No
Game No Life:Volume 4
Novel
Illustrations
These
are the novel illustrations that were included in Volume 4.
Table
of
Contents
Page
22 Page 27
Page
54 Page 78 Page 106 Page 138
Page
185 Page 248 Page 261No Game No Life:Volume 4 2
Preface
It
was farther than the sea...
So
far that it had become unreachable, a part of «fairy tales»—
In
a certain place there existed a beautiful princess.
She
had beautiful golden hair that even the moon would admire.
Her
shining eyes could overshadow stars.
Even
the birds would be humbled by her amazing voice.
The
fame of her beauty had spread across the seven continents.
Men
from all over the world kept coming to propose to the princess.
The
princess said:
"Whoever
can give me the best present in the world—I shall give my love to him."
Thus
many a man came to propose with dazzling treasures.
Needless
to say that there were gold and jewels.
The
princess even received hundreds of territories, thousands of castles, and tens
of thousands of slaves.
But
the princess wasn't even one bit satisfied.
"I
want things that are more beautiful, more valuable."
So
there were more men who sent unique treasures to her.
Not
to mention unique vows of love in the world.
The
princess even received secret treasures unique in the world, heavenly objects
that didn't even have another
among
gods.
But
the princess was still not satisfied.
No
matter what degree the beauty, they could not rival the princess' beauty.
No
matter what degree the love, they were like granted to the princess.
No
matter what degree the treasure, the princess had already gotten them.
—There
were no more treasures in the world that could amaze the princess.
Even
so, the princess still said:
"Someone
come—is there a treasure that's even more amazing?"
—Things
went like this until one day.
A
prince came before the princess.
He
was different from any man the princess had ever met.
He
was young and strong, but dressed poorly.
Didn't
seem like he was carrying any treasure too.
But
the prince gave a "little treasure", and said:
"I
am going to give the princess a treasure that she has absolutely never seen
before."
Upon
seeing what the prince gave—the most beautiful treasure in the world.
The
princess could not stop being amazed...
And
thus she gave her promise of love to the prince.
And
that treasure was——
......No
Game No Life:Volume 4 3
"—That's
it! It was 'true love'!"
«She»
closed the book in her hands, and screamed.
In
this manner, «she», in order to look for her 'true love', entered a long, long
sleep.
Waiting
for the day that the man with that 'little treasure' in the fairy tale would
appear.
—Without
any consideration for any possible consequences that might be brought by her
actions.
...What
«she» had read was really a «fairy tale».
But
the story of «her» falling into a deep sleep for the fairy tale, isn't a «fairy
tale».
That's
farther than the sea, so far it was 800 years ago—
So
silly that any of the Exceed would be laughed at for this—'history'.
Prologue
- Easy Start
Part
1
The
Werebeasts’ nation –– the Eastern Union. The countryside of Kannagari City.
There
is a building where the former Eastern Union’s ambassador resides –– Hatsune
Izuna’s mansion.
In
a wooden room which has architecture resembling a Chashitsu[1]
,
the smell of incense drifted over the newly laid
tatami
mats.
The
room was so silent, one would think that only unmoving plants were present
within. A single silhouette was seen
shivering
inside.
“……Shiro,
are you awake?”
The
figure quietly climbed out of his bed, and whispered to his side.
……No
reply.
Only
her smooth and steady breathing could be heard next to him.
Confirming
what he heard, the figure nodded his head, and snuck into action.
Despite
being in a rush, he was holding his breath, while holding tightly onto his
pillow and not making any sounds.
Then,
his hand grabbed the item he had targeted, and at once, he quietly moved to the
corner of the room.
“Nobody
on the right, nobody on the left. Other than Shiro, no one else is present.”
The
figure recited these words, and begun his operation. His face began to emerge
through the darkness.
It
was a black-eyed and black-haired teenager, who had dark circles under his eyes
which decreased his
attractiveness
greatly.
He
was Sora, 18 years old, and Imanity’s latest King. He was one of the two rulers
of Elchea.
The
king carefully investigated his surroundings. He used his left hand to hold his
tablet PC and his right hand to
hold
a box of facial tissues. He began his declaration as softly as possible.
“Now
is the time –– I can discharge the long accumulated toxins in my body!”
––
Truly a pervert.
If
the citizens were to witness their 『King』 in his current manner, they would
probably sorrowfully cry out with a
long
“Oh……”
But,
please first wait a while.
It
has been two months since he and his sister had been summoned to this foreign
world named Disboard, a world
where
everything was decided by games.No Game No Life:Volume 4 4
In
that short period of time, not only had he ascended the throne of the Imanity
who were on the verge of destruction,
together
with his sister, he had went through several death matches –– subduing those
with the ability to use magic,
surpassing
various cheats, and recapturing the territory of the Imanity. Today, they
merged their country with so
many
lands that they have become the third largest country in the world.
Sora
–– during these series of fierce battles with countless women –– not limiting
to the Imanity, but also including
the
Flügel, Elves, and Werebeasts ––there
had been several times where people were practically naked, be it in
games
or during baths. During all these times, he was forced to turn his head away.
He was like a man playing in a
sandbox.
Within his tablet PC and smartphones was the residue of these paradises in the
form of videos he had
recorded.
However, as he is always by his sister’s side, he had never once had a chance
to view these…
So
it is to say…
He
was never able to vent his urges ––!
For
a man in such a situation, would accusing him of being a pervert be reasonable?
––
Ahh, that’s right. Women, you can despise me for all you want.
But
fellow men, you should be able to relate to this!
For
an eighteen year old virgin to endure to this very day, just think of his iron
willpower! How can it not bring you
to
tears?!
That
should be awe-inspiring enough, no?
That
should be enough to call it –– 『Love』, no?
I
need not speak for my sister who is still so young.
In
order to protect the several maidens around him, he had to resist all of his
urges ––
Such
noble ambitions –– what would it be if not 『Love』?
……Is
there anyone out there who can refute this –– No, there is not!
I
think there isn't… probably?
“I
don’t care if you’re going to scold me as a pervert, I’m already at my limits
and on the verge of bursting –– No,
this
is indeed a noble act of the highest order!!”
With
such tragic thoughts in his consciousness, Sora… put his hand to his crotch…
“Um,
Um… Ex-Excuse me…”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Upon
hearing that voice behind him, Sora let out a scream like a girl, so scared
that he fell on the tatami.
A
sigh was let out –– there were three people who were responding.
“……Ni……Do
it more quietly……”
Getting
up and no longer pretending to be asleep, a pure-white haired sister with red
eyes coldly stared on at him ––
Shiro.
“Ugh…
there are other people right, des? Izuna wants to sleep together, des.”
Sticking
her head out from the side of the ceiling was a black haired Werebeast girl
with animal ears –– Hatsuse
Izuna.
“Who
dares to offend my master? Can I cut it off? Can I cut off this thief’s head!?”
Appearing
out of thin air with an abstract halo floating on her head was a Flügel girl ––
Jibril.
The
owners of these three voices had an air of discontent around them…
Sora,
who had fallen on the tatami, could not resist shouting while he was putting
his pants back on.
“Doesn’t
this world have any concept of 『privacy』?! I just suffered a serious
violation!!”No Game No Life:Volume 4 5
Then,
when he was in the middle of pulling up his zipper…
“Who～
～ are you to say that!? How dare you act like a sage while peeping on others!”
While
Sora was pointing and shouting in their direction, everyone else had finally
realized that something was amiss,
and
redirected their gazes onto that person.
Only
a figure could be seen. The person sat quietly on the floor, as if the person
had merged with the night sky.
The
room was dark and hazy –– but even so, the person gave off an unnatural sense
of lacking a shadow.
“Sigh…”
With
light illuminating from her finger tips through magic, Jibril unhappily tilted
her lips to the side.
“I
was wondering who was capable of approaching master this closely while avoiding
my notice –– a Dhampir, I
see.”
“Dh-Dhampir?”
Upon
hearing Jibril’s words, everyone looked towards that figure once more.
Through
the illumination of light, a girl wearing a black dress emerged. It was as if
she was wearing the night sky on
her
body.
She
had short blue hair, and her glowing purple pupils shone brightly through. Her
teeth were white, and on her back
were
small bat-like wings.
Although
she looked to be around 15 or 16 in human age, that would not be so since she
was a Dhampir.
Her
appearance matched Sora and Shiro’s impressions of vampires exactly, as it was
completely like what was
depicted
in a regular vampire story.
–– 『Those
who transcend death (Nosferatu)』, 『The rulers of the undead (No Life King)』, 『Dominators
of the
night
(Nightwalker)』……
As
shown in these countless different names, they were a race that were greatly
feared by humans –– but, as for this
girl’s
case……
“……
I, I can’t do this anymore…… Please…… Please save me……”
Her
face was haggard and she spoke in a weak voice which completely offset any
prior impressions of terror.
“You
lot are still the same. Using your illusions to stay hidden –– surreptitiously
sneaking around to hide from place
to
place, and using your ability of bright eyes.”
“It’s
such a pity…” Jibril then laughed as she sarcastically continued on.
“And
I thought your race had finally made good use of your abilities, but you’ve
silently died out without a sound.
Such
a sorry state you’re in.”
“J-Jibril…
you’re still speaking as sharply as ever.”
Even
Sora could not help but find it terrible while he watched her scold the dying
girl.
However,
Izuna lightly jumped down from the ceiling without making a sound, and tilted
her head while showing a
puzzled
expression.
“Izuna
heard from grandpa, that the Dhampirs had already died on the roadside, des.”
“…Eh?”
So
Jibril’s bitter words were actually the blatant, unsparing truth.
But
Izuna was merely using the wrong choice of words. She meant no ill will.
So
that means… the race was supposed to have already perished…?
“……
the Exceed’s…… twelfth ranked race…… the 『Dhampirs』……”
Seeing
Sora was at a loss, Shiro stepped in to help.No Game No Life:Volume 4 6
She
crawled out of bed, and began reading out the information she memorized.
“……The
race that…… sucks on the blood of the rest of the Exceed –– for their souls……
to continue living.”
Shiro
continued to speak.
“And
with…… the 『Ten Oaths』……”
Shiro
let out an exclamation and her mouth twitched slightly.
–– 『Ten
Oaths』.
That
was what the sole god had set, and these oaths were to be absolutely obeyed in
this world of Disboard.
One
of which stated “All murder, war and robbery is forbidden in this world.”
If
these were the vampires that Sora was familiar with, that would mean that under
these oaths…
Attacking
others or biting them… would inflict harm on the other party, and thus a race
that needs to win in order to
suck
others’ blood would…
“Eh?
Is that so? So that means the Dhampirs… would not be able to suck blood without
the other party’s consent,
right?”
The
dying girl did not even need to speak for Sora to know the answer.
…From
this, Sora could understand why her face was so haggard. Jibril then nodded and
spoke.
“To
add on to what master has said, if a Dhampir sucks the blood of another…”
“They
would turn into a Dhampir… Nothing unusual there.”
As
a result, unless the other party wanted to become a Dhampir, it would be
impossible to obtain consent to suck
anyone’s
blood…
“……Huh?
No, that isn’t the case.”
“Eh?
That’s weird. It doesn’t always turn out like that?”
“Dhampirs
obtain 『soul essence』 from blood and
body fluids, and when drawing these fluids, their own soul
would
be mixed with the other’s. That would promote a Dhampir’s growth and enhance
their strength, while the one
who
gets bitten will have a mixed soul and catch a specific disease.”
So
that means…
Jibril
smiled and asserted, “It typically does a hundred times more harm than it does
any good.”
“……How
can there be such hopeless vampires.”
–– 『Let
me offer to you the power to be ageless and the strength of the night. 』
Being
unable to use this as a slogan to persuade others, they were just a race that
would bring about illnesses.
Hearing
their helpless situation would make one weep. Sora turned to face the Dhampir
girl, and sighed with nothing
to
say.
I
see… It’s not surprising that they would go extinct with the implementation of
the Ten Oaths.
But
then… if that is so… Sora felt rather confused.
……Why
haven’t they gone extinct yet?
“Pl……
Please …… I, I’m at the brink of dying…… give me your 『soul essence』……”
The
girl was practically begging. With disorderly breaths and a weak voice, she
sought the help of Sora who was
currently
in deep thought.
As
she spoke, her voice got more hoarse and weak. She was basically about to die
if……
“……No,
after hearing that you’d catch some disease after sharing their soul, only
ghosts would agree to that. Are
you
an idiot? Just die already.”
He
said that but… his conscience was not prepared to watch her die in front of his
eyes.No Game No Life:Volume 4 7
Sora
was trying to find a way to save her but…
As
he would become a sick virgin, it was particularly difficult for him to promise
her. Sora scratched at his head in
great
annoyance. Then, all of a sudden…
“Ah!
Master, I didn’t make myself clear. As long as you don’t get bitten, you will
not get the disease.”
……Ehh?
“Although
without biting, Dhampirs would not be able to grow from their soul essence
without using their teeth to
suck
the blood. However, if it is just to sustain their life… 『direct oral
administration』 of the body fluids would
suffice
for emergency situations.”
“……You
mean?”
“Second
to blood, the body fluid where the 『soul essence』 is most highly concentrated
in, and not biting to ingest
the
fluids, that would be the…”
……When
he heard what Jibril was about to say next, Sora’s next action was……
“Semen…”
“Miss,
are you alright!? I’ll save you right now!! I definitely won’t let you die!!”
Everyone
present at the scene was stunned… –– not to mention Shiro.
Even
the vision of the Werebeasts or the Flügel could only catch his after-image.
––
His attitude changed so quickly that even a blink of an eye would suffice at
describing his speed.
Sora
carried the Dhampir girl to the corner of the room, and carefully laid her down
there……
He
nodded his head in deep acknowledgement.
“Now
I see, you aren’t vampires, you are succubi!”
That’s
why they haven’t gone extinct.
Who
would let such a wonderful race go extinct ––!
Sora
cried out in his heart, and prepared to undo the buttons of his trousers, but
then……
“……What
is semen, des?
“……
Ni…… M18 scene…… NG……”
The
two children under 18 years old looked towards him, and that
would
mean……
––
The 『heart-pounding scene』 had just been force closed.
“……
Ah, not this again.”
Sora
looked up to the sky with hope in his eyes, with tears almost
about
to fall.
Eighteen-year-old
virgin Sora, don’t tell me you’re going to do as usual
and
not move any ground forward?
Having
to turn my back countless times on these otherworldly
paradises,
back to being a man playing in a sandbox…… Don’t tell me
it’s
really going to stay like this forever?
(……
No, it can’t!!)
Sora
bit his lip tightly.
Whatever
the case, you must use this brain of yours to get out of all
kinds
of difficulties for your survival!No Game No Life:Volume 4 8
The
moment that I must concentrate all my brain juices to cross over a heavy
obstacle –– isn’t that time upon me
right
now?!
––
After this thought, he recollected on the events that had happened.
His
sister looked on with resolute and cold eyes.
“……
Shiro, please imagine a fully-clothed man drowning in a river.”
“……
Un.”
“Implementing
the appropriate CPR, and removing the wet clothes that would drop his body
temperature to a fatal
degree,
and giving that person your body heat…… would that be rated M18?”
“………………
It wouldn’t……”
“Right.
And why’s that so? Because that is helping another, and saving that person’s
life. It’s the most noble of
actions!!”
Sora
nodded exaggeratedly in agreement with what he had just said, and with very
sincerely clear eyes, he looked to
the
girl lying at the corner of the room –– She seemed so haggard and weak that no
words could properly describe
how
she looked.
“Indeed,
for us humans, it can easily be deemed as irrational, but this is to save a
life… it’s a noble act! Therefore,
your
brother is forced to abandon his shame, and entrust my entire self to the
cultures of other races in order to save
her
life!! And so, can you please turn around and avert your eyes～ ～!?”
––
The most perfect and flawless reasoning has been stated!
––
That is, I am starting a rebellion!
“……
since it’s body fluids …… then 『saliva』 would also work……?”
Shiro
gently worded her speech, which immediately let his perfect reasoning (laughs)
end its life in less than a
second.
Sora could not help but freeze in his place.
Jibril
thought for a moment, and smiled with compassion towards the pitiful race.
“I
think there should be no problems with that. Though there would be less soul
essence within, but it should suffice
for
an emergency situation, I think?”
“……
Un, allow Shiro to……”
In
this way, Shiro walked towards the Dhampir girl lying at her brother’s feet.
Then,
she put her face close to the girl’s face –––
“Wa-Wait
a second, Shiro! That…… isn’t quite right! Nii does not agree to this!”
“……
CPR…… a noble act……”
Sora
hurriedly tried to stop her, but Shiro coldly stared as she rebutted him with
his own words.
Sora
hurriedly used all his functioning brain cells to think of a valid argument,
but –––
(–––
no, shouldn’t a kiss between girls be perfectly fine?)
It
is not M18, and it is also in a very healthy zone. To top it off, it is a
genuine act to save a life.
Incidentally,
Sora –– in fact had no discrimination towards the yuri genre, but still……
(–––
I just never want to see Shiro do such a thing.)
–––
And why is that so?
That
question came to his mind in a flash, but Sora shook his head straight-away.
“No!
A French kiss is not good for a child’s education! I veto against this!!”
Sora
had yet to think what would happen after his statement, so he hastily looked to
his surroundings.
Izuna
looked particularly bored, and Shiro still had her eyes half-open, not to
mention –––No Game No Life:Volume 4 9
“Ji-Jibril!
Your body fluids –––”
Izuna
was still young, and Shiro was a no-go, and it was greatly regrettable that
Steph was not present at this
moment……
“Under
master’s command, I dare not to disobey –– even though freely bloodsucking
mosquitoes are still above this
pathetic
race by a few points, but to kiss –– though since you wish to save her life,
master, I don’t really recommend
doing
it this way.”
Her
chillingly poisonous tongue made even Sora a little scared, but Jibril still
continued speaking.
“If
I were to give her my body fluids, she would likely evaporate, as the
difference in the quality and concentration of
our
soul essences is too large.”
––High
in their position was the mighty sixth ranked race of the Exceed.
This
race of Flügel-sama is just so…… hax, totally hax!
“……
then…… let Shiro……”
Shiro
used a finger to lift her hair, and inched her face towards the girl –––
“––––––––––Oh,
oh right～ ～! There’s also ‘sweat’, right!!”
Sora’s
brain was on the verge of boiling. He spoke the ‘alternative’ he just thought
of with no hesitation.
“Sw-Sweat
is also considered a body fluid! Right? Jibril!?”
“…… It’s hard to say… Sweat contains the most
minimal amount of
soul
essence……”
“N-N-N-No
other choice! We’ve got to at least give it a try!”
Before
Sora could leap into action……
Shiro
slowly took off her sock, and extended her foot towards the
Dhampir
girl’s eyes.
“……kneel
on the floor…… and lick.”
Imanity’s
queen, Shiro.
––
She smiled a sadistic smile unfitting of a queen.
“Oh
my sister, although I had long realized how you hide away your S
tendencies,
but for you to do so without any hesitation… your brother
does
feel rather shocked……”
Sora’s
cheek twitched, and he dejectedly collapsed onto the ground.
However,
at the other side, the Dhampir girl, who looked almost like a
corpse,
suddenly moved.
She
sniffed a few times, and her eyes suddenly widened while she jumped up.
Awaiting
the right time to pounce from her position, she popped Shiro’s foot into her
mouth……
“––
This! What is this! What a delicious taste, so delicious!!”
……
Everyone who was watching the scene looked on with a cold gaze, thinking:
––
the Exceed’s twelfth ranked race, the 『Dhampir』…
Although
it was far from the sixth ranked Flügel and the seventh ranked Elves, it was
still ranked above the
fourteenth
ranked Werebeasts.
But,
she was kneeling on the floor before a sixteenth ranked girl and ––– endlessly
praising the taste of her foot.
“Does
that sound right……?”
––
Indeed, this is not M18.No Game No Life:Volume 4 10
But
yet for some reason, it feels like something is very wrong.
The
Dhampir girl looked like she was a character in a comic book, tasting the most
gourmet of cuisine along with
flowers
filling the background as she wildly licked Sora's sister’s foot while
endlessly praising its taste.
“……
Jibril, are Dhampirs perverts?”
Sora
directed his question to Jibril, as if his consciousness had just ascended Mt.
Everest.
“Yup……
but since it is master’s soul essence, wouldn’t it naturally be delicious?”
“––Eh?
Why?”
“That,
of course, is because master is…… tough,
strong, and an extremely rare, unique and noble soul that any
common
person who searches the entire world for such a presence will still never
meet.”
Upon
hearing Jibril’s comments, Izuna, who was originally forced to watch from the
side, vigorously nodded her
head
in agreement.
“……Sora
and Shiro’s soul essence……does not have a contaminated taste. I do not dislike
it, des.”
However,
Sora responded their remarks with a weary sigh.
“…… Am I becoming delusional? I always get the
feeling that people are looping the words
‘stubborn’, ‘only
concerned
for his own good’, ‘an abruptly changing character’, ‘withdrawn’, and not to
mention ‘a virgin’!”
“None
of that sort ––– doesn’t that just show that you possess 『unknown soul essence』?
There is not a thing that
can
compare to the greatness of that…… honestly speaking, I also want to try a
taste of it, fuhuhu～”
“………………Sora,
Sora……Can I try a bite, des?”
The
two looked up expectantly at Sora at the same time, with a stream of saliva
dripping from each of their mouths.
“I
say, is there not a normal person in this room?”
“……
is Nii qualified…… to say that?”
–––
The person with common sense (Stephanie) who was not present at Izuna’s house,
was being quietly ridiculed
by
Shiro’s words.
––––––…………
With
her strength restoring and her skin starting to become shinier, the Dhampir
girl spoke.
“Huu……
It really was very tasty…… thank you for the meal.”
“……
ugggh…… it’s wet…… need to wash it…… uggghh…… baths are so troublesome……”
Compared
to the girl with an absent-minded expression on her face and her hands clasped
together, Shiro was filled
with
regret…… but first, leaving that aside…
As
he could finally begin to question her, Sora looked toward the girl.
“–––
We’ve been at this for so long and we still don’t know who the heck you are?”
“Ah,
I was late in introducing myself. My name is Plum, and as you can see, I am a
Dhampir.”
Sitting
in an upright posture on her knees, the girl –– Plum –– continued speaking with
a stern expression.
“I
have something to, ugh…… request of you today.”
She
stuttered while taking out a thing that looked like a cheat sheet.
“Ahem!”
She cleared her throat.
Then
she slowly bent her three fingers as if drawing a bow, and read her script in a
clumsy tone.
“P-Please
forgive me for my laughable appearance in our first meeting…… the ones who joined
with the Flügel and
the
Eastern Union, Elchea’s king and queen, Your Majesties Sora and Shiro –––
please save my race!”
……Having
heard her words, Sora seemed to understand everything.No Game No Life:Volume 4
11
“Aaaahhh,
being able to replace blood with semen but requiring the other’s consent to
proceed ––– and now coming
to
us for help.”
The
conditions to the entire scenario were like that of a fantasy.
–––
And so? Is this fantasy upon us now?
Sora
immediately gave his judgement, and a hearty smile appeared on his face……
“The
conditions are that you have to move to an H-game (somewhere else). Bye. Be
careful on your way back.”
“How
did this even happen, aaaaahhhhh!? Wait a minute youuuuu!!”
……
Needless to say, the M18 scenario was immediately rejected.
Part
2
–––
Long after the inter-racial war.
Sora
brought up his grand plan to 『overturn the entire world』.
Within
their world were very many races, which held a myriad of problems just from
their different histories,
ideologies
and cultures.
Yet,
Sora wanted to break all the boundaries between races. He began to realize how
undoubtedly ridiculous his plot
was.
