing it a little. Still, my answer was obvious.

“Of course. I’ve believed in you since my first day on the island.”

“Ah… All right. Thank you very much.”

Himeji sighed with evident relief, then spun to face Kururugi and the others, politely bowing to them.

“Ms. Kururugi and team members from Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute, I’m going to bring you to a standstill for a little while. In so many words, I won’t allow you to go a single step farther.”

“Oh?” Kururugi enjoyed a laugh. “Do you really think we’re so incapable? Trying to bluff against us twice in one battle…”

“That’s not my intention at all. However, if you believe I’m lying, then why don’t you try striking me? That should clear things up.”

“Uh-huh. Let’s do it, then.” Kururugi must have been pretty worked up by all this. She wasted no time grabbing her device and activating a Spell. Judging by the distance between the two, I had to guess it was Magic Missile, but the exact type didn’t really matter. As long as One-Shot Kill was in effect, all of Kururugi’s attacks were lethal.

“…!”

The moment the Spell struck, I spied Himeji tense. There was no indication she had a Defense Wall up; I’m sure she knew it’d be pointless. I feared the worst for a moment, wondering if she intended to sacrifice herself.

“…What?” Kururugi sounded baffled, and I understood why. Her Attack Spell had hit Himeji dead-on, yet it didn’t claim her remaining LP. Instead, it reduced one of Kururugi’s teammates’ LP to zero. The victim froze, mouth open in shock, but flickered out of the AR game world before she could say anything. We never found out what job she had.

Kururugi narrowed her eyes at Himeji. “You… What did you just do? That was beyond suspicious…”

“Suspicious? Oh, don’t say that. All I did was use Variable Control.”

“…That’s ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not. Allow me to explain. Attack Spells in ASTRAL are programmed to deal a set amount of damage to any player located in the targeted coordinates. It’s all numbers. They’re not real-life gunshots or artillery fire.”

“Yes, that much is obvious.”

“So the rest is quite simple. The attacker’s positional data, the target’s position, the timing of the Spell invocation, and where you wish to redirect the Spell—if you can calculate all of it, using Variable Control to rewrite the relevant values and forcing an attack to hit another location should be doable.”

“……”

Kururugi looked aghast. I’m sure I would’ve been, too. Himeji’s explanation sounded spot-on. She’d pulled off an exquisite maneuver, using Kururugi’s overpowered strikes against her. It had been a tremendous gamble, though. A slight miscalculation, and it would’ve likely failed. Plus, the required timing was so pinpoint that Himeji couldn’t have relied on Kagaya for help. Only Himeji, head of the Company, could’ve pulled it off—and all she’d required was the device in her hand.

“…”

Kururugi shot her a dirty look, having recovered from the initial shock.

“I never saw that coming… Who are you?”

“Me? Well…” Himeji gave me a quick glance. “I am a maid. The personal maid of Mr. Hiroto Shinohara, the Academy’s best.”

She delivered her response with a polite smile.

“…Damn it.”

Senri Kururugi was peeved—and understandably so. No one would remain calm after being wound up by such a smug, self-important-seeming boy. Even his maid got a shot off on her. What an embarrassing battle.

The Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute team had three surviving members, including Kururugi herself. To trigger One-Shot Kill in ASTRAL, she needed to have more team members remaining than her opponents and employ an Action Level of three or higher when using a Spell. If she lost one more teammate, her ace Ability would be gone. Worse yet, she’d just lost her Guardian, who’d been providing support buffs to the team. Kururugi’s Action Level was nearly below three.

I didn’t expect it to be this tough…

She quietly reflected on her predicament. That trick with Variable Control was quite a surprise, but now that it had been revealed, she could take the appropriate countermeasures. That maid had only one LP left. Kururugi wouldn’t need One-Shot Kill to finish her. The maid would have to defend against every attack, and that was bound to leave her open somewhere.

We can win this… Those Neutralized hexes are a pain, but it’s costing him resources, so it’s not all bad.

Kururugi pursued Hiroto Shinohara, avoiding the green hexes he’d created. She would’ve preferred not to go to the effort, but getting caught in Eimei School territory would reduce her Action Level and deactivate One-Shot Kill. The chase led her south.