And
that was to produce 『a single country of many races』.
In
a world where everything is decided by games, it is possible to achieve it in
theory.
But
it is still only a theory at the end of the day.
“……
is it really okay to give it to them?”
As
she thought about the two siblings who were planning to bring the races
together and obtain all their race pieces
in
order to challenge the One True God, her mouth slanted to a side.
With
that ridiculous dream of obtaining a 『piece』 in mind, would they really be able
to escape from this 『chess
board』?
Would
they really be able to fulfill every one of those conditions……?
The
girl who was deep in thought had animal ears of a fox and long hair, as well as
two flitting gold tails.
She
was the Eastern Union and the Werebeasts’ sole representative, 『Miko』.
Within
the courtyard of her shrine, she was standing on a small red bridge that was
built across a pond. As she
looked
across the railing to the reflection of the moon on the water, she was
engrossed in thought.
There
are far too many obstacles.
Breaking
the boundaries between races was a difficult situation even when it was just
between two races ––– the
Imanity
and the Werebeasts.
Even
if all their citizens were from the same race, in order to unite them towards
the same goal, it was as impossible
as
ascending past the stars.
There
existed countless werebeast tribes, and they had previously been in civil
strife for over thousands of years.
It
was 『Miko』, who bet her everything and even forgot her own real name in order
to finally unite the entire
Eastern
Union.
……
But because she had done this, she knew very deeply how long and difficult such
a road would be.
In
addition, containing sixteen different races within a single country definitely
cannot be achieved through normal
means.
But
if it were possible, then by those two, it would have already been……No Game No
Life:Volume 4 12
“Well
whatever, I’ll look into it once more… hahaha.”
–––
In the past, even she had found the dream of uniting the werebeasts to be so
ridiculously high and unobtainable,
but
she still managed to achieve it in the end.
Compared
to myself in the past, they might actually be a little more conservative? 『Miko』
deprecated herself in
that
very thought, while she poured wine into her glass.
“We’re
playing together peacefully…… are we not?”
Miko
recited the 『Ten Oaths』 while taking a sip of her wine.
–––
In the past, when she had issued challenges, she had pretty much given up on
her dream.
Now
『those two』, who were brimming with confidence, were already speaking of how
they would follow-up after
their
dream had been achieved ––– which was an even more distant future than what was
impending on them –––
but
in contrast, she had already given up on this new chapter.
But…
“If
they’re looking towards God when there are only flowers before them, they are
most likely to stumble over a
stone
on the way.”
Anyone
can dream big.
But
if they wish to talk about their dream, they must be qualified to do so.
When
they finally show all the cards in their hand to the public, while displaying
that they are fully qualified, and do
all
this in time……
『Miko』
raised her hand towards the sky, and something began shining in her palm…… The 『race
piece of the
Werebeasts』
had appeared.
That
was what the One True God had allocated when he set the rules of the world.
Along
with the implementation of the 『Ten Oaths』, he had given each race a chess
piece.
Only
the sole representative of each of the Exceed had the power to make it appear.
It shone brilliantly, as if it was
woven
from light itself.
–––
She finally realized the true meaning of these pieces.
Miko
placed her empty wine cup on the railing of the bridge, and played with the
pawn with her fingers. She looked
up
hopefully towards the sky.
–––
In her heart, she looked forward to 『the moment』 that would arrive in the near
future.
Chapter
1 - Encounter/lıʌǝᗡ ǝɥ⊥
Part
1
Kingdom
of Elchea.
It
was located on the western part of the continent of Andalusia, and the last
country of Imanity, who were the
sixteenth-ranked
of the Exceed.
After
their battle with the Eastern Union less than half a month ago, [the king and
queen] i.e. Sora and Shiro won
their
matches and restored their territory to double its previous size.
……Following
which, the problems of the country also doubled.
There
were two major issues.
The
first was the idea of forming a federation with the Eastern Unions that [the
king and queen] i.e. Sora and Shiro
had
proposed.
Establishing
a country across the racial barriers was simply unheard of, and thus a huge
problem.No Game No Life:Volume 4 13
Even
though they had regained a portion of their territory, Elchea still lacked the
technology to properly utilize these
lands.
The
other problem was that, while the Eastern Union had lost its mainland
territories, its national strength still
remained
one of the top in the world.
……
Their national strength, currency, not to mention social structures, ethnicity
and language were totally different,
yet
they were expected to have equal access to resources.
Since
it is such an obviously difficult situation, I believe there isn’t any need to
further elaborate.
This
was the first time in history that Imanity was faced with such an impossible
task.
And
the second problem was……
“Really……”
Looking
at the cards in her hand, the red haired girl breathed a long sigh.
Stephanie
Dora.
Usually
abbreviated as Steph.
She
was a member of the previous royal family ––– a girl whose disposition was
totally contrasting with what a
previous
king’s granddaughter should be. Even though she was extremely sleep-deprived
and severely fatigued, her
usually
beautiful face …… was now filled with a scowl and she was emitting a dangerous
aura.
The
reason was the [second problem].
And
that was……
“At
such an important time, when the heck do those two bastards intend to come back
～ ～!?”
–––
King City of Elchea, main conference room.
Her
rant resounded through the entire conference room and it shocked everyone present.
“……Dora-kou[2]
, I
understand how you feel… but it isn’t very good for a lady to say the word
‘bastard’, right?”
The
one who spoke to advise Steph was standing by her side. He was a mostly white
figure, who looked older than
any
normal elderly man.
His
face was mostly similar to Steph’s, as it was filled with a bitter expression.
His
dog ears and tail were slightly drooping. Although he was draped in a kimono,
his robust physique was still
unmistakable.
He was one of the Werebeasts, Hatsuse Ino.
He
was the grandfather of the former Eastern Union ambassador (Hatsuse Izuna). The
currently absent king and
queen
(Sora and Shiro) had forced him to handle the problems of the country…… another
victim following Steph.
“Dora-kou……?
Eh? Were you talking to me?”
Steph
lagged in responding. Ino nodded his head.
“Yes.
As this is a formal occasion, I should use my better judgment and use this
suffix. Is there a problem?”
“And
I was wondering who you were referring to…… please address me as [the errand
girl of the king and queen]
instead.”
Seeing
Steph’s smile of low self-esteem, Ino shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m
afraid that if I were to address you so impolitely, others would also address
me in a similar manner…… Back to
the
topic though, Dora-kou, shouldn’t you be putting your focus onto the things at
hand?”
Following
Ino’s line of sight, Steph began to remember the present situation…… she then
began to speak inwardly
to
herself.
“Sigh……
Well said……”
Just
tell yourself that you’re just going through an important game right now.No
Game No Life:Volume 4 14
The
game was not anything particularly special, as it was just normal poker.
Other
than the fact that Jokers were included in this game, it was just a regular
game of poker.
––
Elchea had established a federation with the Eastern Union, with the former as
the leader.
With
Elchea’s territory doubled, there was still the matter of who it should be
distributed to and what it should be
used
to do…
The
powerful feudal lords were the ones who were reaping tremendous benefits.
From
the current situation, the so-called [equal and multi-racial country] was just
an illusion.
No
matter how complex the system, the massive gap between the two nation’s
strength could not be offset.
The
day a free market economy is implemented, Elchea would probably be totally and
utterly trashed.
Thus,
they were trying to allocate the [continental resources] that the Eastern Union
had requested for.
Although
it is relevant to say that such is simply Elchea’s fate.
––––
It is inevitable that whoever has the power to do so will clump together to try
to maximize their benefits during
these
times.
For
these reasons, there was a constant stream of Elchea’s feudal lords challenging
Steph, who currently held
legislative
power, to a game with the intention of fulfilling their demands.
The
result was… Steph could not sleep properly for the past two weeks, and was
forced to continue playing games
against
them.
(Getting
challenged to a game is such a good thing… yeah.)
Steph
muttered in her heart, because… it was a trap.
Everything
is moving smoothly as planned…
That’s
right…… all is good except for the 『volume』 that I’m up against.
“『All
in』––– please hurry up and strip off your clothes?”
……
what happened to her lady manners?
Because
she was immensely fatigued, deep dark circles emerged under her eyes, and rage
had distorted her
expression–––
it was simply…
Her
face gave reminiscence to their fear of the 『king』. The feudal lords looked to
each other.
Then
they selected 『fold』 ––– which means that they were now forced to obey Steph’s
proposal.
However
––– Steph used her loud voice to render them speechless. She kicked aside her
chair and stood up.
“……
Since you were willing to accept my proposal from the beginning, why did you
make me waste all my time!?”
She
threw the cards on the table and spread them. Her hand was……
–––
Five of a kind.
[3]
Even
if they had not folded, it would have the same result. Everyone was eliminated
at one go. Looking at that hand
of
cards, the feudal lords turned pale.
But
Steph chose to ignore them, and turned to walk away. “If you don’t win
everything, you lose everything (all or
nothing)!
Please only return once all your hopes are shattered, okay!?”
Following
which, Hatsuse Ino took over from Steph, and smiled pleasantly at them.
“Then,
as ‘pledged to the Oaths’ earlier, I will now eliminate your memories. Sorry
about that.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 15
Part
2
––
To put it bluntly, it was a ‘conflict of interests’.
Managing
the recovered territories properly would profitably contribute to the countries
in the alliance.
Even
if we’re unwilling to hand them over, we still have to let our territories be
managed by somebody. Naturally,
benefits
would be reaped if there is a successful outcome.
––––
Or rather, we cannot do it any other way, so this is for the best after all.
The
problem lay within the fact that the nobles would move against the original
proposition of whose land is whose.
Thinking
further, those were the territories that the former king –– Steph’s deceased
grandfather –– had lost in his
gambles.
Since
he had bet with them on his own volition, there would certainly have been some
of the opposition that was left
dissatisfied.
But……
if that was the case, why hadn’t they used a game to stop the former king back
then?
“How
irresponsible of them! Whenever they lose out, they’ll cry that it’s the king’s
fault! But once Sora and Shiro
take
the territories back, they’d rush to seize a slice for themselves…… Do these
nobles not have an ounce of shame
in
them!?”
“Aristocracy
is such a system. Won't anyone turn out like that after being like that for so
long?”
Steph
unhappily walked through a corridor in Elchea City. Behind her was Ino, who was
smiling while he spoke.
The
problem isn’t that they are aristocrats.
No
matter how corrupt they are, they are still rulers with excellent knowledge on
how to operate and manage
territory.
As
long as they had the heart and capabilities to do so, entrusting the
territories to them to manage was unavoidable
–––
Steph thought.
The
problem was……
“Just
think of the nobles who were protesting earlier… each one of them practically
had the words 『I’m only here to
gain
profit. Don’t throw any trouble my way』. AHHHHH……!!”
––––
And those who deliberately act that way are all feudal lords who hold power
that is impossible to overlook.
If
it is not managed well, a power struggle may result…… And once a revolt has
been instigated, it would give them
an
excuse to interfere in national affairs.
At
that time…
“Wouldn’t
that be easy…… easy to deal with, that is.”
The
one who had come up with that plan was walking behind Steph with a sinister
smile on his face ––– Hatsuse
Ino.
When
Sora and Shiro were absent, the one left in charge of national affairs was the
former king’s granddaughter
(Steph)……
Such a rumor was spread on purpose.
Subsequently,
this situation brought about a great opportunity. The challengers earlier, who
were pursuing their own
interests,
had lost and were punished in accordance to the oaths. They had promised to
[lose all their memories
during
the game], and to put it flatly, it was a [clean sweep].
As
a result, the policies and beneficial punishment implemented by Steph were able
to proceed smoothly with no
resistance.
It
was very effective, and had Ino’s style embedded in the plan ––– which was
developed by the multi-tribal Eastern
Union
to make others fall into their trap.
However,
once they thought about the reason the plan was proceeding smoothly and how
frequently it worked……No Game No Life:Volume 4 16
“Just
how much do they look down on me!? They practically treat me like I am an
idiot!”
––––
It was easy to see that those people looked down on her and her grandfather.
“Alright,
alright now. Dora-kou…… thanks to this, everything could proceed smoothly. That
is the truth. We should
instead
be welcoming these ignorant peoples’ contempt ––– and smile while we make use
of them, no?”
“–––
Ino-san, can you please not address me like that… Just Steph is fine.”
–––
Steph was the head of the Dora family, which was the former royal family.
Naturally, that meant her title was
[Duchess].
Nevertheless,
Steph continued speaking with a weary face.
“I’m
just an errand girl. Call me that which doesn’t sound like the position of any
person with honor……”
“But,
when Sora-dono and Shiro-dono are absent, Stephanie-dono is essentially the
representative of the royal family
––––
so if we were to say you are the prime minister, then doesn’t that give you the
status of the noblest person in
Elchea?”
Ino
continued speaking with his actor-like tone.
“–––– Duchess Dora is the prime minister of Elchea,
Imanity’s last remaining country, and the former king’s
granddaughter.
She delivered such a large-scale and unprecedented plan to construct a
multi-racial country that
merged
with the Eastern Union under Elchea’s leadership. Truly a beautiful, young and
talented woman……! How
would
such a person be addressed?”
––––
Who would that be?
Steph
looked up blankly to the ceiling.
“The
female protagonist of this heroic story is actually just an errand girl. The
rich ironic twist to this story isn’t half
bad,
eh.”
Steph
followed up by saying, “Do you intend to write the story and publish it?” Upon
hearing this, Ino smiled wryly
and
proceeded to change the topic.
“But,
within these two weeks, Steph did not even lose a single time. That is truly a
great feat to accomplish.”
“That’s
only because the opponents were weaklings.”
While
Ino had given a sincere compliment, he was immediately shot down in a sentence.
Steph wrinkled her brow.
“Those
guys are just some foolish idiots with crude ways of cheating. If the opponent
was Sora or Shiro, I’ll
definitely
be ridiculed to their best abilities, and then taken advantage of…… Surely I
needn’t say more.”
“Well,
that is indeed true……”
Nonetheless,
Ino thought to himself.
Initially,
Steph relied on Ino’s assistance as a Werebeast to accelerate her five senses.
But
Steph continued her winning streak ––– and now, Ino was only escorting her
around.
Although
this girl greatly underestimated her own strength…… the fact is that she is indeed
–– very strong.
In
comparison with 『those two (Sora and Shiro)』, they are simply too strong to
speak of.
As
for normal Imanity, very few would be able to beat her skill.
Steph
had no idea what Ino was thinking about, and continued complaining.
“And
they totally didn’t realize I was cheating. Was it those feudal lords true
motive simply to make me suffer from
lack
of sleep and die of fatigue!?”
“……
Stephanie-dono, you’re starting to sound more and more like Sora and the like.”
–––
Wham!
Steph
stomped on the floor, and stopped walking.No Game No Life:Volume 4 17
“–––
What did you just say?”
Her
body was motionless while she turned her head, and emitted a sound like her
bones were vibrating.
“Did
you just say…… I’m similar to that loose king who’s playing around in the
Eastern Union!?”
“Pl-Please
calm down! I only meant that your style of gameplay is very similar!”
–––
The ways Steph had adopted to win…
They
were to calculate the opening attack, hide her cards, swap her cards, and
shuffling skills…
Then
to see through the opponent’s cheat and use it against him, and even to bluff
and mind-game
[4]
the
opponent.
Those
tactics were all learnt from ––– challenging Sora and Shiro, after having
failed time and time again.
The
fact was that Steph was initially so afraid that if she were to lose, she would
make the implementation of a
federation
even harder. Thus, she was so nervous that she was able to realize what Sora
and Shiro would do in such a
situation
while in her games.
However,
her lack of sleep coupled with the fact that those two had yet to come back had
ignited a flame within her,
thus
easing all her nerves. Eventually, Steph began to unconsciously play as if she
was playing against Sora and
Shiro
in her games.
However,
the opponent was too weak and practically just trash. Steph could not tolerate
herself thinking of those
people
as Sora and Shiro for even a second.
–––
She and her grandfather…
––––––
were being looked down upon by such trash.
–––––––––
That fact made it ––– even harder to tolerate –––––– “Ah.”
Suddenly,
Steph looked as if she had suddenly been enlightened. Her expression changed
completely.
“Aahh,
that’s right. The nobles are just trying to get in the way of the establishment
of a federation. That’s why it’s
been
so difficult.”
“St-Stephanie-dono?”
Seeing
her change into a different person, Ino uneasily called out to her.
But,
she did not seem to hear a thing…… rather, she seemed to be looking at
something that was not there.
Steph’s
eyes suddenly lit up with brilliance and excitement. She happily turned on the
spot.
“––– Ino-san, regardless of whether we’re
approached by nobles, merchants or guilds, let’s win away all their
possessions,
and force them to step down from their positions with nothing left on them.
Everything can just be
managed
by the government instead! If we’re short on manpower, we’ll just grab some of
the citizens and appoint
them
as officials. If anyone dares to do anything corrupt, we’ll just force them to
spit out their guts till they’re
nothing
but bones. If they continue to be rotten, we’ll just arrest them and get all of
them deported. This way, we can
make
the treasury rich, and negotiations for laws and policies can just be decided
by ourselves. All our problems
would
be solved, right? I’m such a genius! I, I’m not an idiot…… Not an idiot～ ～ ～ ～ ～
～!!”
–––
And then she collapsed.
“St-Stephanie-dono,
please get ahold of yourself! Such is an act of abolishment ––– an act of
terrorism!!”
Steph
was shouting while crying and smiling. She then hit a wall with her forehead.
All
of a sudden, she felt something move… as she looked to the moving sight…… in
front of her was –––
–––
Sora was there.
“Aaaaahhhh……!”
Where
had you run off to slack around at?
He
threw all the preparatory work to me, and went off to have fun by himself.No
Game No Life:Volume 4 18
Although
there were many feelings in her heart, what she was feeling most was so much
joy that she was blushing
because
of the fact that Sora was right there.
She
had no way of hiding the joy in her chest, and many complex feelings started
swelling up……
“So-Sora!
You’re back–––– HIGII––!?”
Steph
was rushing forward, but her face hit a pole and her nose started bleeding
while she made strange wailing
sounds.
Her
body laid on the floor like a stick figure
[5]
,
and she stared at the ceiling above her……
then, she suddenly
realized…
The
‘Sora’ that she saw was……
Was
a reflection of something in the shiny polished marble column ––––– [her own
face].
Upon
realizing this, Steph mustered a single sentence while in pain…
“………………………
I can’t go on any longer.”
“Stephanie-dono,
you should get some sleep. No, I should say, please, you must get some sleep. I
beg of you.”
Ino
propped up Steph who was lying paralyzed on the floor while he continued
speaking.
“……
Do not worry. Sora-dono and Shiro-dono are… indeed two people who are difficult
to understand.”
He
put in his best effort to think optimistically about the siblings who were
impossible for anyone to comprehend.
“But
since they are stranded in the Eastern Union, they are probably arbitrating
upon certain conditions with
Miko-sama……
probably?”
While
the federation was established with Elchea as its leader, it was still not
enough to rely only on Elchea’s efforts.
“I
also think that that’s where they are…… they definitely should be progressing
through a [summit].”
–––
Maybe it was like that.
The
actions of Sora and Shiro were always never on track.
However,
their actions –––– had always played a huge role in Elchea.
That
was the truth.
And
so they should put their faith in them –––– but ––––
“……
Who knows? Judging from the way that those two usually speak and act, they’re
sure to confuse public and
private
matters, ah……”
Indeed,
the fact was that their actions were always in line with their own desires.
Looking
in the direction of the Eastern Union, Steph complained angrily.
“…… In any case, they’re definitely fooling
around with the Kemonomimi girls right now, holing up in a room
engrossed
in their games, or doing something that any human being would deem incorrigible.”
……
Ino had no way of denying that statement.No Game No Life:Volume 4 19
Part
3
–––– Now changing location. The Eastern Union’s
capital, Kannagari. Similar to Elchea’s King City, the
representative
of the Werebeasts lives in Miko’s Shrine
[6]
. The
courtyard of the central edifice. It was filled with a
lavish
natural landscape, and where there were gaps, it was painted with either red or
black. One cannot help but
think
that it is a Japanese garden.
This
area was normally prohibited to unrelated people and the like. However, at that
moment, there was a mass of
people
gathered next to the sacred pond.
“……
Miko-sama, what is love?”
“……Tell
us, Miko-sama……” The one who was asking these questions seriously had a head of
black hair and black
eyes.
He was a teenager who wore a shirt with 『I ♥
Imanity』 on it. Sitting on his lap was a girl with white hair
and
red eyes.
They
were the king and queen of Elchea –––– the sole representatives of Imanity,
Sora and Shiro.
The
truth behind the crowd was that those two were petting several species of
Werebeasts ––– Kemonomimi girls
–––
while making delicate and charming sounds. In addition, there was a long queue
of Kemonomimi girls looking
on
with faces that were bursting with envy.
“……
What should I say? Even though there’s so much to say……”
Speaking
with a voice that sounded like wind chimes was a woman who was sitting on the
opposite side of the game
board.
No
one knew her real name, and she was a golden fox with two lush tails.
She
was the Werebeasts’ representative who had total authority over the race ––––
[Miko].
“……
I’ve been meaning to ask the two of you…… What on earth is in your heads?”
The
three people were in the middle of a game called [Corner Sparrow]. It was a
unique traditional game of the
Eastern
Union.
–––
Although it was some aspects in common with [Mahjong], it was essentially a
completely different game.
“What?
Ah, okay, I win again.”
“……
This game…… is pretty…… interesting……”
–––
They were petting the countless Werebeast girls while asking the flippant
question of ‘what love was’.
–––
Yet, they had easily mastered this game, which they had just seen for the first
time and heard the rules of only a
few
tens of minutes ago.
In
that very short period of time, they had formulated strategies that maximize in
efficiency and countless
arrangements
–––– and even worked out a few ways to cheat.
But
that was not the biggest problem…… Miko had mixed feelings, and smiled bitterly
while she sighed.
“How
the heck did your cheat escape my notice? Tell me?”
–––
Even though she was depending on her five senses, Miko could not perceive the
slightest of flaws in their
movements.
Sora
smiled like a hippie while replying her.
“Oh?
You’re going as far as to say that we cheated? How disgraceful. But, Shiro did memorize
all the cards that were
facing
down while tracing their positions, and I only pretended to shuffle so that I
could control the cards that Shiro
might
need –––– This isn’t to be called a cheat.”
Indeed,
one of the two reasons why what they did could not be deemed as a cheat–––
–––
was that those two had not seen their opponent’s cards at all, and were only
speculating what was in each other’s
hand.No
Game No Life:Volume 4 20
“Also,
Miko did the same. We’re both in the same boat, eh?”
The
second reason was that she still lost to them when under the same conditions…
They
had only chatted with her for a while, yet they had already beaten her in a
game that she was playing for over
fifty
years.
––––
Her opponents had faced her directly with the strength to win, and had exceeded
her in terms of points……
There
was nothing she could do about that.
She
had been so thoroughly defeated, yet she felt overjoyed.
Miko’s
cheeks perked up as she forced a smile, while Sora began to state his demands.
“Alright,
‘as pledged to the oaths’, I may request of three things from you –––– no
problems there, right?”
Facing
the helplessly smiling Miko, Sora continued his speech.
“Firstly,
I ask you to take into account the interests of both nations, and to
objectively create a tax table in accordance
with
the import and export of different goods.”
Compared
to Elchea, the Eastern Union knew their mainland resources like the back of
their hands. That should have
been
obvious enough.
Then,
the only person who could accurately evaluate the gap between the two
countries’ national strength, and also
to
strive to meet the interests of both sides, was [Miko], the sole representative
of the Eastern Union. There was not a
more
appropriate candidate around.