Hmm…? Come to think of it, why is he going south anyway? There can’t be anything there—

By the time the question crossed Kururugi’s mind, it was too late.

There was a flash—and then the hex next to Kururugi’s current one exploded.

“Wha—?!”

Shocked, she immediately activated a Defense Wall. The teammate next to her, who’d been trying to access her device, was instantly removed from the Game. A single Trap wasn’t powerful enough to deal five LP of damage at once. That hex had several placed on it.

I watched this unfold from a prudent distance. “Gotcha,” I stated flatly. “That’s number three.”

“…! I’m guessing that was no accident.” Kururugi was visibly shaken.

“Doesn’t look that way, does it?” I replied. “I don’t know how much intel you have on Eimei students… But do you know anything about the Little Devil who’s taking on the Ninth Ward team right now? She’s really good at reading people’s thoughts and actions. It makes her more effective at setting Traps than using normal Attack Spells.”

Kururugi sniffed. “So what?”

“Don’t you get it? She’s been laying Traps this whole time. There’s still a ton you haven’t set off. There’s some you didn’t hit as we’d hoped and a few in now-irrelevant locations… That’s why we lured you into following us south. These are the remains of the other battle.”

“I see… So you chased the Ninth Ward team away just to bait us into this minefield?!”

Kururugi had finally figured it out. I practically heard her grinding her teeth in disgust. She went silent and stared at the ground for a moment but soon returned her sharp gaze to me.

“I’m not sure why I didn’t notice sooner. I understood you were leading me somewhere, yet for some reason, I couldn’t deduce your intention.”

“Not sure, huh? Well, maybe some Little Devil took over your mind,” I said.

“…Are you serious?”

“Half,” I replied nonchalantly. I’m sure a lot of it was thanks to Himeji’s Variable Control being so good that Kururugi had been too distracted to consider my little trick. But honestly, now that Akizuki was in a kind of “awakened mode” with Predict Behavior back in her possession, I would believe she had mind-control powers.

“…”

Kururugi went quiet again. I felt confident that losing a third teammate had sealed off One-Shot Kill. She sighed a bit, rubbing her right hand on her forehead.

“Whew… You’ve really done it, Seven Star.”

“Thanks. You’ll make me blush if you keep staring at me like that, though.”

“Quit with the banter, please. Are you still playing dumb? You don’t have the advantage here. My team is still overwhelmingly in the lead.”

Senri Kururugi took a big step forward, a fearsome smile masking her wrath. “Losing three of my friends fills me with humiliation and resentment, but now you’ve made the lethal flaw to your scheme crystal clear.”

“Really?” I said.

“Yes,” Kururugi replied. “You’ve obviously been using Neutralize too much. Maybe that was part of your performance, but if you really filled your slots with Neutralizes, I doubt you have any Attack Spells ready. That’s why you had to rely on Traps from your Spy to land that hit. You’re acting all calm and composed, but I know you’re not. Your whole strategy is desperate.”

“…You’ve been paying close attention.” I gave a passing compliment to her observational skills but continued grinning at her. “But I doubt you know how many—”

“Thirty-five. You’ve used thirty-five Neutralize Spells against us in this battle. And according to our Commander, who just got blown up, Eimei controls twelve bases. Since each team member gets three times their base count in personal slots, you can’t carry more than thirty-six Spells at once. So including the Magic Missile you used early on, that means you have nothing left in your personal slots—not even a Defense Wall.”

“…”

Kururugi’s keen deduction silenced me. Senri Kururugi, the One-Shot Killer. After so many interschool events, I guess she was used to exchanges like this one. She was right. I’d claimed thirty-five hexes for Eimei. Despite getting frustrated, Kururugi had still maintained her composure enough to count. That took real skill.

“Have you forgotten, Ms. Kururugi?” Himeji took a step forward. “Even if he loses all his weapons, my master still has me by his side. Did you think you could lay a finger on him without defeating me fir—?”

“No, I certainly didn’t.”

The moment Kururugi cut off Himeji’s question, her single remaining teammate swiped a finger across her device. Himeji gasped soundlessly, suddenly rooted where she stood. I tried to figure out how it happened. Kururugi grinned.

“My team builds itself to take advantage of One-Shot Kill as best we can. And I chose this girl because she has an Ability called Medusa’s Gaze. It prevents her from attacking, but she can freeze anyone within sight of her for one minute. Pretty useful, don’t you think?”

“…Wow. Yeah, sounds like a convenient tool to have,” I said.

“I’m glad you think so. Now, you have no Spells remaining, and our little troublemaking servant can’t move. All in all, I’d say we’ve just secured victory.”

“Oh? But your One-Shot Kill’s been stripped away, hasn’t it? Without that, you’re just another Five Star. I don’t think you’ll win that easily.”

“…We’ll see.”

Kururugi’s gaze strayed down to her feet, like something had upset her. Then she lifted her right arm and pointed her device at her final teammate.

“Sorry, everybody… Forgive me for being such a coward.”

With a loud bang, the girl took Kururugi’s Gunfire at point-blank range, not trying to run. The attack instantly banished her from the AR realm. I watched on in disbelief.

“I’ve never revealed this before,” Kururugi began quietly, “but One-Shot Kill was originally an Ability meant for fighting alone. It only takes effect once all my other teammates are defeated… But isn’t that terribly sad? So I used an Ability called Substitute Conditions to change the requirements to something more to my liking. That way, I could use One-Shot Kill with my friends around. In fact, they needed to be around. Really, I’ve always been at my strongest when fighting on my own. I just don’t enjoy it.”

…Huh?!

“Perhaps this is overkill against someone with no Spells left… But I owe you quite a bit now. You better regret toying with us all today.”

Kururugi raised her device high in the air… Undoubtedly, the ITube chat was going crazy. Senri Kururugi, the One-Shot Killer, was on the ropes and had been robbed of all her teammates. Yet the cut of her Sword Flash hadn’t dulled one bit, and she was ready to cleave me in two.

I wasn’t going to give her the chance, though.

“I wouldn’t call it toying, really.”

Wearing a half grin, I took a few quick steps backward. Then I selected Magic Missile—a Spell tucked inside my allegedly empty personal slot and fired it straight at Kururugi. Then I used a Cancel Spell to skip my cooldown time, took a step forward, and unleashed a Sword Flash.

“…Huh?”

Kururugi seemed more stunned with surprise than fazed by the actual damage. She’d been convinced that I didn’t have any Spells left, yet I’d fired off a barrage of them. It would’ve been odd if she wasn’t a little shocked.

While I stood there, composed with device in hand, Kururugi demanded, “Wh-what’s going on?! Do you have infinite slots or something?!”

“Well, I’d like to claim that it’s my Seven Star status at work, but not even I can do that. The slots work the same for all players.”

“So why?! You cast Neutralize so much that you should’ve run out ages ago!”

“Nope. Sorry, but your whole line of thinking is faulty. Listen, a little while ago, I turned a few hexes green while keeping my distance from you. You assumed this was an attempt to give myself the battlefield advantage, but that wasn’t the case.”

“Pff.” Kururugi snorted irritably at my casual explanation. “I know that. You were trying to lure us south. You wanted to bring us into the minefield.”

“That was one aspect of it, yeah. But there was another goal. I had to trick you, Kururugi. My whole mission from the start was to make it look like I was blowing through all my Spell slots.”

“Make it…look like? What do you mean?”

“What do you think? I’ve barely used any Spells at all since we started fighting. What’s more, I haven’t used any Neutralize Spells to expand our territory. All I did was employ an Ability to change how the hexes appeared.”

“Ah!”

Yup, it was all thanks to †Jet-Black Wings†, the Ability provided by my blue star. I’d pretended to use it to fool the Ibara School team yesterday, but this time I genuinely activated it. That’s how I’d made it look like some of the hexes I stepped on changed color. I’d been repainting the Game world, as though seizing hexes with a bagful of Neutralizes.