Since
it is to implicitly ‘take into account
the interests of both countries’, the benefits cannot go unilaterally to the
Eastern
Union.
Miko
admired in her heart the fact that there were never any holes in their plans,
but…
“……
In other words, you guys are throwing all the work onto me once again……”
In
the past half a month, Sora and Shiro were really hard at [work].
They
visited Miko’s residence every day, and bet for the interests of both countries
in games.
…… Indeed, they were remarkably efficient in
their work. They had been victorious over Miko in every single
game.
If you were to overlook how they threw all of their substantive workload onto
Miko, it was an impeccable
feat.
“Specialized
work should be assigned to those who specialize in it. Since Miko-sama only
spent half a century to
unite
this huge country, I believe in your abilities ♪ ”
Upon
hearing how easily Sora replied her, Miko laughed while scratching her hair.
The
federal system used by the two combined nations…
It
seemed to be a reference to their original world’s United States of America.
This move was unprecedented, and
thus
involved numerous obstacles which needed solutions and compromises to be made.
The friction between the
two
countries also needed to be reduced to a minimum. So, they decided to throw all
of these things to Miko to get
resolved.
In
truth, that was the most correct approach. Although Sora and Shiro were super
gamers, they were no politicians.
However,
Miko’s forced smile was for a different reason.
As
of that day, she had attempted to win against Sora and Shiro several times –––
and failed.
This
time, she thought she would be able to win with a game they had never seen
before, but she still suffered a
beautiful
defeat.
In
addition, she had used a lot of tricks, hoping to win some benefits for the
Eastern Union…… but the result was
that
she completely failed to trick or win against them.No Game No Life:Volume 4 21
However,
to formulate the policy in this way, as Sora and Shiro said, it would thoroughly
meet the ‘interests of both
countries’.
However, be it Elchea or the Eastern Union, there would be some short-term
losses, but long-term
benefits
will definitely be reaped on both sides ––––
looking at the records of these documented policies, Miko
could
not help but sigh.
She
had no complaints.
However,
since she was always trying to deceive those two with cheats, she began to feel
a little guilty.
The
problem lay with their second request which was incidentally…
“Okay,
the second request is as usual –––– let us stroke Miko-sama!”
“……
stroke……”
–––
Indeed, they would senselessly bet for the rights to stroke Miko every time
before starting the game.
“Well,
since you are seriously considering government policies, I’ll let you have a
touch……”
Miko
sighed while looking at the stack of documents that was constantly piling up.
Then,
she slowly swung her two golden tails over to them to let them touch.
“OKAY!
It’s here! Let’s go, Shiro!”
“……
Today we must definitely…… make Miko moan……”
With
shining eyes, Sora and Shiro pounced onto Miko. Miko laughed bitterly while she
thought –––
–––
the Werebeasts who are the Exceed’s fourteenth ranked race…
They
could exceed the limits of their body’s physical capabilities.
This
was naturally impossible for humans to achieve, and needless to say, it defied
the laws of physics.
The
way they used to make this possible ––– was to rely on the elementals within
their body.
……
All life in this world had some amount of ‘Elemental’ within their bodies.
There
were elemental corridors to retain strength or make connections that were like
nerves –– and the [external
elementals
(magic)] was what determined the ranks. As the fourteenth rank, the Werebeasts
had a meagre
connection,
and were thus incapable of using magic.
But
as for [the elementals within each body], the only race who would be
unconscious to their use was the Imanity.
The
Werebeasts utilized the strength of their bodies' elementals to achieve heights
that humans would be amazed at.
A
good example would be [Bad Blood] which was used by Izuna and Miko.
By
controlling the elementals within their body, they could enhance the
performance of their body and cast a field of
self-destruction.
That was the skill of the Werebeasts.
But
the price paid for circulating elementals through their bodies was a special
phenomenon that endlessly causes
disorder.
And
that specific phenomenon had a greater impact depending on how weak the body of
the Werebeast is.
The
result on the Werebeast race was a chronic disorder of the elementals within
one’s body, especially seen in
women
and children…… which was followed by discomfort.
It
was not easy to solve this problem alone.
…………
after saying so much, what was trying to be conveyed was……
“……
Fluffy fluffy …… pet pet…… hehe……”
“
––– !”
Under
Shiro’s touch, Miko almost let out an ecchi sound, but managed to keep it in by
dispersing her attention.
Sora
and Shiro…… those two’s technique of
leading around the elementals within her body was ––– abnormally
clever.No
Game No Life:Volume 4 22
Imanity
should not be able to see elementals though.
Even
if they were from another world, the technique to lead around Elementals
belonged to the field of high magic.
And
yet, those two were……
“–––
Hng, right here!”
“––––––––––––
! !”
……
The reaction was instantaneously captured with the touch that had substantially
leaded around the elementals.
The
result was inadvertently the elimination of the chronic disorder in the
Werebeasts due to the disorder in their
body’s
elementals.
This
is… how would you call it –––– probably an exceedingly charismatic masseur?
––––
It’s only natural that this would attract such a long queue, right?
“……
What else? You did say that you wanted ‘three’ requests today…… Ah.”
Because
of the accurate touch, she almost let out an ecchi sound. Miko forcibly
repressed it and bet on this
opportunity
to ask the two of them a question.
“……
It’s about time to state it, right? Of course, I think it has something to do
with this situation, right?”
She
looked to Sora and Shiro who were being hugged by Werebeast girls who were
strangers to them, while they
alternated
between petting the crowd.
To
this point, Miko had been pretty much dying to say that. But, first putting
that aside……
The
two of them had their mouth and nose covered, and each wrapped with a towel
that seemed to be borrowed from
Izuna.
Sora
was wearing what looked to be cat ears, and Shiro was wearing rabbit ears.
Jibril stood behind them, and for
some
reason or another, she had slightly drooping dog ears on her head. Izuna stood
by her side, with eyes eagerly
looking
onto Sora and Shiro who were petting Werebeast girls, as if waiting for her
turn.
Miko
then narrowed her eyes to look at the last person.
In
her line of vision was a Dhampir girl who crouched in the corner of
the
room whose body was constantly shivering.
“Last
night, after I rejected the request issued by Plum, –– the Dhampir
over
there –– she went all over Kannagari to advertise the petting skills
of
Shiro and me.”
The
result seemed to be the long queue of Werebeast girls waiting to
be
stroked.
They
had clearly covered their faces and used the space to divert
others’ attention while going to Miko’s shrine, but
the moment they
stepped
out and walked a little, the scenario completely changed……
Sora
shrugged his shoulders and laughed bitterly.
“She
threatened to keep up this troublesome behavior until I promised
to
rescue the Dhampir race.”
“…………
Is that so……”
“Master,
this should be enough. You should just use a game and bet for
her
head, win, then chop her head off ♥”
“I’m
s-s-sorry…… b-but this is an important matter which involves the survival of an
entire race!”
A
single glance by Jibril who was emitting a murderous aura caused Plum to huddle
in her corner and let out a cry of
misery.No
Game No Life:Volume 4 23
“––––
That is, regarding my third request……” “Un.”
“Please
use your status as the werebeasts’ sole representative to order them that,
whenever we take the initiative to go
out,
they are not to come looking for us. If not, they’d just line up outside the
main door of Izuna’s house, and we’d
be
too scared to enter their line of sight that we wouldn’t even touch the door,
and thus be unable to state the original
purpose
of our visit.”
…………
–––
Miko looked as if she had much to say.
But,
in order to hear what his original purpose was, she used a sharp tone and
spoke.
“–––
Step down.”
With
only that sentence, the Kemonomimi girls were immediately so scared that their
hair stood on edge.They then
repeatedly
bowed their heads while scrambling to escape from the shrine’s garden.
Moreover,
Shiro was waving goodbye in the direction of their backs.
“That
should be it. –––– So, what was it you wanted to talk seriously about?”
Miko
had an intolerant expression when she asked. Sora nodded solemnly in response.
“Yup,
–––– it’s a major issue that puts both Elchea and the Eastern Union at stake.”
Sora
started the topic, and no longer had his usual slovenly appearance. He wore a
very serious look on his face, like
he
had encountered a problem which was extremely difficult to solve.
Accordingly,
Miko proceeded to sit opposite Sora.
Sora
said, “You know the capital in the sea that’s south of the Eastern Union; the
country called Oceando?"
“That’s
our neighbouring country. Of course I know of it. It’s the nation of the
Seirens.”
–––
Seirens.
The
Exceed’s fifteenth ranked, which was above Imanity by a single rank, and below
the Werebeasts by a single
rank.
Their
capital was located beneath the deep sea, and because they could only live
underwater, they were not interested
in
acquiring territories.
They
were also a race with a special ecology, and thus they have minimal
transactions with other nations and were
closed
off to the rest of the world.
What
on earth is the purpose of bringing up the country composed of those people……?
Miko
stared with that question in her eyes. Sora responded with a vigorous nod. “Indeed. This is something that
involves
them, Miko-sama…”
Sora
inhaled deeply.
“…
Like I was saying, Miko-sama, what is love?”
“I’ll
say this one more time. If you’re asking for a fight, I can take you on. ♥”
Miko’s
smile stretched through her face ––– but she exuded an aura which looked as if
she was preparing to activate
[Bad
Blood].
Her
fur turned slightly reddish, and she let out a low growl.No Game No Life:Volume
4 24
Part
4
–––
Returning to a time some time back: last night.
The
H-game was set at a different location, so as Sora had declared, he coldly
rejected all demands.
Plum
clung onto Sora’s feet, begging wildly while on the verge of bursting into
tears.
“P-Please
wait! I can only ask this of you, Your Majesty!”
“You’re
irritating! I do not intend to get involved with something that clearly rated
M-18! Please get yourselves
acquainted
with these limits!”
The
race known as the [Dhampirs] used a white turbid liquid to substitute for blood
as food.
–––
Regardless of whatever manner it was to be implemented, it would be sent to the
restricted area of the room
with
no excuses.
“No,
it’s ––––– Ahh, no, some people also became like that……”
“This
has indeed turned into an H-game story!”
“P-Please
listen to my explanation! If we go on like this, our race will perish!”
“…Uhh?”
“……Un?”
Sora
and Shiro suddenly stopped what they were doing. Hearing those words made it
impossible for them to ignore
the
situation.
The
line of vision of those two intersected to confirm something.
–––
A race perishing is a worrisome issue.
“…… I’ll listen to what you have to say. But hear
this. If I judge the topic to touch on hentai, we’re ending this
conversation
immediately.”
Sora
reluctantly sat on the floor cross-legged, and sighed when he finished his
sentence.
Shiro
sat on Sora’s lap, and Jibril followed to sit beside them.
As
for Izuna ––– perhaps due to fatigue, she huddled next to Sora’s body, and
nodded off into sleep.
“Th---Thank
you very much!”
Plum
wore a teary eyed expression, and repeatedly bowed at Sora.
“Ugh……
Please hold on a moment……”
Some
irregular patterns emerged out of her purple pupils……
All
of a sudden…
…
–––
What on earth were they doing?
In
that short time, Jibril appeared before Plum’s face, and Izuna jumped in a
spiral to go behind Plum.
The
actions of those two resulted in a surplus of air, which was still blowing
through the room.
“……Eh?”
Plum
screamed while staring blankly at Jibril’s sharp eyes who were staring back at
hers.
“Don’t
think you’re something great just because you managed to get close to Master.
But if you really think I will be
silly
and let you succeed a second time, let me tell you this ––– know your place,
you little worm.”
“Grandpa
said that once I sense the scent of the magic of Dhapmirs, I must immediately
avoid the other party’s eyes,
des.”
Izuna
growled. Her voice was cold and filled with wariness.No Game No Life:Volume 4
25
At
this point, Sora trembled in fear and trepidation. To the two people who had their
guards up, he said, “I-I
think……
because of the [Ten Oaths], she should not be able to cause any harm, right?”
“Even
if it does not result in harm, it is possible to disguise another’s cognition.
That is to say…”
Her
hostile gaze shifted to Plum’s [side].
“Concealing
over there, a gigantic luggage ––– or such.”
Jibril
stared to an empty space as if there was something there. Plum waved
frantically while she tearfully explained
the
situation.
“Th-This
is a misunderstanding! I had only applied the disguising of cognition to
myself!”
–––
With a thunderous sound, numerous suitcases appeared from nowhere.
“…………Un.”
Izuna
sniffed with her nose, and then let her down her guard and returned to Sora and
Shiro’s side.
“As
I had too much luggage, because of that… I just disguised the existence of the
bags so that it would be easier to
carry……”
It
was at this time that Sora and Shiro grasped the situation and widened their
eyes in surprise.
“In
other words… you hid the [existence] of your luggage, thus eliminating their
weight?”
“No,
it only removes the feeling of the volume and weight. It does not imply the
luggage disappeared.”
“So,
when you first appeared, you were so fatigued because of…”
“……
This reason……?”
“S-Sorry……
‘cuz it’s too heavy……”
Plum
constantly bowed to apologize, but Jibril on the other hand…
“The
Dhampirs’ [disguises and illusions]
––– they are at times superior to the
Elves in regards to affecting one’s
cognition
through magic. Those trunks of luggage had always been here…… we were just not
aware of them.”
“Uwa,
but Jibril was aware of them?”
“It
makes me sad to admit this but if I was not paying attention, I would have
overlooked it. There will never be a
second
time.”
Jibril
spoke with clenched fists and a lowered head. Nonetheless, Sora’s gaze moved to
her side.
“……
Izuna, why did you drop your guard?”
“……?
Because I did not smell the scent of lies, des?”
Perhaps
she had become fatigued from moving so suddenly. Izuna had curled up into a
ball, and yawned when she
replied.
“Un.”
––– Sora and Shiro narrowed their gaze.
In
front of their eyes was Plum. She had flipped over her luggage and looked as if
she was searching for something.
Then,
she said, “I-I found it!” She unfolded a document…
“Umm,
ugh…… rumor has it that Sora-sama intends to unite all the races.”
“……Yeah.”
That
was the external reason.
They
had merged with the Eastern Union and were preparing to create a federation –––
such a large matter should
have
already been exposed to the public. But as for who was controlling the race
pieces, it should be a secret kept
between
Sora, Shiro and Miko.
As
he did not feel any special need to mention this, Sora simply expressed his
affirmation.
“Let
me get right to the point…”No Game No Life:Volume 4 26
Feeling
satisfied at Sora’s reply, Plum continued her speech.
“Currently,
we, the Dhampirs and Seirens, are on the verge of extinction. Although we’ve
tried every possible
way……
we are still powerless. So we hope to rely on the assistance of Sora-sama and
his companions.”
……–––––
Umm.
“Jibril,
can you explain to me how the Dhampirs are related to the Seirens?”
Upon
hearing Sora’s inquiry, Jibril quietly accepted his order and lowered her head.
She began her explanation to
Sora.
“After
the implementation of the [Ten Oaths], the Dhampirs could not absorb the blood
of others without permission.
Thus,
they have to live relying on others ––– the Seirens are also in a similar
situation.”
“……
Heh?”
“……
the [Seirens]…… the fifteenth ranked…… are a race that can only…… live in the
ocean.”
Shiro
began to proceed with her explanation.
The
Exceed’s fifteenth ranked Seirens ––– to simply put it, they were a race of
[mermaids].
They
lived in the shallow portion of the ocean, and had the upper body of a human
and had a fish tail instead of legs.
Their
ecology had certain particularities. The first of which was… that they could not leave the ocean for a
long
time.
Because
of this, they built an undersea city named [Oceando] which was a vast maritime
territory.
The
second particularity was that they were a race with only females.
In
other words, their way of reproducing…
“……
requires…… [a male of a different race]……”
After
hearing Shiro’s explanation, Sora looked to Jibril with half-open eyes.
“I
say, be it the [Dhampirs] or the [Seirens], aren’t the biological defects of this
world too serious?”
“There
were no issues in the beginning… only after the implementation of the [Ten
Oaths].”
Jibril
continued her speech.
“As
the Seirens only needed to catch another race’s male and eat him, and the
Dhampirs can just suck blood without
saying
anything, there were no problems. But, they cannot do harm to others because of
the [Ten Oaths] ––– perhaps
other
races had been hurt ––– but they should be the ones who were most deeply hurt.”
Jibril
had a smile on her face, and emitted a murderous aura while talking about the
past. Sora directed a question to
her.
“……Sigh, what do you mean by…… catching to eat? Exactly as it implies?”
At
that moment, a grim image of girls, whose lower half was that of fishes, taking
big bites and chewing up other
races
flashed through his mind… This may have fallen under the M-18 ban for a
different reason. Sora shuddered at
the
thought.
However,
Jibril shook her head.
“No,
because Master said to be healthy, so I put it subtly. It has a sexual
meaning.”
“How
can there be such a heaven in existence?! I want to go! Jibril, let’s set off
immediately!”
Sora
joyfully stood up, but Jibril replied in surprise.
“You’d
be extracted until exhaustion or even death. Is that really okay?”
“How
can there be such a hell in existence… I don’t want to go…… I’d never go there
in my life!”
……
The mermaids could not reproduce unless they drained the life of someone of
another race.
How
much does this world want to betray my hopes and common sense until it is
satisfied……
Sora’s
mood instantly hit bottom. He sighed and sat back down.No Game No Life:Volume 4
27
Not
understanding why Sora was dejected, Jibril continued her explanation.
“Anyway,
the Dhampirs and Seirens are races that cannot live without causing harm onto
others. With the [Ten
Oaths]
hurting their survival, at such a time, the Dhampirs must have set their target
on the Seirens.”
Sora
nodded.
“Yeah,
ranking them as fifteenth between Imanity and the Werebeasts was a fitting
choice. That means they cannot
use
magic either, right? No wonder the Dhampirs, who are experts at illusions and
disguise magic, unilaterally intend
to
bait them out for food.”
Both
races which were on the verge of extinction would not be worried about bets, I
suppose.
The
atmosphere was still full of murderous intent, but as it pertained to a matter
of survival…
Jibril
was smiling happily instead.
“Unfortunately,
this matter seems to have turned a right angle and dramatically changed…… it
has become an issue
well
known all over the world.”
–––
Rather than going up a ramp, they were growing in the direction of a right
angle. Jibril continued her speech
happily.
“Getting
bitten by a Dhampir will result in a [disease]…… I believe I’ve said this
before.”
“Yeah……”
“To
simply put it, the disease is that [you will die if you get exposed to
sunlight]. Since they are already unable to go
ashore
and have always lived under the sea, the disease does not constitute a problem
to the Seirens.” “––– Un? Eh,
that
is to say?”
At
that point, Plum smiled weakly and replied, “……Yes, we Dhampirs ––– made this
[symbiotic] proposal……”
Jibril
continued speaking. “They adopted a
strategy for the Seirens to provide blood, and the Dhampirs to provide
magic
to bait out other races for food. The Dhampirs intended to put up a [united front]
with the Seirens.”
“That
is really…”
“……
Amazing……”
Sora
and Shiro praised them together in their hearts.
Even
though they were facing the crisis of extinction, and it was impossible for
them to pull any tricks –––
To
think they managed to come up with the perfect escape route that takes each
other’s interests into account, and it
was
a correct and problematic proposal –––
“Yeah,
they really are a race that greatly stupefies others ––– I’m referring to the
Seirens.”
–––
What?
Jibril
then smiled towards the pitiful Plum while she continued speaking.
“Because,
to the Dhampirs who they are coexisting with ––– the Seirens have actually
[taken a bite] ~♪”
…………Eh?
“The
result is that the Dhampirs lost tragically to the Seirens. The Dhampirs are
now forced to find males to help the
Seirens
reproduce, and the males of the Dhampirs are forbidden from sucking the blood
of any race other than the
Seirens.
What a baffling contract.”
…………––––––
Huh?
Perhaps
even with Shiro’s intelligence, she had not foreseen such a situation. She
looked towards Jibril and could not
help
but suspect that she misheard those words. “…… Haha…… this is really so
hilarious.”
Opposite
them, Plum had somewhat of an expression of despair.
“My
ancestors probably did not expect that ––– the Seirens did not understand the
consequences of the [Ten Oaths],
and
unconsciously contributed to their own extinction, I think…… haha.”No Game No
Life:Volume 4 28
–––
With her face full of misfortune, a gloomy smile emerged on her considerably
fatigued face. “…… Ugh……?
……
Nii…… What’s…… going on?”
Shiro
tilted her head in confusion, as if she had just been handed someone else’s big
mess.
Sora
responded to her and said, “––– Ahh~ In other words, I hope it isn’t……”
Although
it was an incredulous thought… Sora still proceeded to say it.
“The
Dhampirs did not use their magic and made a fake game, and proposed that if
there was a tie, they would have a
symbiotic
relationship with each other… But, the Seirens did not understand the
intentions of the Dhampirs and won
the
game unilaterally, and were so happy with the outcome ––– am I right?”
From
Jibril’s pitying smile and Plum’s exhausted smile, one could tell it was
[totally correct].
“……Sigh,
the Seirens are idiots after all…”
“Their
reputation reverberates to the heavens. The super idiots of three thousand
worlds ♥ ”
“They
really are a race that’s stupid to the extreme……haha.”
“Grandpa
said that they were more stupid than hairless apes, des.”
Jibril
who looked full of contempt, Plum, and even Izuna who should have been asleep,
answered Sora’s question
without
hesitation.
“……
This is too much. To think there was a race that could be looked down on more
than the Imanity…… I am a
little
touched.”
However,
Jibril continued her speech with a smile on her face.
“Well,
that way, things get very interesting too ♪”
First,
she put up a finger.
“To
begin with, the Dhampirs can [survive] by consuming body fluids other than
blood.”
Then,
she put up two fingers.
“But
[growth] requires blood ––– if they do not mix their souls, they will always
maintain a child-like appearance.”
Then,
three fingers were put up.
“Because
the Seirens need to suck the blood of only the males of other races, but are
barred from doing so because of
the
Oaths. However, because they will maintain the appearance of a child, the
Dhampirs will be unable to reproduce
amongst
themselves. Thus, in order to obtain blood, the males have to obey the Seirens,
and in order to give birth,
the
females also have to obey the Seirens.”
Following
which, she put up four fingers.
“Even
if a Seiren were to disobediently flee from the city, they would still carry a
[disease] ––– that should be
enough
to understand, right?”
Finally,
with a smile, Jibril put up five fingers.
“Because
the Dhampirs have such idiotic opponents, they have been accidentally been
driven to a corner. ♪”
…………
Shiro
had already lost interest in this foolish story and was playing with her nails.
Sora
was also looking confused at the ceiling. Suddenly…
What
Plum said flashed through Sora’s mind.
–––
“Ahh, no, some people also became like that.”…
……
Let’s try to sort out this information and think through before judging them.
First
of all, the Dhampir females have no obligation to obey the Seirens, so they can
leave.
It’s
just that they would continue to have a child’s appearance.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 29
But
as long as they have the body fluids of other races, they can survive.
Under
such conditions, the appropriate body fluid ranked behind blood is [that]?
And
she said that ––– some people also became like that……?
–––
Wait, just wait a moment.
––––––…………
then that’s a –––––– legitimate loli
[7]
––––––
“B-But,
we have solved this issue once in the past……”
“Eh,
aha, ihh? What did you say?”
Sora
had just become completely biased.
Everything
Plum said seemed to somewhat confusing so she pulled back.
“What
we said after speaking about the [Ten Oaths]…
The Dhampirs have been successful in establishing a
symbiotic
relationship.”
Jibril
nodded, and continued speaking.
“The
essence that the Seirens require from males
––– the [soul essence] must be
won and depleted before
reproduction
––– however, when [a single generation comes from a single person], and the
rest are still living, the
amount
of soul essence required for breeding that is to be extracted will not cause
the death of the ingested
individual,
so…”
“The
Dhampirs are only with absolute compliance to [her] for [assistance with
reproduction]. ––– With her identity
as
the [queen], every generation of Seirens come from the sole representative.
They take the approach to [only have
the
Queen reproduce].”
“–––
Ohh!”
“……
a clever trick……”
Sora
clapped his hands to express his admiration, and Shiro clapped similarly as if
she was presenting an offering to
the
Gods.
“The
Dhampirs are pretty much just [assisting the Seirens with reproduction], and it
isn’t in violation of the Oaths.
On
the other hand, they can also deny the Seirens if they mean to extract energy
from them until they die. The
Dhampirs
also have blood they can suck… Wow, is this not a perfect situation to be in?”
So
it was like this… although major mistakes were made, this gorgeous drama had a
nice plot twist.
They
managed to make it such that neither will perish while establishing a system
that ensures the continuity of both
races.
In
other words, they had successfully achieved the [interracial coexistence] that
Sora and his companions were trying
to
achieve, and did so earlier than them.
“…
This is sure enough of a great feat. The Dhampirs aren’t ranked twelfth for
nothing.”
“Unfortunately,
Master, that system had collapsed because of the queen of that generation.”
–––
Just how many plot twists are there in this story?
“……
Then what good did the queen of that generation do?”
Sora
asked with cold eyes, but Jibril remained smiling, though this time she had her
fingers on both hands stretched
open.
‘–––
Nothing-at-all~ ♥’
was Jibril’s reply.
Plum,
who originally wore an expression of misfortune, now looked as if her soul was
about to come out of her, and
she
laughed bitterly for a while.
“She
left me with the message, ‘Let me sleep until my prince comes. I will not wake
up till then.’ …… And then she
was
out cold.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 30
–––––––––
Ah?
Jibril
was grinning madly. What made her smile that much?
“In
other words, the Dhampirs can undergo reproduction with the Seiren’s [current
queen] as long as they do not
die…
But when her mother was still the queen, she was affected by some fairytale and
pledged to the Ten Oaths then
left
that sentence and entered an eternal sleep.”
……
Hey, hey, are you kidding me?
“Until
the prince that makes her fall in love appears –– in other words, only if someone [pledges by
the Oaths]
through
the [game] that she had set would she ever wake up. Also, this [Cold Sleep]
that she is in is similar to the
[Bad
Blood] ability of the Werebeasts. It is an ability of the Seirens to continue
sleeping for a thousand years or
more.
But!”
Jibril
said this while sitting with good posture, then started fanning herself.
“Okay,
my audience. The world’s stupidest [truth] is finally coming to an end. ♪”
……
Did she take herself for a storyteller?
Jibril
happily continued on with her unique manner of speech.
“Ah,
well then!! The queen did set a certain [game] –– But!”
“In
the end, how would one make her fall in love with him while she was sleeping!!”
–––……
Everyone had nothing to say.
Plum
just watched from afar with a weak smile.
Sora
looked like he was enduring a headache, and Shiro was already yawning, while
Izuna was sleeping soundly.
Jibril,
who was the only one in high spirits, continued her speech.
“The
original excuse that the Dhampir males used to reject reproduction was that
they would only help by
undergoing
reproduction when the other party, [the queen], was on the verge of death ––– But, here comes the
question!
What would happen if the queen sleeps and never wakes up?”
She
then opened the fan…… and acted as if she had become limp.
“The
current queen has entered [cold sleep] for eight hundred years now, and the
former queen has already passed
on.
They waited for the current queen to see if she could wake up naturally after a
few hundred years…… the result
was
––– the Dhampir males gradually got eaten –––”
Following
which, Jibril bowed deeply.
“This
infamous situation reverberated throughout the seven continents as the
stupidest history to have ever existed in
the
world. What do you think about this, my audience? ––– the next performer seems
to be ready to perform now.
Let
me take a bow, and adieu.”
“……
I’m not particularly ready, but whatever…… I get where this is going.”
It
was no wonder why everyone thought those races had perished long ago.
–––
However, there was still a single doubt.
“After
the last Dhampir male had been eaten, wouldn’t that result in the Seirens’
extinction?”
“…… If the Seirens even had a brain to understand
this situation…… I wouldn’t have to go
through all this
trouble……”
“……Eh?
Don’t tell me ––– they didn’t do this intentionally……?”
Seeing
Plum’s voided eyes stare blankly at him, Sora could not help but feel a little
scared.
So
that’s how it turned out like this?
“–––
Truth be told, there is only one male remaining…… and he is still too
young……”No Game No Life:Volume 4 31
……
Which means there’s only five seconds to their extinction. Sora understood
that, but……
“How
are we supposed to help in such a situation? From what I just heard, all the
cards are already down on the
table.”
“Ah,
the story told by the Flugels actually has a follow-up!”
Since
they were finally getting to the topic, Plum’s expression suddenly brightened
up.
“Although
the queen is currently in the state of [cold sleep], she still retains her
consciousness! So if we were to
gather
all the fragments of her conscience ––– and intervene with a spell in her
[dreams] so that she can meet her
love
within her dreams ––– such a [Dating Sim] would thus be possible!”
……
Oh ––– so now it’s a [dating sim], eh…… Sora could not help but laugh.
“Jibril,
does interfering with dreams violate the [Ten Oaths]?”
“Yes,
if no harm is intended and no danger will be caused directly ––– and more so in
this case, the queen is waiting
for
her beloved prince. The fact is that this counts as her consent to the
situation?”
Plum
nodded and proceeded to renew her request.
“–––
Please let the [queen] fall in love with you! In order to do this, I’ve
prepared a countermeasure!”
Sora
and Shiro looked to each other’s’ faces ––– they already had their answer.
Sora
and Shiro had the goal of [conquering the sixteen races] ––– so
helping out was the only option from the
beginning.
But
Sora expressed that even so, there were still things that must be confirmed.
“When
we win that game, what will be our reward?”
Plum
removed her cheat sheet once again.
“Uh……
[Providing 3% of the underwater resources of Oceando, and establishing
permanent friendly relations].”
Plum
was sighing while reciting that sentence.
“……
it took me a week to make the Seirens understand the reality of the situation,
make them accept and obtain this
condition……
sigh……”
As
it turned out, this condition was not too bad.
But
Sora’s stern expression showed he was very concerned about one thing.
“……
And, and also…… that……”
Plum
coyly played with her fingers ––– and then aimed with her eyes.
Looking
towards her great volume of luggage, she bowed her head while her face was
fully flushed red.
“I,
I can be at your disposition…… so, so I brought all my household items
(luggage) along with me. –––”
“Quit
stuttering. Everyone! We’re gonna step in earlier and save the people on the
brink of extinction!!”
––
Sora completed his preparations and looked like he was ready to run out the
door.
With
loving eyes, he spoke to Plum.
“Please
rest your worries, Miss. There is no [Dating Sim] game I have not mastered.”
So
hurry and tell me the details.
Then
we’ll leave as soon as possible for me to obtain my legitimate lolis ––– !
Looking
at how intense Sora’s gaze was, Plum exposed an expression of joy.
“Y-Yes!
Uh, because of the [dream interference], you can freely set the location, and
basically… the aim of the game
is
to make the queen fall for you and confess to you!”
What
flashed through Sora’s mind was ––– [Tokimeki Memorial].
[8]
For
a G-rated dating sim, Sora confirmed… that there would be no problems.No Game
No Life:Volume 4 32
‘There
are no characters that I cannot conquer’ was what Sora affirmed in his heart,
but–––
“That’s
for a dating sim where there are conditions set to fulfil and all dialogues and
actions are immediate!”
…………
Sora
and Shiro exchanged glances, and smiled while nodding at each other ––– then,
they decided that their original
verdict
should be……
……
Overthrown.
“No
need to discuss any further, I refuse. Please return.”
“……
byebye…… gambatte…… don’t go extinct.”
The
two of them laughed while saying those words.
Part
5
“…
But why? The conditions aren’t bad, are they?”
Miko,
who had been quietly listening to the situation, briefly expressed her
feelings.
“Well,
I had long wanted the undersea resources of the Sirens, so what’s the problem?
You should go save them and
establish
friendly relations ––– wouldn’t that be a pretty good condition for the Elchea
Federation (of yours)?”
Indeed,
she was Miko ––– a faint smile surfaced on her face, and she understood
everything clearly.
What
Plum had said about [only being able to beg Sora and his companions] had come
to be spread around.
The
Dhampirs and Sirens ––– were left with nothing to gamble.
In
general, the friendly relations alone or that degree of resources did not
constitute enough of a reason to help them.
If
one wanted their territories or resources, they’d get it as long as they
ignored them and let them perish.
As
being subdued did not add any harm on their side or affect the race’s survival,
there was nothing to be earned to
begin
with.
But
–––
With
the goal of uniting the [exceed] ––– Sora and Shiro were the exceptions.
It
would be bothersome even if a single race were to perish.
The
Eastern Union wants their resources, and it can also be used to lessen the gap
between the national strength of
the
two nations.
Also…
if they were successful, the Elchea Federation will have two races added in.
Impeccably,
it was indeed good terms.
–––
Sora shook his head in anguish and stared at Plum.
“……
But this is impossible, Miko-sama…… didn’t you hear earlier? The [game] that
Plum was speaking about.”
“Mhmm,
[a romance game], right? What’s the issue?”
The
perplexed look on Miko’s face remained, and she sounded surprised when she
asked that question. But Sora
clutched
his head in irritation, and revised what he had said.
“–––
No, it is a [romance game where the likability factors are uncertain with
real-time dialogue and actions].”
“……What’s
the difference?”
“Very
much of it! That’s not a dating sim! That’s an [actual romance game]!”
Sora
exaggeratedly waved his hand and shouted.
“No,
a real romance game…… Is that even a game!? And then again… what is love!?”
It
was a really philosophical question.
…However,
since it was proposed as a game, Sora naturally did some incomparably serious
investigation on it.No Game No Life:Volume 4 33
He
said, “If it was like usual romance games, things would be easier. To put it
simply, all you need to do is reach the
conditions
and increase your [likeability]. But what about this situation? This guy
actually just casually said that this
is
where the likeability factors are not certain, and the dialogue and actions are
unrestricted, and it’s even going to
happen
in real time! I’ll ask again. Is that even a [game]!?”
……Ancient
Greece.
The
philosophers and debaters of that time would probably have asked themselves
questions similar to this.
Sora
gave off an aura similar to them. With fist still dramatically raised, he began
an unceasing torrent of loud
declarations.
“What
is the reality of [love]!? Can games with such an ambiguous concept be called a
game? With no meaningfully
stipulated
cards, combos, or playing style, can a poker like this even be called a game!?”
…
To add on, what is love (恋 爱)?
Love
– is longing (恋) and affection (爱).
……
it’s two words.
First,
the forms of these words are different.
Since
they’re of different forms, the pronunciations are also different.
With
different pronunciations, the meaning is definitely dissimilar.
Longing
and affection… At the end of the day, what exactly are they?
The
sages of the past had said before to love thy neighbor. But he does not tell
you to go sleep with your neighbor’s
wife.
……Sora
spoke with sincere eyes.
In
contrast, Miko’s eyes were icy cold when she replied.
“…Isn’t
that just nice for you? You can use your silver tongue to deceive her into
falling in love with you, yeah? Isn’t
constructing
frauds something you’re a master at?”
However,
when Sora and Shiro heard what she said, they looked in pain as they shook
their heads in reply.
“……Can’t
do it……”
“Yeah,
seems like there’s still something I must state, Miko-sama.”
The
sharpness of their gaze increased intensely.
“…
No matter what the game, Kuuhaku is undefeatable. There are only [two] games……
we have never broken
through,
no, we have never understood the rules of, and thus never played it well.”
And
those are…
“–––[reality
life simulation games] and [reality love simulation games]…!”
In
the world of the past, what was at the peak of over two hundred and eighty
games was a blank. This made the
siblings
become an urban legend only passed on by word of mouth. They were the flawless
two-man team –––
Imanity’s
strongest games 『 』.
–––
But please do not forget that……
In
reality, they are just two virgin otakus without friends and with communication
disorders…!!
Upon
saying this, Sora and Shiro had an immaculate gaze… and their upright figures
exuded an immense amount of
pride.
Turning
their beliefs into a reality, they changed to grandeur existences.
Also,
the aura they were emitting…… made the particles in the air tremble.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 34
“Y-You
certainly are my masters ––– so shocking and grandeur!”
“I
don’t really get it, but, you two are really cool, des.”
Jibril
and Izuna swallowed a gulp of saliva in surprise.
“Being
proud of being amateurs at something made you guys into this
state,
eh…… It feels rather awe-inspiring.”
“……
For me, having such a state of mind is greatly perplexing……”
Miko
and Plum gave their calm opinions.
“Thusly,
we wish to discuss the conditions with Miko-sama, and keep
our
stance of giving no reply to the request for now.”
“……
Oh, is that so……”
“So
Miko-sama, please tell us what love is?”
“……
tell us…… Miko-sama……”
They
asked with serious faces, but Miko only sighed.
She
returned to her seat and played with her tails as if she was
grooming
herself.
“…Well,
what is love?” Miko replied coldly.
“From
when I could first think sensibly, I had only ever considered the Werebeasts
––– that is to say, the Eastern
Union’s
matters. I’ve been struggling with that till now…… So to say what love is? Once
upon a time, I had even
forgotten
to think about such a thing……”
With
withdrawn eyes, Miko murmured as if she was recalling her distant past.
…
And why is that?
Sora
and Shiro were tremendously familiar with what she was going through.
“Is
that so……”
“……then
we’re left with no options……”
After
saying that, the two sighed simultaneously and then turned to face Plum.
“Sorry,
Plum. All we can do now is ask you to give up. Hope you don’t go extinct!”
“……
persevere and survive!”
Being
so easily discarded for the third time, she began crying with distressed
shouts.
“Please
just listen to what I have to say? I had said I had prepared a
[countermeasure]!”
Plum
shouted with tears in her eyes while pointing to her cheat sheet.
“T-The
Dhampirs didn’t just get eaten away without doing anything…… We have been
analyzing the queen for
many
years… and at last we came up with an absolute strategy for this game!”
However,
Sora and Shiro looked to have no interest in it.
They
were following Miko while trying to find the bifurcation of their own hair. It
looked like they had no intention
of
replying.
“……
there’s a method to win on your own…… so gambatte……”
Plum
groaned and went ‘Waaaa～ ～’, then shouted at the top of her lungs.
“～ ～
～ ～ rather than just speaking about it, why don’t you look at my evidence!
Sora-sama!”
Then,
she extended her hand and pointed at Sora while shouting.
“Please
name anyone who can never fall in love with you!”No Game No Life:Volume 4 35
“Anyone.”
“……Eh?”
Sora
played with his nails. His reply was calm and immediate. When Plum heard it,
she froze in that moment.
In
contrast, Sora was gazing in the distance ––– like a monk giving a sermon, he
looked calm and at peace.
“If
not for the use of the [pledges], no one would fall in love with me even if the
world were to end.”
As
if he had just set forth the truth of impermanence… he continued preaching his situation like he
was an
enlightened
one.
“…Th-That’s…
I really sympathize with you.”
The
grandeur-turned-Buddha-like Sora had indirectly forced Plum into saying that.
Then,
she tried to put forward alternative solutions…
“Th-Then,
can we use that on Sora-sama……?”
“Hngh?”
“Use
a magic to make the queen –– [forcibly fall in love]!”
–––
Sora unconsciously let out an ‘Oh.’
Of
course. Since the condition for her to awaken was for her to fall in love, if
there was that kind of magic, it does
count
as a victory.
If
that’s the case, the situation is different…
On
the other hand, Jibril began to harbor doubts and suspicions in her eyes after
hearing that statement.
“…What
does it mean to forcibly fall in love? Because of the [Ten Oaths], that should
not be possible…”
But
Plum looked like she had long waited for that question to be asked.
“Yup,
it should not be possible under normal circumstances! However, the queen
intentionally fell asleep hoping for
someone
[who can make her fall in love]… in other words, it is her [consent]. Thus, we
can use this to interfere with
her
feelings!”
Her
reasoning followed the same reasoning with interfering in the dream… Plum had
both hands on her hips when
she
spoke.
Seeing
Plum stand tall, it added a sense of confidence to her face that was usually
oozing with misfortune. Sora
judged
that… she actually looked confident.
Thus,
he winked at Jibril and nodded his head.
“Well,
if even I, who does not understand the feelings of love, can be effective in
this, I guess there is indeed a way
to
emerge victorious.”
Sora
spoke while he walked forward.
“Then
why don’t you try it out on me, and let Shiro be the judge of its
effectiveness…”
But…
“……
can’t……”
Seeing
Sora walk forward, Shiro pulled his shirt to stop him.
“Eh?
What is it? Shiro.”
“……
can’t.”
“…………”
Shiro’s
gaze wavered for a split second… and really only a very short split second.
And
Sora could not detect the reason why.
Thus…
Shiro’s mind was currently running at full speed to think of a reason…… to
think of an [excuse].No Game No Life:Volume 4 36
And
then, when Shiro finally found an excuse, she spoke it choppily.
“……
Nii…… if I fall in love…… I don’t know…… what I’d do……”
“Sh-Shiro…
Are you doubting your brother’s iron will!?”
Sora
asserted his grief, as he took sufficient pride in his ability to maintain
self-control.
But
––– for Miko, who had the Werebeasts’ ability to exceed standard practices, and
even look into the changes in
another’s
heart……
Unlike
Sora, she seemed to better understand the changes in Shiro’s emotions. Miko
began to giggle.
“–––
Alright, why don’t you try it on me?”
“Miko-sama?”
Miko’s
gaze seemed as if she had just seen something amusing. She continued speaking.
“I,
too, do not understand the feelings of love, so this should not be a problem,
right?”
But
Shiro was still on high alert, so she asked Plum, “…… can it …… be undone?”
“Eh?
It-It can! No problems at all!”
“Hahaha,
feel at ease. The type I like is different from that.”
Shiro
and Miko seemed to mutually understand the meaning behind their words, and Sora
was the only one who
could
not keep up with what their conversation.
“……
Do you guys know what those two are talking about?”
“My
deepest apologies, Master, I do not.”
“……?
Sorry, I wasn’t listening then, des.”
Jibril
did not get the reasons behind it.
And
it was naturally impossible for Izuna, who was already yawning, to know what
was going on.
Ignoring
the three of them, Miko stood up… and took a step.
Then
she silently and immediately appeared in front of Plum.
“Come
on, weren’t you going to try it out on me?”
“Y-Yes.
Then, Sora-sama, and everyone…”
Plum
had instantly flinched in reaction to Miko’s actions, but she immediately
pulled herself together, and spread her
wings
while she spoke.
“When
lacking the supply of blood, this magic cannot be used too many times, so
please pay attention!!”
Complex
patterns emerged in Plum’s eyes, and concurrently, a breeze blew within the
room.
Plum’s
wings looked like they were woven from the night. The light circles that
appeared had completely different
geometrical
patterns than Jibril’s... With irregular vibrations and uncountable red lines
scuttling, the room was dyed
red.
The
irregular streaks of red looked like veins. They gradually corroded until they
reached Plum’s right hand.
That
hand… began to move again, slowly and complexly.
Feeling
the elemental particles… the compilation of techniques turned into a smell of
magic. The ears of Izuna and
Miko
had subtle reactions.
Nonetheless,
the magic was completely undetectable by Imanity… so Sora and Shiro did not
feel a thing.
The
only one who could correctly identify the magic, and even see through the
meaning of the compilation of
techniques
was Jibril, but…
“…What……
it can’t be, can it?”
From
her tone, it seemed that she was surprised.No Game No Life:Volume 4 37
After
a few seconds… Plum slowly brought her palm to Miko.
…In
a flash.
It
sounded as if things were exploding, and the space surrounding Miko gave of a
red glow, as if a whirlpool was
scattering
in all directions.
––––––––––––
…………
Um?
“……
What? Was the magic carried out well?”
Miko
did not look to feel any changes to herself.
But
Plum smiled in fatigue and said, “Right! After this would be… Sora-sama,
please…!”
“Rub
Miko-sama’s chest～ ～!”
“……Ah?”
Sora
and Miko exclaimed at the same time.
“After
this [command] ––– the spell will be…… complete!”
Plum
did not seem to notice the implications, and was still speaking while filled
with confidence. In a flash, Sora and
Shiro
exchanged glances.
Seeing
Shiro nod in agreement, Sora…
“Ah～Then
Miko-sama, can I?”
“……
Well, I agreed to try it out….. But I’m very unhappy that none of this was
stated in advance.”
Miko
looked reluctant, and she sighed while swaying her chest away.
“……
If it doesn’t feel good…… I would lose face……”
Sora
said that, then with fear and trepidation, he covered Miko’s breast with a
hand.
Then,
looking determined… he applied some pressure.
…
Sora almost let out a gasp of admiration towards the elasticity of it bouncing
forward then sinking back.
While
Sora felt touched by the feeling of something different than Steph’s…
“Oooo…?”
Miko,
who was originally frowning with displeasure……
…felt
as if something in her body had been unleashed. Her expression… changed.
Following
which, she slowly shifted her gazed towards Sora…
Intoxicated…
She
said, “Wh-What is this? This feeling
that makes all the hair on my body stand on edge…… This sickening
barf-worthy
smile, from being in a bad mood then now with a fire burning inside… Oh-Oh
right, is this ––– is this
what
[love] is!?”
“It
can’t be～ ～! That really hurts my feelings!”
…
Miko was looking into the disgusting thing’s eyes when she spoke, and Sora
immediately shouted back in
response.
Still,
Miko continued speaking as though she had not heard Sora’s yells.
“Th-This
is probably love. It’s obviously impossible, but I can assert that I’ve
[fallen] for Sora, and so…… this
nauseating
feeling is called love…… what a wonderful world we’re in.”
“…I
say, Plum, haven’t you failed?”
No
matter how you’d look at it, it’s a mistake. Sora’s mouth twitched
uncontrollably.No Game No Life:Volume 4 38
But
Plum still stood tall and replied confidently.
“Hahaha,
please listen to my explanation…… This is the main point.”
–––
As if speaking of the Dhampirs’ only technology, her usually misfortunate face
was presently gleaming with
shining
eyes.
“[Love
Magic (plug-in)] ––– although there were rumors of it in past and present, no
one has ever implemented it…”
“……
Is that so? Jibril.”
Love
potions and love magic… were frequently used in the plot of fantasy stories.
“…Yeah,
although I’m reluctant to admit it, we have no leads on the principles of love
magic.”
Jibril
had difficulty concealing her amazed face when she spoke.
Despite
her reluctance to look, she was still nodding in recognition of Plum’s great
undertaking.
“To
interfere with the emotions of love is something that practitioners of magic
were never able to define the
ambiguous
key constituents to. From my knowledge, this magic is something even the Elves
have yet to
achieve……”
Though
they were prominent in their illusionary magic spells, the Dhampirs were still
only ranked in twelfth place.
The
seventh ranked can practically be addressed as a magic spell itself. They were
a synonym to complex technique
compilations
(magic).
It
was something the Elves could not accomplish, but Plum could. Despite this, she
still nodded her head in
agreement.
“Yes,
the difficulty lies in defining [feelings of love] because it’s never
fixed ––– as everyone has a different
definition.”
Plum
was happily flapping her tiny wings while she spoke.
She
had a triumphant look and straightened her chest before she went on with her
speech.
“When
[the uncertainty factor is impossible to be set], no matter what spell is cast,
it’d be meaningless. That is why
what
the world terms as the spell of [Love Magic (plug-in)] is at most just a cause
of [estrus magic]… but!”