However, it was all just for show. The green hexes luring Kururugi south were green visually, but they weren’t part of Eimei’s territory.

“Heh!” I grinned confidently, driving home that the tables had been turned. “You’ve had the wrong idea the whole time. †Jet-Black Wings† can alter some visual quality of the Game, but it doesn’t change anything else. I never held those hexes, so my slots were pretty much untouched. As it happens, they’re full of Spells to defeat you.”

“…”

“How the mighty have fallen, huh?” I said with a sigh. My quick combo strikes had brought Kururugi’s LP down to two. Based on that damage, it seemed she was a Soldier. One more Magic Missile would end this for good. At this point, the One-Shot Killer had nothing, and it was time for me to conclude this battle. I lifted my device up high…

“?!”

…and with a discomforting bzzt, it started vibrating heavily. I hurriedly checked the screen. The familiar interface was gone, replaced with LOCKED instead. Fortunately, it only lasted for ten seconds, but that was still enough time for Kururugi to recover.

“Damn it…!”

She ran off, deploying a Defense Wall for insurance. I thought she might go back on the offensive, but she only shook her head at me.

“Electronic Interference. I save that Ability for when I’m really in trouble. I can’t lose, you know—the reputation of the Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute is at stake. This is terribly humiliating… But I’m out of here for now.”

“Huh? Hey!”

I shouted for her to stop, but it was a futile effort, of course. Kururugi hurried into the distance. I could have pursued her with the Company’s assistance, but then I really would run out of Spells. Kururugi was so close to being knocked out, but she still had One-Shot Kill. This wasn’t the time to go chasing her all over the map. Letting Kururugi go meant that we couldn’t seize Tsuyuri’s territory, which was a big problem. Still, in times like this, you couldn’t ask for everything. I’d managed to nearly wipe out a team far more powerful than us through bluffs. That was a win in its own right.

“…Well done, Master.” Himeji, now free from Medusa’s Gaze, walked up to me. “How should I put this…? Ms. Kururugi is certainly a hardened veteran. She’s got a powerful Ability and first-class intuition and adaptation skills. I understand why she achieved Five Star status in just her second year.”

“Yeah… But don’t you think her running away was kind of strange? That Ability, Electronic Interference. If she’d followed up with an Attack Spell, she definitely would’ve beaten me. Who knows if she would’ve won against you and Akizuki afterward, though… I guess that’s why she ran. But ASTRAL’s all about taking other people’s territory. Even Hell’s Priestess will have a real tough time winning alone, don’t you think?” I said.

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, that does sound odd. I’d think she’d want to strike back at you instead of fleeing with no real destination. Do you think there’s something else at play here? Perhaps there’s a reason she had to stay alive even though she’s the only member left on her team,” Himeji replied.

“Yeah…”

I thought over this for a few moments while Himeji tapped a white-gloved finger on her cheek, but I couldn’t come up with a believable reason. All I could say for certain was that Kururugi wasn’t the Chameleon. If the Chameleon had One-Shot Kill, this game would’ve ended a long time ago.

“Hiroto!” I turned at the loud voice and saw Akizuki bounding toward me. After screeching to a halt in front of me, she let out a strangely alluring exhale and looked up at me.

“Huff, huff… Eh-heh-heh!   Guess what, Hiroto?! Noa here defeated those other two guys for you!   Isn’t that really great? Huh? Isn’t it? Aren’t I the best?”

“Y-yeah… Thanks. You helped a lot.”

“Aw, whoo-hoo!   Eh-heh-heh… It sure would be nice if you gave me a few love pats as a reward… Eek!  ”

“…Fine.”

I placed a hand on Akizuki’s head as she leaned toward me impishly. I ran my fingers down one of her bouncy twin ponytails. That was really all I did, but every time I moved my hand slightly, she made little “Ohhh…  ” moans. Himeji glared so hard I all but felt it.

“…Eh-heh-heh! Thank you!  ”

After a short while, Akizuki was apparently satisfied with my reward. She hopped back, then used both hands to fan her face, as if to cool her flushed cheeks.

“You know,” she said, “it’s kind of strange. I beat both of the Ninth Ward guys, but we didn’t gain any territory from them.”

“Huh?” I checked for myself. “Oh, you’re right. So maybe their team isn’t wiped out yet?”

“Did they split into two groups? Hmm… Would anyone do that? I don’t really see the point…”

I rubbed my chin while listening to Akizuki. She was right. Team members were critical in ASTRAL. Dividing them was a needless risk, something only for desperate measures, like what we’d done.

“But…” Finding myself at an impasse, I decided to verbalize my thoughts to help organize them better. “If the Ninth Ward’s team wasn’t split up, then why didn’t we take their territory? Kururugi got away, but we should have wiped out the other team.”

“Right, yeah,” Akizuki agreed. “Hmmm… Oh, before I beat them for good, they did say something kinda weird.”

“Weird? How?” I asked.

“Um, like, ‘We’re affiliated with the Chameleon,’ or something like that.”

“?!”

I gasped a bit at Akizuki’s sudden revelation.

What could that mean…?

A connection with the Chameleon, unclaimed territory, and Kururugi running away. None of these qualities meant much on their own, but when taken together, it was clear they were connected. This was the Chameleon’s doing. I felt an intense cold shiver up my spine. Uncomfortable sweat ran down my neck.

Could we have done anything differently? We’d managed to escape the pincer attack but hadn’t acquired new hexes from either enemy team to show for it. In terms of cold, hard results, we’d spent a bunch of valuable Spells. In fact, we’d actually lost a few bases since the start of the fight. Another team must have sneaked in and stolen some territory while we were distracted. Out of the eleven surviving teams in this Game, we were now eighth in territory size and dead last in base count.

Meanwhile, Seijo School stood head and shoulders above all other competitors in both categories.

“…”

I looked down at my device. Viewers didn’t think too highly of losses, either. Our vote percentage was plummeting. The comments on the Libra feed were starting to include some criticism of me. So much for the Seven Star. He’s useless in team battles. And so on—and I had the clear impression people were jumping ship.

And I haven’t finished my competition with Enomoto, either…

Our deadline was the end of the third day, and that was rapidly approaching. I hung my head.

Things were desperate, so impossible that I didn’t have any idea how I was going to make a comeback. However, I’d kind of expected this. I’d assumed things would go poorly from the start, and that’s why I’d taken all that risk to discuss things with Saionji last night.

Her image floated across my mind.

I’m not sure of it yet… But at this point, I don’t have much choice.

This was a gamble. Admittedly, there was a decent chance it’d work out in my favor, but it still wasn’t a guarantee. It’d be a coin flip with my life on the line.

I looked at Himeji. There was absolute trust in her gaze. Then my eyes went to Akizuki, who peered up at me like a clingy puppy. When I spoke, I was as calm as I’d ever been.

“Listen, you two, this is going to sound bizarre. You might have trouble believing it, but suspend your disbelief and hear me out.”

May Interschool Competition: ASTRAL—Day 3 Progress

Calculating data. Please wait…

“I’m really sorry about this.”

The second half of the third day had finished. Enomoto called us to a corner of the first-floor hotel lobby, where he apologized profusely.

“…”

I could certainly understand why he felt so remorseful. Hell’s Priestess engineered the situation, but Enomoto had ultimately chosen to bow out of the second half of the day, resulting in the dire situation we’d fought through. He definitely wasn’t blameless.

Enomoto, back straight like he was facing a firing squad, continued before I could say anything.

“This afternoon, I was watching the Libra feed with Nanase over in the lobby restaurant. I wanted to watch it alone, but…I guess both of us were ashamed of ourselves. At the very least, we wished to know how the Game was proceeding.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“I saw everything on-screen. No, that’s a lie. I felt so awful that I couldn’t watch to the end. I fled into my room midway…and I just sat there shaking, unable to bear seeing you lose so many votes.” Enomoto quietly bowed his head again. “Again, I’m deeply sorry. My selfish, egotistical behavior has besmirched Eimei School and you. I thought I was the most qualified for the Commander role before the Game began, but I was sorely mistaken. None of this was your fault, Shinohara. Once things settle down, I’m going to visit the provost and work out a way to explain my actions in public.”