“Ah,
wait a second, Plum, I’m more interested in [estrus magic]…”
But
Plum ignored Sora’s concern and was standing so proud and tall that it looked
as if she was about to bend
backwards.
“We Dhampirs have finally succeeded in this!”
“…………”
Then
she began her story…
About
something the Elves would never be able to reach……
…And
the truth ––– about the magic that would even make a Flügel marvel at.
“Sure
it’s uncertain, but we can just set it as something. Since everyone has a
different feeling when in [love], then let
that
definition be arbitrarily be decided by us!”
–––
What kind of preposterous reasoning is that?
Having
played games which often have the appearance of love magic, Sora had never felt
such a strong sense of
violation
till today.
Sora
glanced towards Miko… Miko’s gaze looked as if she was staring at garbage when
directed at Sora.
“……
No, but this should not be a state where she’s in love with me, right?”
Sora
rolled his eyes and murmured.
“No,
if Miko-sama identifies such a feeling as [love], then that is [love]! After
all… love is just a misconception!!”
Plum
was filled with confidence.No Game No Life:Volume 4 39
Disguises
and illusions… this was what was so
categorically asserted by the race who is the most adept at the
manipulation
of one’s spirit and cognition.
“……
Shiro, I now feel a totally unprecedented disappointment towards the feeling of
love.”
“……
Love…… what is it……”
In
spite of the philosophical contemplation of the problem at hand by the
siblings, Plum grew even more excited as
she
spoke.
“Alright,
Sora-sama, Miko-sama must have identified [disgust] as the feeling of love!
Now, if you strike while the
iron
is hot, and tell her the most disgusting of disgusting lines you have!”
Being
called disgusting time and again, although Sora had many things to say… he temporarily swallowed his
words.
“Ah……
[I really want to lick Miko]……”
Upon
hearing the random line that Sora had just thought of, Miko’s reaction was…
that she could not retreat.
“Ahhh……
you can’t, Sora. You can’t! If you talk like that… wouldn’t that make me fall
for you even harder ♥”
“Hey!
Plum!! Aren’t her words totally inconsistent with her attitude!? She looks to
be incredibly disgusted at me!!
No,
I should say instead that those eyes are obviously telling me to [go to
hell]!!”
Sora
was gleaming with tears. He looked like he wanted to grab Plum and scream into
her chest.
However,
Plum still shook her head with immense pride in herself while she spoke.
“That
is Miko-sama’s form of love. It turned into such a thing, isn’t that terrific?”
“It’s
too great, so hurry up and cancel it! My spirit is on the verge of collapsing!”
…
This can’t be right. Love Magic (plug-in) should not be as such……
––––––––––…………
“Ahhh,
such an interesting experience…… Living for such a long time has its perks.”
With
the spell broken, Miko was delighted and laughing out loud.
Sora
moved to the side –– in an effort to
prevent others from seeing how hurt his heart was –– then he spoke to
Plum.
“So
as it turns out, now I know your [countermeasure for victory]. Yet, why do you
not just use this by yourself?”
With
such a means to make another fall in love unconditionally, the Dhampirs should
be able to manage this by
themselves,
right?
But,
Plum dropped her shoulders and replied dejectedly.
“Because
the Dhampirs’ last male is still a child…… and the queen requested for a
[prince]…”
Plum
drew a circle with her hand, and something seemingly magical emerged. She
continued her speech.
“This
magic is an illusion that feigns one’s cognition…… it works best when used with a male with
reproductive
capabilities.”
–––
At that moment, Shiro was still wordlessly pulling at the hem of Sora’s shirt.
She passed her phone to him.
Sora
glanced at the words typed onto the phone…
“……
Un…… [That doesn’t sound like Nii has to do it]. Well said.”
–––
Hearing Sora’s words, Miko and Izuna’s ears moved.
“Plum,
let me ask you, can the queen’s game be challenged by multiple people at once?”
“Eh?
Ah, it can. It should be possible…… because the interference spell with the
queen’s dream will become large
scale,
so it may result in problems…… but, conversely, why can’t Sora-sama just
challenge the game by himself?”No Game No Life:Volume 4 40
“Sorry
to say this, but since [plug-in] is our final measure, and we do intend to
issue the challenge, a frontal attack
should
be launched. We must first raise our chances of victory.”
“The
swindler still has the cheek to say that……”
“Hey
hey, why is Miko-sama saying something I cannot make heads or tails of… In
[plug-in], frauds are specified to
win.
It’d be different if the cheat to pull was to [ensure that we have a trick if
we are caught cheating to prevent a
loss],
right?”
–––
Miko and the rest did not understand, but in Sora and Shiro’s original world…
Though
they use psychological warfare and pull cheats, they kept a consistent
principle to never use [plug-ins].
“Games
in particular require one to exhaust all means of winning in the range of the
rules. When the fundamental
rules
are ignored, it cannot be called a game. It’s fine to make use of a game’s bug,
or an OP[9]
character,
as long as it
is
[officially recognized] that it can be used for the sake of an unscrupulous
victory… But using a means that defies
the
rules is absolutely out of the question.”
After
that, Sora nodded and ended his topic.
At
that instant, Sora suddenly… shifted his line of sight to Miko, and nodded
again.
“–––
I say, Miko-sama, can… you swim?”
To
this question, Miko shook her head in response.
“…
Since you don’t know how to swim, you can just walk about in the water,
somehow?”
“As
long as Miko-sama agrees, I will agree to her request ––– to advance to
Oceando.”
“……
Un, that makes sense. The remuneration is not bad, and it will be a
[sure-win].”
“R-Really!?”
“…Miko-sama,
among the people you know, aren’t there any suitable candidates?”
Upon
hearing this question, Miko stopped for a while to think about it.
And
then, she stopped her mouth from speaking by covering it with her hand.
But
after thinking of how Sora’s expression would change, Miko concealed her smile
while she spoke.
“–––
[Hatsuse Ino], that man should have about [t-h-i-r-t-y wives], yo.”
Part
6
Elchea’s
King City, the King’s bedroom.
Steph
was greedily enjoying a comfortable sleep she had long been missing. She
wandered about in her dream…
“Old
man～ ～ hear me when I say this! I damn you to hell!!”
Suddenly,
sounds of explosions shook the city, and further muffled explosions roared
through. Steph rolled off the
bed.
“Wh-What
happened!?”
Steph
cried in pain for she had just bumped her head, but once she realized what she
had just heard… the sound she
just
made was more of a scream. Steph even forgot that she was still in pajamas. She
lifted her quilt, and
immediately
ran towards the direction of the sound ––– which was the direction of the main
conference room. She
practically
flew out the room.
Right
on cue, it looked as if the door to the main conference room had been kicked
down. What Steph, who was
frantically
rushing over, saw was…
The
cause of the earlier explosion ––– should be…… no, it definitely was ––– none
other than Jibril.
Perhaps
it was because of the sound of an explosion…
“H-How
did this horror come about……”No Game No Life:Volume 4 41
Hatsuse
Ino, who was substituting for Steph in a game, and his opponent ––– who was
probably one of the feudal
lords
––– were there. Their cards were fluttering in the air with a large number of
documents. Smoke filled the main
conference
room, and one of the walls was utterly destroyed. The source which caused this
heaven-and-earth surprise
seemed
to have noticed Steph. “Iyaa, Dora-chan, hi. Master commanded for his space to
be transferred right now to
Elchea,
but because there were too many people, I had to open a slightly larger hole in
this space… Are you okay?”
…
Actually, I might not be okay?
But
compared to this… Steph suddenly started tearing up as she stared on.
The
smoke was torn through. With great momentum, Sora closed in on Ino with
ground-piercing paces, and began to
yell
at him.
“Defendant
Hatsuse Ino! Not only are you a Riajuu, you’ve even taken more than a single
maiden as your wife! I
have
simply tried this great sin through my brain, and based on my prejudiced
decision alone, your verdict is fully
and
absolutely guilty, and you are henceforth sentenced to death! By the laws of
the galaxy, I will now obliterate you
into
the dust of the universe, gaaaahhhhh!!!”
“……
Ah…… Sora-dono, the mass of what I have to say to you has piled up all the way
to the sky.”
When
faced with the king who had just returned after roaming around for half a
month… and came back as a mad
king…
Ino
looked like he was suppressing the fire of his anger, but…
Izuna
unexpectedly appeared from behind Sora’s back. Her words made Ino immediately
freeze in his place.
“……
grandpa…… are you a [sex-craving monster], des?”
“EH!?
Izuna, where did you learn such words….!”
Conversely,
as she may not have understood the meaning of the words, Izuna tilted her head
to a side and widened
her
eyes.
“……
That’s how Sora calls grandpa, des.”
“Oi!
You damn monkey!! Not only had you thrown a mountain of work onto others, you
even instilled strange
vocabulary
to my granddaughter!?”
Ino
could not help but reveal his true nature, and broke the table with an angry
roar.
But
Sora was literally looking up towards the sky, and waved his hand then pointed
to Ino’s face.
“Ah!
Look, Izuna! This is the face of a great sinner whose immoral thoughts were
just exposed. Ugly, isn’t it?”
Izuna
had a look of defeat on her face.
“……
Grandpa, quit making a scene, des.”
“Wha
––––––– No, no, it’s not like that, Izuna! Grandpa is honestly in love with
these girls……”
“Ah～Ahh～
Shut up, shut up, you lower bodied slave! Don’t make excuses, and just get
ready to die ––– aarrgh!!”
“……
Nii…… noisy……” Shiro said this while being carried on Sora’s back.
Holding
his neck with her arms, the then noisy Sora was subtly forced to shut his
mouth.
–––
And then, when the smoke began to disperse ……
“Hahaha,
it sure is a ruckus every time……”
With
a voice like the ringing of bells, her footsteps were heard as she stepped to
the floor… A golden fox had
appeared.
“Wha––––
Mi-Miko-sama!?” Seeing her figure, Ino instantly lay prostrate to greet her.
Miko
said, “Hatsuse Ino… We are now to [have everyone together] and advance to
Oceando.”
With
her crisp and pleasant voice, she continued on.No Game No Life:Volume 4 42
“On
the way there, please take your time to elaborate on your romantic nature. I
take it there are no issues?”
“Mi-Miko-sama……
Even Miko-sama is looking at me like that…”
Ignoring
that Ino was about to wet the ground with his tears, Miko chose to lower her
voice and repeat herself…
“…
There are no issues?”
…
Such a question.
…
Ino raised his head to observe his surroundings. Although he did not fully
understand everything… he could only
give
this reply.
“……
As you wish, please leave it to me.”
“–––……”
Steph
could not keep up with what was happening, and just innocently stood by the
front of the door.
“Hey,
Steph, you look quite well. We haven’t seen each other in two weeks, yeah?”
–––
Sora’s tone relaxed when he spoke, maybe because he finally noticed her there.
Looking
at his face… the countless emotions in Steph’s chest were like waves surging
forth.
Anger,
blame, accountability, interrogation…
But
compared to all of those, seeing Sora’s face after such a long time… Her vision
went blur.
The
many lines she had originally decided to say when she met Sora had already
flown beyond the topmost clouds.
Steph
closed both eyes tightly, and deliberately did not wipe away the tears emerging
in her eyes.
She
was not thinking about what the feeling the tears were stemming from, but just
letting her emotions out before
she
spoke…
“Oh,
Elchea’s policies have already been implemented to such a state, ah… Was it
under Hatsuse Ino’s directive?”
“It
was Steph. She left Ino with only the restrictions and recommendations of the
job.”
“……Eh?”
–––
Not speaking.
Hearing
Miko and Sora converse, she made that sound as she fell into a blank stare.
Steph
widened her eyes in surprise at Sora’s unexpected answer. Miko, on the other
hand, smiled as she intuitively
knew
what was going on.
“–––
So that’s what happened. After unveiling your slogan that a federation would be
constructed, the two [rulers]
went
to leisurely stay in the Eastern Union, and caused such a situation…… Such a
devious man you are.”
Miko
stated this boldly, but Sora smiled all the same when replying.
“Professional
issues should be handled by professionals… Politics is something Steph can
handle with absolutely no
problems.”
“……
Adding on the fact that [you two were not present] is even more of a blow.”
“Yeah,
because we were worried that other countries might take the opportunity to
interfere with stately affairs.”
–––
Ino and Steph were shocked back from their frozen states when they heard that
statement.
However,
it was Shiro who continued the speech while she looked over several documents.
“……
[when Nii and Shiro are absent]…… no matter how you think of it…… [it’s a
trap]……”
Then…
she continued speaking.
“……
only an idiot……. would jump straight into such a trap.”
“That
crowd of idiots was comparing you against the game matches they usually have
with Shiro and I… But Steph
had
continuously learnt from her defeats, so they didn’t have even a 10,000 to 1
chance of defeating her. That’s why
we
could feel at ease when we focused our efforts on the Eastern Union ♪”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 43
Steph
and Ino were at a loss for words. They stood stunned and speechless.
But
Sora’s expression turned more serious than ever.
“But
that’s too many, right, Steph? Why did you accept all those challenges?”
–––
Hearing those words made Steph froze in that moment.
In
other words…… if that really was true… then why did I accept all of those
challenges?
The
contents of the game and the choice of whether to accept it were all to be
decided by the party who was
challenged.
Why
did I force myself to be so busy…
Steph’s
eyes were wide open while she questioned herself, but Sora continued with his
next sentence……
“Steph…
although I rely greatly on you, you don’t have to push yourself too hard, and
also… how do I put this.”
Sora
was scratching his head and slightly embarrassed when he spoke.
“Thank
you.”
–––
The very line she wanted to hear.
She
had worked so desperately to her current state just for him to think that way.
When
her mind began to understand the meaning behind her falling tears, she felt her
temperature rise… and her
cheeks
flushed concurrently…
“N-No……
It’s because you guys are such an unfathomable mystery so I’m just trying to
deal with all the work as
fast
as I can… That’s all there is to it!”
Steph
spoke in stammers as Sora was moving closer to her.
The
rate of her heartbeat was increasing endlessly.
Sora
said, “Then, Steph, I’m sorry to trouble
you when you’re already so tired. As Miko-sama said, we have to
advance
to the capital of the Sirens.”
“Eh?
Ah, ok…… th-then what?”
Steph
avoided his line of sight.
But
Sora was glancing in a different direction.
Over
there was a black girl with an appearance of great misfortune on her face she
never seen before.
“The
Sirens and the Dhampirs are about to go extinct, so we’re going to save them,
or rather I’d say…”
Then,
he resumed his usual deemphasized tone when speaking.
“We’re
going to get the resources and territories… which are what we are fatally
lacking to construct a federation
with
the Eastern Union.”
Hearing
Sora’s declaration, Steph’s eyes felt slightly hot.
Indeed…
Sure
enough… this man was thinking for the sake of all of Elchea…
It
was Shiro’s turn to close in on her.
“……
Steph…… Do you know how to sew……?”
“–––
What?”
“To
put it simply, we want to go to the beach. Can you please make a swimsuit for
everyone? We’ll pass the designs
to
you.”
–––
In other words, more work.
With
a smile on her face, Steph fainted without speaking a word–––……No Game No
Life:Volume 4 44
Chapter
2 - Strategist/The Sun
Part
1
-
The sea.
When
it comes to vacation spots, they could probably be divided into two main
categories, mountain regions and
areas
close to seas or oceans.
During
summer, many people will instinctively flock to these places, like moths
gathering at a lamp.
-
To be honest, the stubborn grains of sand that refuse to get off the body,
one’s skin being exposed to the sun for
long
periods of time, such that it brings pain and discomfort to the body, while the
sea wind corrodes one’s hair every
second;
thinking about it, it’s hard to understand why exactly people come to places
like these.
But
– a hateful place like this, once certain conditions change, it’s an entirely
different matter.
“-
Phew… how blissful.”
Under
a parasol that looked like a Japanese oil-paper umbrella, Sora lay on a
grass-woven bed, with a glass in his
hand.
At
both sides of Sora, were multiple Werebeasts that appeared to be Miko’s
followers who were fanning him with
giant
leaves.
Their
hanten[10]
that
were spread open at the chest area – which apparently was the preferred
swimsuit of the Eastern
Union
– revealed their breasts, and their skin revealed underneath the cloth that
covered only the lower half of the
body,
in comparison with their ears and tails covered in animal fur, appeared even
more flashy and attractive than the
sun
itself.
Sora
shook the cup in his hand, and thought – This is Heaven.
“…Sora-san,
to think that you can remain unfazed under this sort of heat… you must be
enjoying yourself.”
“Yeah!
Isn’t this all because of Jibril’s secret sunblock concocted from light
spirits? Moving on –“
[11]
Ino
spoke calmly, while Sora replied with a hint of suspicion in his voice without
even turning around:
“Old
man, I’m not intentionally looking at you, but you aren't wearing just a
loincloth again, right?”
“Sora-san,
what you just said was pretty strange… besides loincloths; do men have any
other clothing choices when
it
comes to water-related activities?”
As
Sora had predicted – wearing only a loincloth – a muscular old man replied
while tilting his head.
Sora
sighed in frustration, then spoke while pointing at himself:
“Let
me tell you something old man, look at me, what do you think?”
“-
Sora-san, you have that sort of fetish?”
“Are
you senile!? Old man~~!! Shorts and a shirt! This is standard swimwear as
well!”
Sora
stood up and backed down a few steps, then yelled after hearing the reply
filled with disgust.
Ino
shook his head helplessly.
“You
don’t wish for other people to see your frail body, but that's fine, Sora-san,
since it’s plain manners to cover up
one’s
embarrassing spots.”
“I
just don’t want to become a muscular guy like you! Also, don’t call me frail!
Since the FPS match I had against
Izuna,
I realized that stamina is important as well, I may not look like it, but I
have been training!”
Sora
yelled, choked slightly, then lay down again.
-
He was surprised himself as he could only do fifty push-ups and sit-ups each,
but he didn’t need to say that.
“…Let’s
change the subject, aren’t they done yet?”
“Girls
take a long time to change you know, Sora-san – pardon me, haven’t you
heard?”No Game No Life:Volume 4 45
“It’s
hard talking to Old Man Muscles, can’t you detect my sarcasm!? Can’t you!?”
Sora
yelled coldly, then looked behind him.
“Hey,
Shiro, you’re not done yet?”
“…Mm,
I need… a bit more time…”
Behind
Sora – Shiro’s reply drifted from the shade behind a clump of trees.
Something
that sounded like clothing scraping about could be heard, it seemed that she
was having trouble wearing
her
clothes by herself.
“Wouldn’t
it be fine if she’d changed with the other girls in the changing room?”
“Yes,
that was what I suggested, after which I was chased out by someone… and that
someone was you!”
Sora
and Shiro cannot be apart, not even when changing clothes.
That
was an unspoken fact, so Sora as usual, naturally, automatically, attempted to
enter the female changing room
with
Shiro –
But
then he was chased out, which resulted in the current situation.
“Trying
to peek at Miko-sama naked, even if that sort of thing were to be permitted by
God (Tet), I would still
refuse!”
“Miko-san
already said she doesn’t mind -!”
Sora
felt only remorse at retreating from the changing room only due to a menacing
glare from a loincloth-wearing
muscular
old man.
-
Now let’s think of a way to cheat Ino, and sneak into the changing room.
Just
as Sora began to formulate his master plan –
“…I’m
done, des.”
“Oh...
it’s Izuna indeed, you look cute no matter what you wear.”
-
Hearing the voice of a young girl, Ino suddenly took on the voice of a
compassionate grandfather and turned
around.
Upon
seeing Izuna who was the earliest to finish changing, Ino sighed in relief.
“I
heard the swimsuit was suggested by Sora-san – I initially thought it would be
some immoral clothing.”
“You’re
too shallow, old man, first! It’s common sense that young girls have to wear 「School
swimsuits」!”
Izuna
waved her large tail around while stepping lightly on the beach.
That
swimsuit was – from Sora’s world… an old-fashioned school swimsuit.
Of
course, that was something that didn’t exist in this world.
To
elaborate further, even the Eastern Union didn’t possess a chemical fiber like
polyester.
But
– school swimsuits were originally woven with silk before the Second World War.
So
this was a perfectly woven product created by Steph, closely following the
detailed instructions listed on Sora’s
tablet.
Steph
– you’ve really outdone yourself.
“…But
it really doesn’t reveal a lot of skin.”
“Let
me say this again, you’re too shallow, old man. Without the seasoning of
culture, how could this be considered
romantic!?”
-
Yes, on top of the school swimsuit Izuna was wearing, she also had on a
long-sleeved kimono resembling a hanten
not
unlike what the Werebeasts around her were wearing.
Kemonomimi,
young girls, school swimsuits, not to mention the seasoning of the Eastern
Union’s culture -!No Game No Life:Volume 4 46
-
This is – - Sora’s - 「Solution」…
Izuna
walked in front of Sora, then as though wanting to see how she looked like from
behind, twirled around in a
circle.
“Is
this alright, des?”
“It’s
perfect… you were almost criminally cute
in the first place, but now you could be classified as a national
treasure.”
Looking
at Sora who had a smile of a normal,cheerful teenager on his face and was
giving a thumbs-up of approval,
Ino
–
“...I
don’t really understand but, I give my sincerest approval of this since you
didn’t let my granddaughter wear any
immoral
clothing.”
-
spoke.
“U,
um… I’m done changing.”
“Oh,
Steph, you really did a great job –“
Hearing
Steph’s embarrassed voice, Sora turned around to thank her – but froze
momentarily instead.
Steph’s
cheeks were bright red, just like the impression her normal clothes left on
others, the swimsuit she was
wearing
was a modified two-piece with added ruffles and a belt made from
semi-transparent material, and her eyes
continually
darted from side to side.
From
what Sora knew, Elchea shouldn’t have possessed that sort of 「Swimsuit」.
Speaking
of Elchea’s swimsuits there was only – that.
Like
17th-century Eastern Europe, their swimsuits were full-bodied female lingerie
and looked old-fashioned, which
was
the only swimsuit Elchea possessed.
Because
of that, Sora had to plead Steph to make a new swimsuit.No Game No Life:Volume
4 47
From
her expression, she had probably selected a
swimsuit
she liked from Sora and Shiro’s catalogue as
well.
But
the reason why Sora froze on the spot wasn’t the
swimsuit.
The
real reason was because he saw 「That」 which
was
large enough to the point of almost bursting from
the
swimsuit – and the numbers endlessly
flashing in
his
brain made him freeze.
“-
I, impossible! Eighty-nine, fifty-eight, eighty-nine…
the
power levels are at five hundred thousand -!?”
“You
– how did you know – No! What are you talking
about!!”
The
power level scanner within his head calculated
Steph’s
stunningly high 「Bust measurements」,
making
Sora tremor uncontrollably.
Things
like this existed!
Did
I miss it since the steam was too dense earlier!?
“…Ugh,
ugh… to think that a mere Steph would
have
such
high standards -!”
“Eh,
ah! R, really? I, it’s nothing…”
Steph
wiggled nervously, appearing rather glad with herself.
Sora
was about to say something else to her, but –
“I
apologize, Master, because it took a long time to 「Weave」 this into a fashion
of your preference.”
“Haha,
it’s fine, making men wait is a custom of a good woman as well!”
Hearing
the two voices, everyone turned around at once – suddenly, Sora’s power level
scanner exploded and flew
away.
Sora
and Ino didn’t have the time to think, instead following their instincts, both
of them kneeled on the floor in a
worshipping
fashion, as though it was obligatory for them to do so.
What
they saw when they turned around was – two goddesses.
The
two goddesses – one of them was Jibril.