He sounded as serious as possible. Clearly, this wasn’t a hollow apology or him playing it up. He must have spent time reflecting on his actions before we returned.

I stared at him for a moment.

“Hey, Enomoto,” I said.

“What?”

“Be honest with me. Did you seriously believe Asamiya was the Chameleon?”

“………No.” It took him a moment to shake his head and admit it. “No, I didn’t. There was a theoretical nonzero chance, but I had no reason to doubt her apart from that. I mostly accused Nanase to rile her up.”

“Rile her up?” I repeated questioningly.

“Yes. She’s just such an idiot. She’s stupid, oblivious, gullible… And you’ve seen how susceptible she is to being antagonized. I thought she’d ruin our chances if she stayed on the team. I was sure she’d drag us down with her, and I wanted to avoid that, no matter what.”

“…”

“What’s with that look, Shinohara?”

“Nothing. I just thought you’re being unusually honest with me for a change.”

“…Hmph. I’m simply telling you what I think of her. I typically keep it to myself to prevent complicating things needlessly.”

He sounded a bit hesitant, and he couldn’t look me in the eye. I snickered a little as I watched him.

“…A-ah?!”

Before I had a chance to say anything, there was a loud clatter, and someone charged into our conversation. It was an all-too-familiar sight. Enomoto hurriedly searched for a hiding spot but didn’t find one in time. The girl barreled for us despite a reluctant expression on her face. Nanase Asamiya, the blond girl who toyed with her hair instead of paying attention, had arrived.

“S-sorry, Shino. I didn’t mean to listen in on you guys or anything, but…”

She trailed off, and Enomoto inserted himself between Asamiya and me.

“How much did you hear?” he inquired.

A pause.

“…I want an answer to this, Nanase,” Enomoto said, his voice low. “Depending on your reply, I might need to erase all your memories.”

“Huh? What’s up with that? Um… Up to the part where you shouted ‘Damn, I love Nanase so much!!’ I think.”

“I didn’t say anything like that. And I don’t exclaim ‘Damn,’ either.”

“Okay, from the point where you said ‘I think about her all the time…’”

“I never said that!”

“Huh?! You definitely did!”

Their faces were centimeters from each other as they bickered. It wasn’t nearly as fiery as what I saw this morning, but I couldn’t deny that things remained tense between them. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about intervening, but I had little choice.

“During the lunch break, I watched some Libra footage while trying to work out a strategy…,” I began.

It was time to reveal a certain truth to them.

“Remember when I spoke with Yuikawa from the Fifteenth Ward? We were close to signing a Truce, but one of his teammates tried to use a Magic Missile on us. I didn’t notice it at the time. Honestly, I missed it even when I reviewed the video for the first time. I had to slow it down to about one-tenth normal speed to even detect it. And that player was the guy you attacked, Asamiya.”

“What…?” Enomoto looked stunned.

“Ah, Shino, that…” Asamiya seemed equally surprised, although for a different reason.

Enomoto recovered first. “Is that true?” he asked. “She wasn’t just running headlong into danger like usual? There was an actual reason for it?”

“…You don’t have to sound so blown away,” Asamiya groused. “I told you I wanted to help the team, didn’t I? We’ve got Shino the Seven Star, the most trustworthy guy out there; and Noa-chi’s real cute and smart; and Yukirin’s mega adorable and talented. And Shinji… Well, Shinji isn’t very cute, but he does bring the whole team together, right? I’m not smart at all, so unless I help with the fighting, there’s no place for me on the roster…”

“…So you shot that enemy faster than a speed requiring footage slowed to a tenth of its speed to see?” Enomoto said, incredulous.

“Sorry!” Asamiya shot back. “I saw her try to attack, so I reacted, okay?!”

Neither of them was going to come out and say it, but I think it was safe to conclude that they’d made up. If they wanted to make it a truce that only lasted through Event Week, that was fine with me.

“Mmm… You know, Shino…” Now that her argument with Enomoto had simmered down, Asamiya turned back toward me. “I’m sorry if this sounds rude after you helped us, but… This really can’t go on, can it?”