Her
hair that was changing colors seemingly endlessly according to the rays of
light shooting down from the sky was
waving
around in the sea-wind and sun, appeared even more beautiful and dazzling.
That
structural beauty almost at the point of perfection would make any sculptor’s
heart melt upon first sight.
And
that artwork of a body, was wearing the swimsuit Sora had recommended.
Jibril
normally wore extremely revealing clothes as well, so Sora had selected a
swimsuit resembling a coverall with
the
abdominal area woven with silk.
She
had used a large female shawl as a sort of belt wrapped around her waist, and
her faintly glowing wings
protruded
from it.
The
halo spinning around on her head, added a sort of holy aura to her.
Her
indisputable beauty would unquestionably convince others that she was a goddess
descended from the heavens.
The
two goddesses – the second one was Miko.No Game No Life:Volume 4 48
Her
golden hair, ears, tail and snow-white skin, under the bright glow of the sun,
was exactly like – a Buddha.
With
her subtle body curves, if Jibril was considered an extreme beauty – then she
would be a supreme one.
Her
delicate skin that was usually hidden under a kimono was now completely coated
with a swimsuit resembling
another
hanten.
But
the swimsuit was spread out like a butterfly in the night, revealing her pink
and tender shoulders, making her
appear
unbelievably beautiful.
Her
golden hair and twin tails would shake as she stepped along the beach, along
with the flirtatious smile on her
face
would convince anyone that an immortal, godlike fox demon – a
heavenly fox presiding over one actually
exists.
The
two men still kneeling on the ground, had tears flowing down their cheeks.
They
were praying to an unknown existence for reasons they themselves did not know.
“…Hatsuse
Ino, has finally realized why he lives and exists upon this earth - !”
“Oh,
dear god! I don’t know where you are, nor who you are, but you are a God of
exceptional tastes for creating
Jibril
and Miko upon this earth – ah, please take me in as your disciple…”
-
The creation of a religion.
Steph
and Izuna witnessed this precious moment, however –
“-
Well, it’s true that something like this would happen when compared to
them… but isn’t the way we’re being
treated
a bit too far off?”
“…?
Did they get sand in their eyes, des?”
Looking
at the two men who were still kneeling in complete reverence, Izuna tilted her
head in confusion.
“Ah,
Master, I am not worthy of such praise, please get up!!”
“Mm,
rise, how about you lift up your heads, and properly enjoy the privilege of
witnessing me in a swimsuit?”
Jibril
immediately knelt and began kowtowing upon seeing Sora’s actions, while Miko
laughed aloud instead.
Hearing
the words spoken by the two women, Sora and Ino stood up in trepidation.
Again
setting their eyes upon the two’s sacred figures, Sora and Ino looked up to the
sky at once.
“…I
feel like I’ve enjoyed myself immensely already.”
“…Yes,
I feel accomplished as well.”
“..Let’s
go back.”
“…It’s
rare that we see eye-to-eye, Sora-san.”
-
Both of them were becoming philosophical.
The
two that were usually like fire and water, at that point, didn’t have any
barriers between them, and the gap
between
races had been bridged.
They
were instead both men, looking up at the same sky, carrying the same thoughts
within themselves, sympathetic
towards
each other.
-
Why does everyone have to fight amongst each other?
The
world is such a beautiful place –
“No,
please wait! Why did we come here in the first place?”
Steph
yelled at the two men who were still undergoing revelations in the horizon.
-
Eh?
“…Why
is that?”
“Please
allow me to answer, Master, I believe we were here to pay a visit to the
capital of the Seirenes.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 49
…Ah,
right, Sora finally remembered.
-
Yes, exactly as Jibril had said, they hadn’t come here to play in the ocean.
It
was Plum who had said that the Seirens would send a boat to fetch them, which
was why they came.
Because
the capital of the Seirens – 「Oceando」 was at the bottom of the sea.
Jibril
had never been there and she couldn’t see it as well, so she couldn’t teleport
them there.
So,
according to their earlier arrangement, Plum would guide them from here, but –
“Hmm?
What happened to Plum who said she’d guide us earlier?”
“I,
I’m here…”
“Whoa!?”
A
soft voice drifted up from near his feet, making Sora jump in surprise.
He
didn’t know when it had appeared, but a pair of eyes looked up at him from a
wooden crate which presence he
couldn’t
detect until earlier next to his legs.
“…Eh,
is this Plum? What are you doing, this is the sea, the sea you know.”
“D,
don’t be so inconsiderate… t, this is already my limit!” Plum answered.
Patterns began appearing around her not
unlike
those when she used magic – and tears appeared in her eyes.
“Master,
sunlight is fatal to the Dhampir, even when she’s hiding in the box, she still
needs to avert the rays of the
sun
–“
Hearing
Jibril’s words, Sora recalled the 「Disease」.
Since
it was transmitted through blood-sucking, it would mean that the Dhampir
themselves wouldn’t be able to see
the
sun.
“…Oceande
only sends their 「Reception Boat」 at night! Why did we have to come during the
day…”
-
That’s right.
She
had said earlier, the boat would only come after sunset.
Plum
complained in frustration, why had they come in the daytime which was like a
hellish frying pan to her.
“No,
but this is the sea, you want me to skip the swimsuits in a situation like
this, are you for real?”
-
If not for Jibril’s secret 「Sunblock」, Sora wouldn’t have come in the day
either.
“Oh
yeah, Jibril, is the sunblock useless on Plum?”
“Sadly,
Master, for the Dhampir, 「Being hit by sunlight」 is the cause of death.”
Jibril
stated that there was no possible solution, but was corrected by Plum.
“Ah,
no… it’s fine if an even stronger spell is cast… but it would use up too much energy.”
They
remembered how exhausted she had looked when she had first came to Sora’s and
everyone else’s residence.
Which
means, for her to walk around unfazed under a blazing sun like this, she would
probably end up in that state
again.
“Um,
about that… because of the quality of the Seirens’ blood, well, I’m unable to
use too much of my strength…
so…”
Suddenly,
a sweet smile appeared on Plum’s face.
“Again!
As long as you let me lick Shiro-sama’s feet, I can successfully use magic ~
ehehe ~ ☆”
“Absolutely
not, you’d better stay quietly in that box.”
With
her suggestion immediately rejected, Plum could only shut the box again while
sighing.
“…Hey,
considering that they’re ranked twelfth place, aren’t the Dhampir a bit too
weak?”No Game No Life:Volume 4 50
-
Even when comparing with the preset abilities of the vampires back in his
world, Sora still thought this way.
“The
ability of the Dhampir corresponds with the blood that they have consumed – the
thicker the soul essence, the
stronger
their power.”
Jibril
replied.
“If
combined with something that has a high affinity with confusion or concealing
magic – like let’s say, the blood of
an
Elf, 「Assassins」 that are extremely hard
to deal with would be birthed, and those actually do pose a large
threat
on the battlefield.”
…So
that’s how it is, Sora remembered the first night.
It
was a moment of carelessness, but even Jibril was tricked by her, and now –
“-
Now it’s been reduced to this…”
Looking
down at the box at his feet, Sora spoke with his eyes half open.
It
was obvious that she was still trembling within the box, with more tears in her
eyes.
“-
I was thinking since earlier, the Elves and the Flügel, have only a one-rank
difference, so wouldn’t your strength
be
about the same? She can drink the blood of an Elf, but she would evaporate upon
drinking Jibril’s blood right?”
Sora
asked while pointing to the wooden box at his feet, while Jibril replied:
“Yes,
because on the rankings there is a 「Segmentation」.”
“Segmentation?”
“Essentially
speaking, those below the seventh rank are 「Living Beings」, while those above
are classified as
「Life」.”
“…Which
means?”
“Those
that possess a physical body of flesh, and use typical methods of reproduction
are commonly classified as
「Living
Beings」, which end at the Elves that are ranked seventh; while those above
possess the strength of will or
concept,
which you could think of those as 「Life」.”
-
Mm, so essentially speaking –
That
was a watershed incomprehensible using common sense, was how Sora interpreted
it.
“Also,
the ones ranked just above Jibril – are the Gigants right? What’s the
difference in strength between you and
that
race?”
“…Let
me think, for a standard Gigant, it would be too inadequate to kill it with the
strength of just one, so more
realistically
speaking, I think I’d need five other companions – eh? Do you have plans of
hunting one?”
“No,
I don’t, so stop looking so excited!”
This
person over here with a disappointed expression on her face – could
single-handedly take down an Elf at the top
of
those classified as 「Living Beings」.
But
she needed the strength of six to take down a Gigant ranked in the fifth
position.
-
It was a miracle that those below the seventh survived the 「Great War」.
Especially
the Imanity, or should I say us – ah, right.
“Speaking
of us… hey~! Shiro, are you still not done?”
Suddenly,
Sora realized a long period of time had passed, so he directed his question to
the shrubbery behind him.
“…Mm.”
Reacting
to Sora’s voice, Shiro stuck her head out from behind a tree.
She
looked hesitant as though she didn’t dare to come out.
“What
is it? Shiro, do you still hate the sunlight? If you’re uncomfortable you don’t
have to force yourself!”No Game No Life:Volume 4 51
Although
she had Jibril’s special sunblock on, Shiro still hated the sunlight.
Not
to mention Shiro’s hatred of it was even greater than Sora’s, which of course
Sora knew – in response to Sora
that
cared for her, Shiro –
Shaking
her head continually, although still hesitant, she still slowly walked out from
behind the trees.
“…Oh~
how beautiful.”
“Ah,
isn’t this cute?”
“…Shiro,
you’re really pretty, des.”
Ino,
Miko and Izuna had expressed their own opinions – but Sora froze yet again
instead.
The
one standing there was unquestionably his dear sister.
- That’s
how it was supposed to be, but –
“-…Eh?”
The
one that was nervously walking out was - 「A gemstone-like young girl」.
Her
long hair that was already as white as snow usually, was tied up at the back of
her head after careful preening.
Under
the rays of the sun her hair wasn’t like snow anymore – but was more like a
crystal or a diamond.
The
skin that was revealed between her white bikini and red cap, was as though to
compliment her beautiful hair or
ruby-like
eyes –
“…Nii…?”
-
Just like her cheeks, that flushed slightly red as well.
“-Eh?
Strange? Eh?”
The
sense of violation from looking so dreamily at his 「Sister」, made Sora mumble
questions unconsciously.
While
those mumblings made Shiro appear somewhat uneasy.
“…So
it really…doesn’t look good…?”
Upon
seeing Shiro say this while looking down and preparing to retreat again into
the trees, Sora appeared to return
to
normal again.
He
hurriedly – he himself questioned as to why he was being so panicky – shook his
head forcefully.
“N,
no! No!! I was just surprised since Shiro’s so beautiful – no, wait, Shiro is a
completely flawless beauty, this
your
brother knew since long ago! You know that… right? Eh?”
Sora
tilted his head, curious as to why he was so shocked earlier.
Jibril
and Steph who were beside him looked immersed in her beauty as well.
-
Shiro looked down in embarrassment.
As
her heart rate increased, her expression hinted at something else – a tiny,
appeased smile.
“…Really?
That’s… good…”
…
“Master
really is worthy of his title… isn’t this an unbelievably precious piece of eye
candy?”
“No,
that’s not how it is, it’s normal to react to cute things ahhhh.”
Jibril
appeared refreshed, with her skin pale and smooth… let out a breath of air.
Steph
wrapped her hands around her head, appearing to be undergoing some sort of
internal conflict.
“…Nii…?”
“Oh,
hmm? Mm, yes, you look great! You, my sister, are my greatest pride after
all!"
Shiro
walked closer to Sora, which was when Sora returned to his normal self.No Game
No Life:Volume 4 52
Being
patted on the head by Sora, Shiro nodded her head as though finally appeased.
“-Uh,
right, Plum, can you give us an estimate of when the 「Reception Boat」 will
arrive?”
Sora
felt slightly awkward, and remembering his original aim, questioned Plum.
Hearing
Sora’s words, everyone at once – looked over at Plum.
Plum
revealed her face slightly from within the box, and replied:
“Um,
about midnight or so –“
“-Oh,
we have quite a lot of time left.”
Plum
replied in a defeated voice:
“That’s
why we didn’t need to come so early… waaaahhhh.”
After
finishing her sentence – maybe because the sunlight was too uncomfortable –
Plum closed the box again.
“It’s
fine, what difference does this make?”
Miko
spoke casually, and undetected by everyone else, she had already lay down on
the grass bed Sora was using
earlier,
allowing her followers to fan her with the giant leaves, she gave an elegant
reply.
“Just
take this as a well-deserved vacation, relax and wait for the boat, after all
one always needs a break in life
right?”
Sora
and Shiro scratched their heads while smiling bitterly, and exchanged a knowing
glance.
Shiro
nodded her head.
“Thinking
closely, this is the first time Shiro and I have been to the seaside.”
Sora’s
eyes swept over Steph, Jibril, Izuna and Ino each briefly, then spoke with a
laugh.
“Wanna
try having some fun suitable for the seaside?”
Part
2
The
blindingly white beach.
Light
shimmered on the surface of the ocean, reflecting the sky like a mirror.
Through
the blue sky that appeared as though sprinkled with paint, sunlight pierced
through, and the clouds swam in
the
distance.
There
were only the noisy sounds of the waves and in the scenery with seagulls
chirping, a few ripples sprayed
about.
A
group of people appeared to be playing on the section of the beach where the
water was only up to their ankles,
and
Shiro tossed the beach ball they brought to the others.
“…Steph…catch.”
“I
just need to pass this down right? I’m going to pass OK, Izuna?”
Nimbly
catching Shiro’s pass, Steph passed the ball high in the air to Izuna.
Izuna
stretched her hand out to catch the ball flying in her direction.
She
tilted her head.
“…?
I don’t know the rules, des.”
Maybe
because she was different from Steph who could read the situations based on the
actions of others, as she
didn’t
understand the point of the entire affair, Izuna spoke somewhat in a confused
manner.
“Ah~
we weren’t really going to play games in the first place… but how about this,
you can’t catch the ball, just
touch
it once and take turns passing the ball to each other, whoever can’t catch it
will be considered the loser –
something
like that.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 53
“…I
understand, des…”
Steph
smiled and looked at Izuna who nodded her head in agreement.
“This
really gives off a relaxing sensation… isn’t it great to just play relaxing
games like this once in a while?”
-
Just like that, Steph still had a cheery expression on her face, but she still
hadn’t realized.
Sora,
Shiro and Izuna’s gazes, had become as sharp as knives.
Since
the rules had already been set and elaborated upon, this – is now a 「Game」.
Which
means –
(-I
must win-!)
Just
like that, aside from Steph who was still as relaxed as ever, the three of them
– released a burning fighting
spirit…
“…Then…Shiro
will start…”
Shiro
spoke while asking for the ball back, silently exchanging a glance with Sora.
-
Shiro who took the ball back, nonchalantly dipped it in the seawater.
“…Here…Steph,
catch…”
Just
like that, the paper-made beach ball with only its bottom drenched in water
flew towards Steph without twirling
in
the air even the slightest.
It
had even accurately – grasped the instant where there was no wind.
“OK,
I’m going to pass~?”
It
was a wordless exchange of schemes, but Steph passed the ball just the same
without realizing.
Shiro
had messed with the ball – if Steph were to pass the ball directly, the ball
would slightly veer from the point
she
were to aim at.
As
a result, the ball passed by Steph to Izuna spun slightly in the air.
-
Because only the underside of the ball had absorbed the weight of the water,
the path of the ball would shift
irregularly.
“-!”
Izuna
instantly spotted the slight shift of the ball.
She
kicked the floor, creating a small spray of seawater, caught up to the ball and
saved it.
It
was a normal save, lightly caught by Izuna’s arm.
But,
Izuna’s petite body had released the overwhelming strength of a Werebeast when
saving the ball.
-
Because of that, the ball flew at an abnormal speed, approaching closer to
Sora.
However
Sora remained calm, and grumbled to himself.
(So
she really won’t let us win so easily!)
Izuna’s
save became as if it was a deadly smash from a professional volleyball player,
and when faced with the
approaching
ball, Sora intentionally dove into the sea, creating a pillar of water.
The
ball went through the pillar of water – and continued to move forward, but when
it reached Sora’s position, it
had
nowhere near the original speed.
Sora
barely managed to use his foot to putt the ball towards Shiro.
-
That was an extremely heavy ball that was completely absorbed with water.
“…Mm!
Steph… keep it up…”
Shiro
passed the soaking ball that had become heavy in an instant to Steph with some
effort.No Game No Life:Volume 4 54
“Eh?
Ah, eh!?”
Yes
– she had impeccably accurately passed the ball over to a position where Steph
could just catch it.
Judging
from the angle of incidence and the turning angle, even if Steph could catch it
–
“Ah,
I’m sorry Izuna –“
Even
if she could catch it, it would only fly to a position a fair distance from
Izuna.
-
Can’t catch it.
The
ball flew towards a direction where it would be impossible to catch, but –
-
Upon seeing Sora and Shiro whose mouths were curled up in victory and were
muttering 「We win」under their
breaths,
Izuna clenched her teeth.
“…Don’t
look down on this little girl – des!!”
She
kicked the floor and stepped forward – creating a pushing force.
The
water originally swirling around her feet explosively spread out, revealing the
surface below it.
Izuna
boosted forward as though intending to rival the force she had just created.
Chasing
the ball that was almost hovering over the ocean surface, Izuna maintained her
speed and stretched out her
arms.
The
ripples created by waving her arms about were strong enough to create waves –
but –
With
a boom…
The
surrounding water evaporated into mist, and as he saw the ball in Izuna’s hands
explode, Sora yelled loudly:
“OK,
Izuna has lost!”
“-?
…! Y, you cheated, des! You’re despicable, des!”
Only
realizing what had happened a beat slower than the others, Izuna protested in
dissatisfaction.
Shiro
replied only after exchanging a high-five with Sora.
“…The
person unable to catch the ball will be considered the loser… as long as Izuna-tan were to use her full
strength…
she would lose.”
That’s
right, if Izuna as a Werebeast were to hit the ball that had become heavy due
to the absorbed water with her
full
strength, the ball would burst as it wouldn’t be able to take the impact, thus
it cannot be passed to the next person
–
Despite
understanding that this was what Sora and others had planned since the very
beginning, Izuna continued to
protest.
-
If the ball hadn’t burst when it did, what would’ve happened?
Under
the noise of the violent waves and ripples that Izuna had created from stepping
and waving her arms about…
Steph
asked as though complaining:
“…You
guys… don’t you ever think of just having fun normally?”
“Eh?
Since it’s a game, then of course not.”
“…Not…at
all…”
“Since
it’s a game, isn’t it normal to strive for victory with one’s goals, des?”
Hearing
the unhesitant, somewhat childish replies from the three, Steph could only
allow herself to be swept away
with
the waves…
Miko
who was watching them from a distance spoke reverently:
“Oh… they managed to beat Izuna in sports, that’s
really something… even though they weren’t planning on using
legitimate
ways, but it’s really some-!?”No Game No Life:Volume 4 55
-
Her sentence was interrupted.
Feeling
a presence behind her, Miko immediately shifted her hands to her breasts!
But
even with the superhuman reflexes of a Werebeast, she was still a few milliseconds
too slow.
With
her swimsuit suddenly stripped away, she could barely shield her breasts, but
Miko managed to glare sharply at
the
「Culprit」.
“-What
is the meaning of this? The vermin over there?”
Jibril
who was facing the brunt of her gaze feigned ignorance instead.
She
was fiddling with the swimsuit she had stripped from Miko.
“According
to Master’s literature, to 「Expose one’s breasts」 at a place like this would be
fate ☆”
“Oh~
really… so you must adhere to the same fate as well then?”
Miko
shielded her chest, but – she slightly lowered her center of gravity.
Miko
had unquestionably taken on a 「Battle Stance」, while Jibril chuckled in
response.
“Fine,
no problem, but if you think a dog that can merely crawl on the floor can take
away something from me – then
I
advise you to quickly change your mind-set?”
“Huh?
It appears you’re in the wrong here, I clearly don’t merely crawl on the floor
you know?”
She
had a smile on her face.
While
their killing intents impossible to detect with the naked eye clashed and
produced sparks –
-…
“Ah,
Shiro you can’t swim?”
“…Eh?
Steph… you can swim?”
She
had initially thought that Shiro was omnipotent, but the shock stemming from
that an astounding truth like that
existed,
caused Steph to question her.
But
instead Shiro was shocked by the fact that Steph could swim –
“…Amazing,
des.”
“Indeed
Stephanie-san is truly worthy of her name, you’re capable of not only politics,
cooking, sewing… but even
proficient
at swimming, however I have a simple question – for a land-dwelling animal, is
there a need to swim in
the
water!?”
“Old
man, you’ve spoken the best sentence of the century! A land-dwelling animal
should remain on land!!”
-
The group that couldn’t swim replied as one.
Steph
smiled bitterly and grasped Shiro’s hand.
“I really
don’t know how to deal with you, it’s more fun to know how to swim, here, I’ll
teach you.”
“…Oh…”
“Here,
I’ll hold on to your hand, just start from kicking the water with your feet.”
Steph
comforted the uninterested Shiro and began teaching from the basics.
Steph
took hold of Shiro’s hand.
But
–
“Uwaaaahhhh!”
“Aaaaahhhhh!”
A
sudden huge wave reeled in, sweeping everyone onto the beach in an instant.
“…Poof…aahhh…Nii…”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 56
“WaaaaaSHIROaaaaaa!”
Seeing
Shiro who was about to be swept away by the waves, Sora dashed up to grab her.
Shiro
gasped for air while grabbing onto her brother, and mumbled:
“…Nii…Shiro
wants to learn… to swim!”
Maybe
because the seawater got into her eyes, Shiro spoke determinedly with tears
streaking down her cheeks.
But
Sora yelled towards 「The ones that created the wave」instead:
“You
two over there! Can you at least respect – or at least obey the laws of
physics… can you?”
His
emotional voice gradually got weaker after seeing the scene that lay before
him.
What
was before him was –
On
the distant sea were two battling – monsters.
“Hah,
despite being so arrogant, you’re only at this standard, right, huh?”
Jibril
mocked while flying across the water surface.
Right
below her, Miko who had jumped out below from below the water surface turned
completely red in an instant,
and
stretched out her hand to grab her.
-
Miko even used 「Blood Devastation」, but Jibril still managed to dodge that
outstretched hand by a few
millimeters.
But
Miko directly – ran on the surface of the water – while shielding her breasts
with both hands.
Miko’s
clothes that she had worn on her swimsuit, and even her hanten appeared to have
been snatched away, so she
released
a murderous aura unreservedly, chasing after Jibril in an attempt to get her
swimsuit back.
“Heheh
☆ Say your prayers, I’m
gonna skin you alive ☆”
So
this is Miko, the representative of the Werebeasts - 「The strongest Werebeast」?
She
ran on the surface of the water – and occasionally despite only for an instant,
even soared in the air.
Every
time she dove into the sea, Miko who basked in the water and wind, had her body
change from red to golden –
“…Miko-sama
does live up to her name… how powerful, des.”
-
Upon seeing the events unfolding before her, even Izuna couldn’t believe her
eyes, it was unquestionably a
situation
with no room for others to butt in.
Sora
decided to give up, and instead turned around, ignoring them.
“Mm…
what a beautiful sight.”
Sora
spotted Ino as he turned around, and followed his line of sight.
What
he saw was a group of people swept to the shore – not only Steph and Izuna.
The
waves had appeared to strike the shore as well, dragging Miko’s followers into
the chaos as well, all of them
were
completely drenched –
Their
subtly transparent swimsuits, created an indescribable scene.
“Oh…
I see, it’s still unforgivable on their part to almost let Shiro drown, but
this is pretty stunning as well.”
Sora
carried Shiro back onto the shore.
“Ah,
this really is a treat for our eyes, Sora-san.”
“Yeah,
it would be perfect without you.”
Trying
his best not to let him enter his field of vision, Sora complained to the
muscular old man wearing only a
loincloth.
Watching
the group of noisy people being swept away by the waves, Steph smiled
cheerfully.No Game No Life:Volume 4 57
“Hah…
I’ve been so busy with work recently…”
The
dazzling sunlight and the white beach.
Steph
returned to the waterside, and kicked the water surface lightly.
The
waves created by her feet, and the wind blowing in from the sea, seemed to
drive away the fatigue from her
daily
routine –
“…I
guess I need a rest once in a while.”
Steph
spoke passionately.
Smelling
the salt of the sea breeze, Steph suddenly thought to herself when was the last
time she had got the chance
to
relax like this?
Since
Sora’s bunch came along – no, since her grandfather passed away.
It
felt like she hadn’t relaxed in a few years – Steph breathed deeply.
“Isn’t
it great to be able to come here…?”
Steph
spoke, seemingly seeking approval from no-one.
-
Beepbeepbeep.
“OK~!
Cut~~ pack up! Thanks for everyone’s hard work!!”
Sora
yelled with both his eyes half open.
…One
after the other… everyone dragged themselves from the sea back to the shore
with the spirit and energy of
half-dead
bodies.
“…Ugh…my
hair’s sandy…sand everywhere…”
“Phew…
I apologize, Master, I really can’t enjoy the ocean… when the sea breeze gets
into my wings it makes me
feel
inexplicably unhappy.”
“My
tail’s so heavy after absorbing all the water, des… how troublesome, des.”
“Phew~
this feels terrible, who exactly thought of thalassotherapy[12]
,
it’s just plain ridiculous.”
“My
sincerest apologies, Miko-sama, for troubling you to play along with Sora-san’s
tricks.”
Everyone’s
moods seemed to have taken an about turn for the worse, just like a group of
actors after finishing a
performance
–
“…Eh?
Eh?”
Steph
was the only one that couldn’t keep up with the situation and was left in the
middle of the sea alone, watching
everyone
else return to shore.
“-Hmm?
What are you doing? Steph, the filming’s done, you can come back to the shore
now.”
Sora
spoke while closing the recording applications of the smartphone and tablet
computers set up at the trees along
the
shore.
“…Eh?
Huh? What’s going on?”
“-Hmm?
Sigh, Steph don’t tell me you were actually having fun earlier?”
After
moving into the shade, everyone had shocked expressions on their faces while
massaging their bodies.
“…Ah,
sorry, about that, Steph… actually.”
Maybe
because he didn’t think that she wouldn’t notice at all, Sora spoke somewhat
awkwardly:
“…Among
everyone here…none of us like the ocean at all…”
- 「…Mm…」
Everyone
agreed while nodding vigorously.
Amongst
them Miko looked particularly disturbed.No Game No Life:Volume 4 58
She
spoke while grooming her golden fur:
“Although
I was trying to play along with the 「Common practices」 that Sora was talking
about… I still don’t
really
understand… there’s a ton of sand on my tail… how am I going to get this off?”
“Shiro-san
– now!”
Jibril’s
eyes lit up all of a sudden, and she quickly passed something to Shiro.
-
At the same time, Shiro’s eyes lit up as well and gave Jibril a thumbs-up,
saying “Good job.”
“…Miko-san…I
suggest that you use…this brush and…hair conditioner.”
“R,
really? Thank you very much.”
“…Fondle…phew…”
Ingeniously
finding an excuse to achieve her goal, Shiro let out a conniving laugh, and
buried her head in Miko’s
golden
tail.
And
Sora was holding the exact same thing that had mysteriously appeared in his
hands.
“Ya~hoo~!
Then I’ll help Izuna as well –“
“I’ll
help Izuna groom her fur, here, Izuna come over here.”
Ino
blocked his path instead.
Their
eyes met – and both men glared at each other.
“…Old
man, how about you go clean your own tail?”
“If
Sora-san were to groom her fur Izuna would be contaminated by your malicious
air, how about Sora-san you take
care
of your frail body instead!?”
Izuna
ignored their quarrel, and unhesitatingly walked forward –
And
sat down in front of Ino.
“Hurry
up, des.”
“…”
“..Old
man, being able to incur the killing intent of others without speaking, is that
sort of expression a special ability
of
the Werebeasts as well?”
Looking
at Ino’s expression that was so cheerful he could almost hear cries of pleasure
coming from him, Sora’s
veins
began to pulsate violently on his forehead.
…With
a whishing sound, the waves brushed against Steph’s feet.
-
It seemed that everyone had forgotten about Steph’s existence completely…
Part
3
-
The sun was about to sink below sea level.
“…Heheh,
the sunset is so beautiful… heheheh…”
Sitting
on the beach while hugging her knees, as though she had escaped into a world of
her own, what was on
Steph’s
face was… a smile.
-
Suddenly Sora shouted.
“-
I’m bored.”
Hearing
that, everyone turned to look at Sora.
“Ugh,
how despicable to run away after you’ve won, des.”
All
this time until sunset, Sora and Izuna were playing with the DSP, Shogi,
tic-tac-toe and other games in the shade
of
the trees, all these activities that would make one question why they’d bother
to come to the sea in the first place,No Game No Life:Volume 4 59
and
upon hearing Sora’s exclamation, Izuna protested, refusing to give in.
“Ah,
it’s not that, it’s not because I’m bored of playing games with Izuna.”
Sora
stood up while speaking and shouted at the wooden box:
“Hey,
Plum, shouldn’t the Reception Boat be here by now?”
“”Ah!””
-
It appears that everyone had forgotten their original purpose, and cried out in
surprise involuntarily.
Plum
stuck her head out from under the box.
Maybe
because she was using magic continuously for a period of time, Plum’s exhausted
expression once again
reminded
everyone of her expression when they first met. She replied:
“Um,
I, didn’t I say that they’d only be here about midnight…”
“The
battery power of my handhelds and my tablet computer is running out, and I’m
getting bored.”
“That’s
why I said we came too early…”
The
still-exhausted Plum complained dissatisfiedly.
While
Sora behaved like a kid throwing a tantrum.
“No,
I’m bored, I want to go now, either that or I’m going back.”
“Why’re
you saying something childish like that…”
Plum
appeared defeated, while Sora ignored her and exchanged a glance with Miko and
Shiro.
Ever
since they reached the shore, Miko was being stroked by Shiro in the shade of
the trees, and Shiro was stroking
Miko
all this time as well.
-
They nodded slightly, and spoke at once.
“Exactly…
it is pretty boring here.”
“…Mm…Shiro
is…tired…”
“Eh…
why’re even you two saying such capricious things…”
Plum
appeared heartbroken, while Sora opened his mouth to speak.
“Jibril.”
“Here.”
At
his call, Jibril immediately appeared from thin air.
“Have
you got the position?”
“Yes,
the position calculated by the Masters should be correct.”
-
Calculated?
Plum
appeared confused, while Sora took out his tablet PC.
On
the map detailing the perimeter of the Eastern Union, the records of their
trading with Oceande had been
recorded
as well, and thus he had deduced the rough position of the 「City」.
Pointing
to the direction indicated by its position – Sora looked towards the horizon
and said:
“OK,
that’s enough – do it.”
“-
I obey?!”
Hearing
Sora’s words, Jibril was unable to hide the jubilant expression on her face
while kneeling on the floor to
accept
his order.
“Eh?
W, what are you doing…?”
Plum
asked uneasily, but Ino was about to ask the same question.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 60
Ino’s
「Instinct」as a Werebeast warned him of something.
To
elaborate, it seemed that the situation needed to be stopped.
Whatever
these people were about to do – it definitely wouldn’t be something good.
So
Ino glanced sideways at Miko.
He
let out a breath of relief only after seeing Miko nod her head slightly to
indicate 「It’s all right」.
But
as he saw Miko smile as though to say 「Be careful though」, Ino’s face paled.
Sora
lifted up Shiro, and spoke a single sentence.
“We’ll
go off ourselves, everyone back off.”
After
which, Sora and others left the waterside, which was when Jibril asked:
“-
Master, is it really OK to be doing this?”
She
appeared impatient – but she still made the final confirmations excitedly.
“It’s
fine, besides won’t the power of the 「Ten Oaths」 come into effect?”
「The
First」 of the Ten Oaths.
-
All bloodshed, war and pillage is forbidden throughout the world.
“Any
actions with harming intent, and any actions seen as involving violence, will
be canceled due to the limitations
of
the oaths – conversely speaking, actions not involving
harming intent won’t be cancelled. Which means the
「Only
God (Tet)」has guaranteed that when we do it, that action won‘t be considered as
violating the rights of
anyone,
so –“
Sora
revealed a daring smile, and gave a thumbs-up.
“Make
it as large as you can.”
Hearing
his response, Jibril as though receiving a sacred order ceremoniously bowed,
but her facial expression
contrasted
with her actions as she smiled in relief. Jibril stood up.
“Hahah,
hahahahah~ I don’t know how many years it’s been since I’ve last used this,
hehehe~ I’m looking forward to
this~…”
Jibril
had an intoxicated expression on her face, and mumbled to herself so. At this
time her surroundings –
-
Suddenly distorted.
Apparently
the light – no, as though space itself had twisted,
everything became distorted with their shapes
changing.
- 「The
Ten Oaths」.
The
usage of violence in this world – any actions intending to cause harm will be
prevented by the power of the
oaths.
Regarding
this, Ino understood perfectly, but when personally faced with those events,
goosebumps still appeared on
his
skin.
“OK,
everyone get back!”
Miko
ordered calmly but sharply.
This
sentence, made all present Werebeasts, as though their bodies and free will had
separated from themselves,
reflexively
leap backward.
“…Eh?
What’s happening?”
Due
to Miko’s loud yell, Steph finally snapped back to reality.
[13]
-
Suddenly, she realized she was the only one that was particularly close to the
ocean.
Crash
– a sound outside of the audible range caused the area to tremor.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 61
The
sand on the beach even ignored gravity and began dancing about, while space
continued to distort.
The
space that was slowly distorting and changing shape began to gather at Jibril’s
hands.
Plum
was the only other one there who could see magic – the only other one that
could see Spirits.
But
as she looked at what Jibril was doing, she still appeared completely confused.
Judging
from Sora’s explanation earlier… it wasn’t surprising.
What
Jibril was doing was – 「Absorbing all Spirits in the area」.
When
the Spirits that are supposed to be in a place are removed, then one naturally
wouldn’t be able to see anything,
just
like a black hole.
And
– in Jibril’s hands, the absorbed Spirits were being compressed, squeezed,
condensed, minimized, concentrated,
and
finally let out a glow of light.
Even
though Imanity that can’t see spirits, Sora and Shiro were able to see clearly
what was going on.
In
Jibril’s right hand, a swirling vortex-like pillar of light gradually began to
form.
Regarding
things related to magic or Spirits, Sora and Shiro could
neither
comprehend nor detect them, but –
The
halo on Jibril’s head had become a ball of light from spinning way
too
fast.
Which
could only mean one thing.
“…Hey,
eh? You’re joking! Eh? Eh~~!?”
Plum
who had finally realized what was going on, hurriedly tried to
seek
shelter, yet yelled instead as she was unable to free herself from
the
box.
Yes,
this scene could only mean one thing.
And
that is Jibril was preparing to cast a spell that was, at least by Sora
and
Shiro’s standards, never-before-seen, at a completely inhuman and
irregular
dimension.
As
the shape was not fixed at all, 「It」 could neither be classified as
a
sword or a spear.
But
Jibril was grasping tightly onto it with her right hand.
And
she – slowly raised it – revealing a sweet smile.
“So
then Master…”
“I
will use - 「A B O U T F I V E P E R C E N T」 of my full power then?”
Jibril’s
right hand descended with a speed as though to leave her previous sentence in
the dust.
That
was all Sora and others could witness.
It
was like hearing thunder only slightly after lightning strikes.
After
a few seconds, along with an exploding sound loud enough to quake the earth, a
huge wave swept up tall
enough
to reach the heavens –
It
was almost as if jokingly - 「The sea parted」.
And
then –
“Kyaaaaaaaaaahhhh!”
“Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”
The
aftershock from the impact, swept Steph and Plum still in the box over to Sora
and others.No Game No Life:Volume 4 62
-
This is what they saw after that.
“Phew…?
It’s such a great feeling to be able to use my powers.”
As
though greatly relaxed, Jibril had an invincible, cheerful smile on her face.
“I
hope the time will come – where I get to use 100% full power?”
Hearing
that, even Sora and Shiro released a cold sweat.
Only
5% was enough to part the ocean, shaming even Moses… they suddenly recalled –
Jibril
had previously unleashed full force upon the Elves, which means a 100% 「Airstrike」.
They
hadn’t completely blocked it, but they did manage to deflect it partially –
“…The
Elves…Fii’s bunch really is amazing.”
“…Nod.”
The
both of them couldn’t resist commenting – while Shiro nodded in respect for her
who wasn’t present at the time.
As
for their inner thoughts, Jibril of course knew nothing.
“Anyway
we can now 「See」 the capital of the Seirens, so I can teleport you anytime.”
…The
five senses of the Werebeasts were at their physical peaks.
Certainly
not to say Ino, Izuna and even Miko could only see the horizon.
Maybe
because the previous strike had bent the light, for Jibril that had said she
could 「See」 it earlier, everyone
remained
speechless.
-
Sora looked at everyone who had backed away earlier.
“OK,
everyone, let’s go, grab onto Jibril.”
Miko
and the Werebeasts appeared defeated, and returned to the beach in trepidation.
“I
had known this since earlier… but to see it myself, it’s just like a bad joke.”
“…Ugh…
the best course of action would be not to get involved with the Flügel at all…”
Plum
climbed out from the broken wooden box, and spoke after Miko, luckily, the sun
had already set.
Ino
then yelled in panic:
“Sora-san!
Please don’t let Miko-sama hear 「That noise」!”
Ino
called out, apparently afraid of the sound of space distorting created by
long-distance teleportation.
“Ah,
he’s right, Jibril.”
“Yes,
I understand, so – everyone please grab tightly… ah, hey, Dora-chan stop
sleeping already, get up.”
“…Eh?
Huh? What happened – w, what is this!? The sea parted!?”
Steph
yelled alone, while everyone else ignored her reaction and gathered around
Jibril.
“So
we’ll teleport now, off to the capital of the Seirens – Oceande.”
Jibril’s
wings began glowing again, and her halo spun faster and faster.
“The
distance is three hundred and seventy-eight point twenty-three kilometers, but
the parted ocean waters are about
to
return to normal.”
As
though in response to her words, the seawater rumbled and began to return to
their original position.
“So,
I predict that Oceande won’t have any air.”
“Ah,
I, it’s fine, I have a spell for breathing underwater –“
It
was unclear whether they didn’t hear Plum, or whether they were simply ignoring
her –
“So
– I’m going to teleport the air in a radius of two hundred meters along with us
then?”
“-Eh?”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 63
“Get
back!”
Miko’s
voice rang out once again.
Hearing
this, aside from Ino and Izuna – even the Werebeasts that were with them at the
seaside previously hurriedly
left
as well.
-
In an instant.
Leaving
behind only the exploding noise at an extremely high frequency created by space
shattering, the group
disappeared.
“”Kyaaaaaahhhhhhhh!””
As
the air that was removed refilled itself, an explosively low air pressure was
created.
A
miniscule tornado began blowing, and the remaining Werebeast females grabbed
onto tree trunks in defense –
while
any who could witness that scene… were gone.
Chapter
3 - Charmer/ssǝɹdɯƎ ǝɥ⊥
Part
1
- 「Oceando」…the
underwater city where both the Seirens and Dhampir reside.
It
did not carry out trade with any other nation, being a truly self-providing
hermit country.
Being
at the bottom of the sea, it cannot be reached through normal means.
And
exactly because of this, a bunch of people came forth with abnormal means.
Jibril
parted the sea, and the place she teleported to was a tower high enough to overlook
the whole of Oceando.
The
depth was about two hundred meters, and if that amount of seawater were to flow
back in…
“Something
like this would happen…”
Miko,
who was standing behind Sora let out a sigh, and what she was looking at was
– the other side of the air
bubble
Jibril had created.
The
sand and rocks at the bottom of the ocean were violently tossed and turned as
though they were in a gigantic
blender.
No
matter how powerful Jibril was, she would be unable to use violence due to the
limitations of the 「Oaths」.
If
the 「Oaths」 did exercise their power, then no harm should have been caused to
anyone…
“…You’re
sure that this won’t hit the city or anyone else, right?”
“No,
not at all. The 「Ten Oaths」are absolute, so it’s fine. There won’t be a
problem… probably.”
Sora
attempted to comfort himself as the tides calmed around him. The sand settled,
and the seawater became clear
once
again.
“-
Oh, this really is something.”
“…Beautiful…”
Sora
and Shiro spoke their thoughts regarding the huge and wide city below them.
Completely
different from how fairytale-like and simplistic Sora thought it would be, it
was really a great 「City」.
Immeasurable
amounts of buildings that appeared to be built from stones from the bottom of
the sea stood side by
side.
The
walls that were giving off a pearly glow had shells and corals pasted on them
like bricks, creating wonderfully
bright
and fresh colors. Possibly due to the buoyancy of the water, complex formations
and reverse cone-shaped
buildings
could be seen – which was when Sora spoke:No Game No Life:Volume 4 64
“…Hmm?
Why isn’t everything blue?”
At
the bottom of the sea, only blue rays of light from the sun should be able to
reach. The person to answer his
question
was Shiro.
“…Nii,
it’s probably… those.”
Shiro
pointed to the countless glowing seaweeds and jellyfish – completely natural 「Streetlights」.
-
It was no wonder that the city itself was glowing.
“Oh
come on, don’t treat me like an idiot. Anyway, isn't this a great-looking
city?”
“…Hah,
thanks for the compliment…”
Plum
replied with a bitter smile that carried hints of defeat and humiliation.
“Because
this place was built and maintained by the Dhampirs… haha…”
…Sora
couldn’t find any words to say to her, and instead turned around.
Jibril,
Izuna and Steph were surveying their surroundings curiously, while Miko
appeared as composed as ever.
And
–
“-
Sora-san…what is the meaning…of this…?”
Ino
asked painfully, apparently impacted by the noise from their teleportation.
“I
did adhere to your request since Izuna and Miko appear to be fine, so you have
to thank Jibril for this!”
“…Ah~
I have no problem with that, but could you just let me say something?”
Miko
looked at Sora, Shiro and Jibril in turn, and took a deep breath.
“-
You people, there’s got to be a limit to your ignorance…”
“Eh?”
“…Is
there…a problem?”
“Oh,
does the carnivorous subgenus of a mutt have something to say?”
The
three ignorant people tilted their heads in curiosity at once.
While
the few with some common sense – Steph spoke loudly as though representing
Miko:
“P-parting
the sea like that, no matter how you look at it it just seems like an act of
hostility doesn’t it!? So, how are
you
planning to get us to their queen at this rate?”
“They
invited us in the first place, and it was they as well who made us wait, so
since we’re running out of time and
in
a hurry we came here ourselves. Considering Jibril’s hard work, they should be
thanking us and receiving us with
song
and dance, shouldn’t they?”
Miko
and Izuna’s senses told them that Sora was spouting lies yet again, and they
shut their mouths half-heartedly.
The
remaining Werebeast – Ino continued to rub his ears while moaning in pain.
“…Ah~
about that don’t you worry… look over there.”
But
as they heard Plum speak, everyone looked in the direction she was pointing at
once.
Countless
people began darting out of the city and hurriedly began proceeding in their
direction.
-
Females with the lower half of their bodies covered with scales and resembling
fish tails, and the upper half of their
bodies
human-shaped.
Their
breasts were shielded with small wraps of cloth, and their necks and hands had
what appeared to be leftover
jewelry
on them.
Their
resemblances were exactly the same as fairytale beings - 「Mermaids」.
“…Ah,
so those are the Seirens? Great, luckily everything’s going as planned.”No Game
No Life:Volume 4 65
If
the things that came out were beings like Cthulhu Sora would be more than ready
to flip tables, but he felt relieved
at
this development.
[14]
“G-guys
look over there, all those people are panicking… they really must be angry.”
Steph
spoke uneasily while looking at the Seirens standing in front of their air
bubble, after which –
“Eh,
eh…?”
Steph
opened her eyes wide in shock.
The
Seirens were gracefully swimming while spinning round and round in the water,
displaying their glittering
scales.
Their
incredibly colorful jewelry made of corals and pearls displayed on their
smooth, snow-white skin swayed
about
along with the current.
No
fixed rhythm could be detected from their movements.
The
glowing jellyfish were lit up by blue rays of light, the schools of fish of
varying colors, not to mention the
mermaids
gracefully swimming –
Such
a dreamlike sight would attract anyone’s attention, which probably meant –
“…Nii,
this is their grateful and welcoming…dance.”
“-
Apparently so… l-look here, Steph, didn’t I say there wasn’t a problem!”
“These
people really are magnanimous as the ocean is deep…”
After
a while, a Seiren that appeared to be wearing the most beautiful jewelry swam
forth –
She
waved both her hands, and her mouth opened and closed randomly.
Observing
her motions, Steph tilted her head, not understanding what was going on, while
Sora realized what was
going
on.
“We’re
in the air Jibril created for us, and they’re out there in the water – sound
probably won’t travel.”
“Yeah…
I’ll go explain and drink some blood along the way so I can use the power from
that to cast a spell that will
allow
all of you to breathe in the water, so please remove this air barrier after
that…”
As
she finished her sentence, Plum immediately sprinted forward, broke through the
air bubble and swam into the
water.
They
glanced at her as she left.
“Even
if we really are saviors of their species…”
“-
They still welcomed us this warmly after the gates to their city were forced
open with an attack like that?”
Hearing
Jibril and Miko’s whispers with sharp glances on their faces, Sora laughed
coldly as well:
“…The
Seirens, are they really idiots? Or –“
Part
2
“Hello~
everyone~, hehe ☆ I am
Her Majesty the Queen’s representative, Amira~! Everything’s
OK~ ☆”
They’re
idiots.
Sora
managed to swallow his blatantly honest thought.
After
Jibril removed the air bubble, a Seiren had rushed up immediately.
「This
Person」 who called herself Amira, if her words could be trusted – but the scary
part was they probably
could
be – she was the sole representative over all the existing Seirens at the
moment.
She
had silky green hair, snow-white skin that was almost transparent, and clear
blue eyes.
She
wore coral jewelry all about her, but she didn’t give off a vulgar air.No Game
No Life:Volume 4 66
Considering
she was a mermaid, it would probably be a legitimate form of dressing, but her
personality was –
“Thank
you all for coming specially, like really thanks a lot~ ☆ ~~~Really, the only way I can express my feelings
right
now would be through a kiss~! Fufu ☆ Right?”
“...No
thanks, I’ll cherish your well wishes though…”
It
wasn’t a matter of honorifics or anything like that, although what she spoke
could be considered as Imanity,
everything
about it was strange.
Sora
and the others were gaping in shock, while Amira continued to swim around
busily.
“Even
in the depths of the ocean, rumors of the conquests of both of you have reached
here as well~ ☆The
miraculous
king here to save the Imanity sounds like an incredibly handsome person just by
hearing about him, and
your
looks suit Amira’s preference as well~!! Right ☆”
“…Oh,
really?”
It was
the first time that he was called handsome by a girl… but why was it?
He
wasn’t happy at all… thinking of those miscellaneous things, Sora nodded in
agreement.