“Can’t go on how?” I asked.

“Uh… We can’t really stage a comeback at this point.”

She shrugged apologetically at me.

“I mean… We’ve got no territory, no Spells, our support’s dropping hard…and you dropped out, Shino.”

“Ah yes, you’re right…… Wait, what?” Enomoto nodded along with the conversation until he heard that last part. Once his brain acknowledged it, he winced. “Shinohara dropped out? Wait, what do you mean? I didn’t hear anything about that.”

“Yeah, because you ran off halfway through the afternoon broadcast, Shinji.” Asamiya sighed a bit, exasperated with Enomoto. Then she gave me a furtive look.

“Shino here,” she stated with some obvious reluctance, “dropped out of ASTRAL at the end of today. That ponytailed girl didn’t knock him out… He did it by himself.”

She was right. Around an hour ago, just before the end of the second half, I used a Sword Flash Spell to reduce my own LP to zero. I was the first Eimei School student knocked out, a baffling suicide move. ITube and STOC were going crazy over it. However, I’m sure none of those commenters and viewers were as baffled as Enomoto.

“He dropped out…? Shinohara? Hiroto Shinohara’s already out of the Game…?”

“Yep. That’s right. Asamiya’s right. If you don’t believe it, check your device.”

“I—I believe it and all, but—but why did…? Ah.” Enomoto must have realized the reason, because he cut himself off. “Wait.” His voice trembled as he paled. “Was it because of me? Did you do it to win our competition?”

“…”

I replied to Enomoto’s question with silence. He and I were warring for the right to be Commander. To win, I had to beat three Commanders by the end of the third day. The way things had gone, there was no way I could have met that condition. By the time we fended off that pincer attack, we’d only defeated two Commanders, and there hadn’t been enough time remaining to eliminate another team by the deadline.

So I’d decided to sacrifice myself. ASTRAL allowed friendly fire, after all. And since my job was Commander, knocking myself out completed the challenge.

Once this dawned on Enomoto, he winced again and grabbed me by the collar.

“Why did you do something so stupid, Shinohara?!”

“…”

“I know it’s selfish to be angry at you over this. I get that it’s kind of my doing, but without you, how are we going to…?!”

Enomoto’s voice shook as he raged at me. I could sense the anger in his words. That made it clear he’d accepted me as the winner. He’d patched things up with Asamiya, too. Somewhat anyway. After three days in ASTRAL, Team Eimei was finally acting like a true team.

Which was nice, although a little late.

“…Don’t misunderstand.” I gave Enomoto the boldest grin I could. “Yes, my competition with you was one part of the decision, but there was more to it than that. I’m the Commander, remember? I’m wouldn’t let myself get so distracted by internal drama that I’d let it destroy us.”

“…What are you saying? Are you seriously trying to tell me that you being knocked out will lead us to victory?”

“Something like that, I guess.”

My words seemed free of all worry. I decided a quick recap of our current situation was in order. The Chameleon had completely wrecked the setup of the May Interschool Competition. Her team was dominating the Game with seemingly no way to beat it, and she even had mysterious “affiliates” working for her. Meanwhile, Eimei School was nearly at the bottom. Unlike the Ohga School team, which was still doing well and looking for a chance to strike, we weren’t in any position to significantly impact the Game any longer.

But so what? If anything, that was why…

“…this is our chance, the only possible way we can win. The way the Game’s going, there’s barely any point at all to playing normally. We gotta use backdoor methods, play outside the Game boundaries, and utilize whatever we can to get back in the running. We need to destroy the Game’s entire framework. So don’t worry, all right? Our low standing, my elimination—I’d planned on these from the start. Honestly, everything’s gone perfect so far. Every bit of it’s following the plan.”

We were the only ones left who could conquer the Chameleon.

May Interschool Competition: ASTRAL—Day 3 Complete

Largest Territory Taken: Seijo School, Twelfth Ward (2,245 hexes)

Most Votes: Seijo School, Twelfth Ward (38.3 percent)

Notes: Hiroto Shinohara (Eimei School) out of the Game