“Aha
☆ Your voice is so cool as
well!! Amira’s so wet~ ah, because I’m in the ocean~ hehe☆”
Sora
glanced at Plum wordlessly, while she silently returned his gaze while shaking
her head in sadness.
Amira
didn’t seem to mind that sort of attitude at all, and instead continued with a
smile plastered on her face:
“Oh~
we’ve prepared a feast, hehe ☆ Would you like to have the food? Or•perhaps•have •me? ♥”
Amira
shook her body in an attempt to seduce Sora.
While
Ino accidentally revealed a lecherous expression on his face, and his
temperature rose –
“First
let us see 「The Empress」, your welcome can wait until after that.”
Hearing
Sora’s obvious rejection, Ino perked his ears up in surprise.
But
Amira didn’t seem to mind.
“Ah,
you really are as focused as they say ☆ But if so Amira might like you even more, you know ☆”
“…Really…anyway
please lead us there.”
“OK~
☆ So let’s
swim into the city~ follow me, over here~ phew~ ♥”
With
Amira leading the way, Sora and others descended the tower and headed in the
direction of Oceando.
Sora
heard Ino speaking behind him.
“…Sora-san,
it’s amazing that you could reject her so quickly.”
“Huh?”
“No,
in the ocean even the senses of us Werebeasts will be limited, so I can’t grasp
Sora-san’s true intentions… but
considering
that even when being seduced by such an attractive woman you still can remain
composed, Sora-san, do
you
have superhuman self-control –“
However
Sora glared at Ino coldly in response, and he spoke as though spitting:
“Old
man, are you that desperate, even though I’m a virgin, what do you expect me to
feel about someone of that
standard…
let’s go, Shiro.”
“…Mm…”
Leaving
behind the speechless Ino, Sora swam towards the city while carrying Shiro –No
Game No Life:Volume 4 67
Part
3
Immediately
as they stepped into Oceando, they were welcomed by extravagant cheers.
Every
single Seiren had joyful smiles on their faces, and were dancing seductively
while playing completely
out-of-tune
music.
As
for the language – there was probably no
need for them to speak Imanity anyway, as although they couldn’t
understand
the Seirens, they could definitely sense their welcoming intent.
In
the midst of the joyfully frolicking crowds of Seirens, what appeared to be
female Dhampirs could be seen
occasionally.
Their
facial expressions were in contrast with the Seirens, not all that different
from Plum’s.
Those
were pitiful… tired smiles, and their expressions as they welcomed Sora’s bunch
seemed to say 「Thank you
for
coming this far」.
-
In exchange for a constant source of blood from the Seirens, the Dhampirs were
to assist the Queen in reproducing.
Before
their Queen was hibernating the two races were in a state of perfect mutualism,
but now their relations were
like
a candle in the wind – however –
“I’m
curious, how can these people remain so cheerful and lively even when their
race is nearing extinction?”
Yes
– leaving out the Dhampirs, the Seirens didn’t appear gloomy in the slightest.
“-
Didn’t I explain before … they completely don’t understand what is happening to
them.”
Plum
replied with a weary smile, while Jibril continued:
“Because
the Seirens are so incredibly dumb that their stupidity has reached legendary
status, and in the languages of
all
the nations the very mention of their species have become synonymous to 「Idiots」,
and even that term itself
has
been used to refer to the 「Seirens」as well, even being used as verbs in
sentences.”
Sora
and others walked along the sea floor with Amira leading them.
-
Walking in water.
It
didn’t feel like walking nor swimming, which caused Shiro to feel curious at
this new sensation, while Sora walked
forward
while carrying her just the same.
Ino
and Izuna, not to mention Miko – they truly were Werebeasts.
They
had quickly mastered the act of walking under these circumstances, and were
bounding forward naturally.
Even
when in the ocean Jibril still 「Flew around」.
“-
Or should I say, Imanity are even more inferior to the idiot Seirens?”
To
be perfectly honest, the ones there that were clearly unsuited to moving
underwater were obviously Sora and
Shiro.
“Before
I met my Masters, I would reply 「Yes」 - but to put it more eloquently, they’re
only ranked higher because
they
have special abilities, but otherwise they’re a really stupid species.”
Jibril
spoke all smiles, while Plum continued wearily:
“These
people only know how to eat, sleep, have sex and play, nothing more… fish do contain nutrition that can
make
people smarter, but the fish themselves are rather stupid… isn’t it
unbelievable?”
-
This world really doesn’t have species that can get along with each other… Sora thought and looked into the
horizon.
“…That’s
true… even their representative is someone like this.”
“No…
the fact that Amira-sama can speak Imanity is already good enough…”
Good
enough - Sora looked towards Plum sympathetically.No Game No Life:Volume 4 68
When
faced with Sora’s gaze, Plum’s expression immediately turned into that of
someone that has accepted his/her
fate
and spoke:
“Because
we’re all in the same boat… I sincerely
plead Sora-dono and others to help them find ways to solve this
problem
– even the ones that suggested previous methods were Dhampirs… since the
Seirens don’t have any sense
of
urgency, they’re only good at mating… hahah… sigh…”
“…It’s
really been hard on you…”
With
Amira at the lead, they entered a particularly tall building in Oceando.
During
the course of their journey, Sora raised a question that had come to him
suddenly.
“Speaking
of mating, Jibril, the Seirens mate with males of other species right?”
“Yes,
you’re absolutely right.”
“The
sixteen races don’t have any 「Hybrids」 between races?”
-
Although Sora and Shiro were only in this world for a short period of time, but
regarding things like half-elves
commonly
seen in fictional worlds - 「Hybrids」, they had yet to hear of.
“That’s
perfectly normal.” Jibril replied.
“The
reason why they don’t exist is because although the sixteen races all have
certain similarities with each other,
their
souls are completely different.”
-
Souls again?
「Souls」
that were yet to be proven to exist in Sora’s original world, appeared to be
commonplace knowledge in
this
one.
Those
were probably something like chromosomes, Sora told himself, and continued:
“But
don’t the Seirens mate with other species? Won’t their offspring be Seiren
hybrids?”
“No,
their offspring will be pure 「Seirens」.”
“Even
though they are two different types of souls?”
“It’s
just like how the Dhampirs absorb souls by drinking blood, Seirens obtain souls
from mating and carry out
「Metamorphosis」,
creating their own clones, so their methods of mating are even more ineffective
than 「Living
beings」,
sapping the other party dry in the process as well.”
“…That
really is lethal.”
“Really?
According to textual records – the act itself brings 「Joy paralleling
assumption」.”
“So
they really go through assumption quite literally… and it’s a 「Journey of no
return」.”
But
forget it – no matter how you put it.
“Because
of that, to produce hybrids – to produce offspring carrying characteristics
of two different species is
impossible.”
Sora
thought for a moment, and figured – Tet probably let there be 「Sixteen Races」
since they can’t produce
hybrids.
“-
Jibril, is there something on my face?”
Sora
noticed that Jibril was staring at him intently.
“I
think I’ve told you before that the Flügel aren’t 「Living beings」.”
“Yeah,
you said that your species aren’t 「Living beings」 but 「Life」 right.”
“Yes,
and it’s because of that that souls have no fixed shape, so as long as you
extract a part of someone else’s soul
and
combine it with mine, you could produce an offspring belonging to the other
party’s species – it’s like physical
coitus,
but in theory it’s still possible to transcend species and produce a hybrid.”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 69
“-
I still don’t get what you’re trying to say.”
At
this point she lowered her head reverently, moved her halo to the back of her
head, and folded up her wings –
This
was a gesture of loyalty to her Master alone, and Jibril clasped her hands
together tightly and spoke as though a
prayer:
“As
long as Master wishes to have a child, the inferior Jibril is willing to do it
anytime –“
“…Jibril…shut
up…”
Shiro’s
razor-edged words, forced Jibril to shut her mouth.
“We’re~~~~
here~!”
Sora
heard a loud and bright voice all of a sudden, and looked up.
“Sorry
to keep you all waiting! This is the Empress’ room~ ♪”
Amira
stretched out one hand and pushed open the door slowly –
-
Light spilled out from the opening.
The
Empress’ room was rather wide, and the carpets and atrium were pink.
Faintly
glowing seaweeds were placed on the walls, and what appeared to be decorative
woven patterns lit up the
room.
Painted
glass was etched onto the tall ceiling, causing sunlight that had reached the
floor of the ocean to spill into the
room.
Although
the faint sunlight seemed unnecessary – as on the glowing throne right below
them, there was a gigantic,
beautiful
crystal glowing noticeably.
No,
it was a pretty-looking transparent imitation crystal… a block of ice.
“-……”
Everyone
was speechless when faced with that sight.
At
this point Amira solemnly – or at least attempted to act solemnly – announced:
“Now
I will introduce to everyone… this is the Empress of the Seirens…
Leila•Lorelei-dono.”
- A
beautiful woman was sleeping within the block of ice.
Wave-like
blue hair fell on her youthful face.
Her
snow-white body was decorated with blinding strips of gold and the lower half
of her body had attractive scales
on
it.
Those
scales reflected the light in the room, appearing extremely colorful.
The
「Empress」 ornamented in light and gold
and encased within the coffin of ice, silently sat on the bivalve
throne
with her eyes closed.
Plum
and Amira were quietly discussing behind everyone who was still speechless.
“A-Amira-sama…
regarding them awakening the Empress… Sora-dono and the rest said that they
wish to challenge
everyone
here to a game… is that all right?”
Hearing
Plum’s words, Amira appeared momentarily troubled, but then she replied:
“Alright,
no problem ☆ But do
you have any issues over your side?”
“Nope…
s-so I wish to get the help of about thirty people to help with the spells
involved.”
“Mm.”
Amira nodded her head.
“OK
☆ So I’ll
be off to make preparations for Her Majesty’s awakening~ ☆ Since you want everyone to use magic at
once,
you’ll need blood right~ Hehe ☆ Amira will go get everyone else, so I’ll leave everything to Plum for
now ☆”
“Alright…
t-then I’ll make preparations for the spell to enter Her Majesty’s dream
state…”No Game No Life:Volume 4 70
She
took a bow and left the room with Amira.
-
But everyone else didn’t seem to have noticed her departure.
They
were merely focusing on the block of ice with the Empress sleeping within.
“W-what
a beautiful woman…”
Steph
seemed to have forgotten that she was a woman herself, and complimented her
passionately.
When
faced with her stunning appearance, no elaboration was needed for Ino’s
reaction, while Jibril, Miko and even
Izuna
felt the same way.
Their
gazes were blindly attracted to her, but –
“Hmm…?
Is she that pretty? Shiro?”
“…I…don’t
really understand…”
“”What!~~~?”
Everyone
else was stunned by their reactions.
“A-are
the both of you not right in the head!? I-if this woman isn’t a beauty, then
who is!?”
“…You’re
the one that needs to calm down, she’s not beautiful to the extent where you
have to be this shocked
right?”
Faced
with Steph’s protests, Sora merely spoke with his forehead wrinkled in
impatience.
He
looked at the Empress once again.
- Leila
Lorelei, the Empress of the mermaids asleep within a coffin of ice.
Her
appearance was certainly beautiful.
But
Sora could confidently say – she was 「Different」.
For
example, her beauty was different from Jibril’s that could shame even a work of
art.
It
was different from Miko’s bewitched, almost holy beauty under the moonlight as
well.
It
was different from Izuna’s pure, untainted cuteness as well, not to mention –
“…?
Nii…?”
Sora
looked beside him – at his confused-looking sister, and he confirmed his
thoughts.
“-
She’s no contest at all, or should I say, even Steph is superior to her?”
“…F-flattering
me that obviously, even I’ll get angry you know!?”
“No,
what use is there even if I flatter you…”
Sora
looked at her in irritation, while Ino patted him on the back.
“Sora-san,
no, it’s fine, don’t worry.”
He
continued kindly:
“Don’t
worry about it at all – impotence is curable, I’ll take you to eat soft-shelled
turtle steamboat next time…”
“It’s
not like that at all, stop ruining my reputation!!”
Sora
pointed to the block of ice and yelled.
“Can
you all calm down!! I’m not calling her ugly, but when compared to the likes of
Miko-san, Jibril, Izuna and
Shiro,
is she really something to fawn over!? I mean what I say, everyone here are all
supreme beauties!!”
Steph
and Ino continued to look at Sora pitifully, but –
Hearing
Sora’s words, only Jibril and Miko came back to their senses.
“Amazing,
Master… this is what I was referring to earlier, the Seirens’ 「Ability」.”
“-
Ah?”No Game No Life:Volume 4 71
Miko
and Jibril tore their gazes from the block of ice, and Jibril continued:
“The
Seirens don’t have special bodies or magic, but the fact that they’ve managed
to survive for this long can be
attributed
to their greatest and only weapon, which is –“
Jibril
took a deep breath.
“As
long as they’re in the water – they have 「The ability to attract anything」.”
“The
Seirens are a species that have received the blessings of the water – the
reason why they stay in the ocean and
cannot
leave it is because of the large amount of Spirits in their bodies… 「Water Spirits」, and they can
「Attract」
all other spirits.”
“…Ah…”
“Ah,
I see.”
Sora
and Shiro nodded their heads in understanding, seeming to have understood what
was going on.
Before
the 「Ten Oaths」, the Seirens reproduced by consuming males of other species.
Since
they didn’t have any superhuman strength nor any magic and couldn’t leave the
sea, how did they survive?
The
answer was – they 「Seduce」 others and attract them.
This
would explain why they could swim along with the fishes and could withstand the
water pressure of the deep
sea
without magic.
“Isn’t
that like seduction magic?”
“Yes,
to put it simply they control the movements of spirits – something like using
magnets to attract them, which is
the
ability of their species… which wasn’t something particularly important
originally, but –“
Jibril
glared over at the Empress, and once again averted her eyes.
“But,
this mermaid over here – the amount of spirits she possesses can be considered
an 「Anomaly」.”
Jibril
spoke unhappily as she was unable to resist the Empress’ charms.
While
the other person who should’ve known what was going on as well – Miko scratched
her head with a helpless
expression
on her face.
Changing
the subject –
“But…
why doesn’t it work on the Masters?”
Jibril
asked curiously.
“…Hmm…?
Jibril said it herself…we don’t have…spirits.”
“Yeah,
you did say that, everyone in this world has spirits within them, but Shiro and
I don’t.”
When
they had first met, to prove to her that they were from another world, they had
let Jibril scan their bodies for
spirits.
If
their ability was to attract spirits like magnets, the fact that it didn’t work
on Sora and Shiro should have been
obvious,
but –
“No,
as long as there are souls, there should be spirits presents. Maybe Master’s
spirits are too faint for me to detect,
or
maybe your spirits are undetectable – but if so, why would there be no effect –
this is strange.”
Jibril
muttered to herself, with her interest once again returning to Sora and Shiro,
and she looked at them excitedly.
-
While Ino who was standing beside her spoke:
“Or
is it simply because Sora-san can’t get erect as a man?”
“You
shut the hell up, old man, you only think about the lower halves of the body,
don’t you, but I am a man of
reason.”
“Sorry
to keep you all waiting~!”No Game No Life:Volume 4 72
-
Plum and Amira returned noisily.
Was
the spell to enter the Empress’ dream state ready?
The
two of them approached the block of ice where the Empress was sleeping.
“So
now we’ll use Plum’s magic to let you all into Her Majesty’s dreams.”
That
cheerful smile was still on her face.
Amira
nonchalantly continued:
“To
all of you who wish to awaken the Empress, please 「Swear to the Oaths」 and bet
all that you have, then touch
the
crystal~”
-……
“Huh?
Hey, what did you say?”
Steph
broke the silence and asked.
Amira
replied with another question in shock:
“Eh?
Is there a problem?”
“Of
course there’s a problem, what are you talking about!?”
…Bet
all that you have?
Does
that mean in the sense where the person’s wealth, identity, freedom, life –
everything is put on the line?
“Is
there a need for that? We came to help you upon your request!!”
“Sigh~
Plum, did you bring them here without telling them everything?”
“Um…
I’m sorry…”
Amira
prodded her cheek with a troubled expression on her face, while Plum
insistently apologized.
While
the one that interrupted them was –
“Calm
down, Steph, you’re the one that doesn’t understand.”
Sora’s
tone was calm as always.
Seeing
how calm he was, Steph turned around and observed everyone’s reactions.
Not
just Sora and Shiro – but Miko, Jibril, Ino and even Izuna had expressions of
understanding on their faces.
“We
were invited here to – awaken the Empress through the 「Empress’ Game」, right?”
“The
third of 「The Ten Oaths」 states that in games, wagers will be made on what both
parties decide to be of
value – while the Empress 「Swore on the Oaths」 to hibernate, since the requirements of the 「Game」 to
awaken
her is to make her fall in love with the other party, a 「Bet」 of equal value is
needed for her love – right?”
“Completely
right, handsome man, not only your appearance, but your brain is handsome as
well!”
Amira
laughed and nodded her head in agreement, but –
Only
Sora had noticed, which was when Miko and Shiro revealed thin smiles on their
faces.
Steph
who hadn’t noticed still couldn’t agree.
“T-that
sort of thing is just too weird –“
-
She continued to question them.
“They’re
the ones that are on the brink of extinction, we’re here to help, so why do we
have to face that kind of
risk!?”
Sora
replied as relaxed as ever.
“Plum
did say earlier, to interfere with relationships and dreams should’ve been
impossible under the 「Ten Oaths」,
it
was only possible because the Empress agreed on it – but her agreement is
merely within the game itself.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 73
-
Which is to say –
“If
we don’t begin the 「Empress’ Game」, all sorts of spells wouldn’t be able to be
used, so there would be no other
way
to awaken her, and to obtain the rights to play a game against her, the 「Bet」
she requires is –“
Sora
looked over at Plum and Amira and spoke in a joking tone:
“「If
you want my love you must have the drive to sacrifice everything!」…something
like that right?”
Steph
remained stunned, while everyone else appeared defeated.
Only
Amira continued to ramble on.
“Co~rrect~
an~swer! Ah~ I really don’t want to give you to the Empress, are you sure you
don’t want to be with me
instead?”
Ignoring
Amira, Sora spoke:
“Anyway
since we have magic that will allow the Empress to fall in love with us, there
shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Y-yes!
I can confirm it, leave everything to me!”
“S-something
like that – what if the magic doesn’t work!?”
Steph
still couldn’t lose her sense of apprehension, but –
“Just
leave that to Amira~”
Amira
spoke clearly:
“Even
if you guys can get into the game successfully, the Empress in charge of the
bets is still hibernating, so her
possessions
will be in my care! If the magic doesn’t work I’ll return everything, so there
won’t be any risk ♪”
“No,
that sort of verbal promise –“
Sora
interrupted her mid-sentence.
“OK,
there’s no problem – let’s begin the game.“
Steph
felt something was amiss.
She
felt that something wasn’t right somewhere, why would such high-risk conditions
only be mentioned now?
Steph
looked at Sora, why didn’t Sora feel any suspicion about the entire affair?
This
wasn’t like the usual Sora, to accept such a suspicious-sounding game –
Steph
once again surveyed her surroundings.
Aside
from her, everyone else didn’t seem to have any queries, and didn’t have
anything to say.
(W-what’s
going on…? What’s happening here?)
Plum
then began explaining the rules of the game.
“So
– after all of you bet everything you have, please 「Swear on the Oaths」and
touch the block of ice… after
which
the Dhampirs under the platform and I will cast a spell and lead all of you
into Her Majesty’s dream… to
perform
the 「Love Magic (cheat)」 I’ll follow you as well…”
Plum
began planning out the spell accordingly while explaining at the same time:
“Since
it’s a dream, the surroundings can be set according to whatever all of you
want… so – Sora-dono will decide
right?
I will try and go according to Sora-dono’s imagination and construct Her
Majesty’s dream correspondingly…
no
matter the situation – the victory condition remains.”
Sora
helped Plum continue her sentence:
“As
long as someone makes the Queen fall in love with him and awaken her it will be
a 「Victory」, but if you get
dumped
it will be considered a 「Loss」- while the loser will leave the game and give
away 「Everything」
according
to the bet – so we just have to swear to the oaths along the lines of this
right?”
“Y-yes…
b-but…”No Game No Life:Volume 4 74
Sora
interrupted her in understanding:
“I
get it, we have Plum’s love magic (cheat), and even if we lose we can just get
everything back from Amira – that’s
what
you were planning to say right? Take it easy.”
Sora
smiled fearlessly.
Steph
sensed something amiss about that smile, however, while Sora continued:
“With
our current lineup and the conditions provided the possibility of us losing is
zero, so hurry up and start the
game
already.”
“A-alright
– so Sora-dono, please imagine how you want the dream world to be like, and
then –”
Hearing
her words, Sora began imagining it.
As
long as dating games were mentioned, he wouldn’t make the normal kind.
“Please
swear to the oaths!”
“ -
「Aschente」!”
Sora,
Shiro, Steph, Jibril, Miko, Ino, Izuna and Plum.
As
all of them spoke that single word at once, their surroundings turned white.
◇◇◇
◆◆◆
◇◇◇
-
After which it turned from white to blue instantly.
As
though just waking up from a dream, they slowly regained their consciousness.
Throughout
their lethargic bodies, blood began circulating normally, their senses returned
to them, and –
“Aaaaahhhpfffffftttt!?”
-
They were drowning.
In
the middle of the sea, Sora and Shiro, Izuna, Ino and even Miko were being
tossed around by the waves.
They
could only smell the burning odor of the tides, and pain assaulted the deepest
parts of their nostrils.
As
their calm thoughts were being flung into a distance – a video began playing
within their subconscious.
“-With
every end there is a beginning-“
There
were overly flashy special effects, and sound effects that sounded like stars
collapsing.
A
narrator that sounded like it was reading off a script continued blandly.
“There
are meetings and there are separations –“
“THIS
ISN’T THE TIME TO BE PLAYING THE OPENING CREDITS, RIGHT!?”
Sora
struggled to raise his head above the water level, and roared angrily.
“Which
bloody universe’s version of 「Toki〇 Memorial」 starts with the protagonist
drowning? My heart isn’t
exactly
beating hard right now!”
[15]
No,
their hearts were beating violently.
But
Sora didn’t want to use the term 「Heartbeat」 to describe the dying throes of
one’s heart when faced with a
life-threatening
situation.
“Ah,
s-sorry… I confused Sora-dono and Her Majesty’s imaginations of what the dream
world should be like, it takes
time
to create the scene… please wait a while more…”
Thinking
closely, this was rather unavoidable.No Game No Life:Volume 4 75
Since
they were able to interfere with the Empress’ dreams, this world couldn’t have
a 「Schoolyard setting」 like
in
Sora’s world.
Of
course, Sora’s imagination needed to be combined with the Empress’ knowledge,
and –
“…Nii…I
lived…a good life…”
“Plum~!
My sister’s already giving up on survival, so hurry up already~~!”
Shiro
closed her eyes with a blissful expression on her face, while Sora hugged her
and yelled loudly.
“-
Ah, ah, the spell is complete, I’ll construct the setting now!”
-
In an instant.
The
original 「Setting (scene)」 of them
drowning in the ocean was removed, and changed immediately like
flipping
the pages of a book.
The
「Stage」 switched from the ocean itself to the sea floor, and unnecessary 「Settings」
like breathing were
removed.
Like
flipping over poker cards face down one by one, various changes to make the
game run smoothly were
implemented,
and the dream world was able to accept 「Unreasonable」 settings.
“-
Master, are you alright?”
Hearing
Jibril’s loud cries, Sora returned to his senses – not realizing that he was
now on solid ground.
“…T-that
was…horrifying…”
In
the clear blue ocean, Sora spat out 「a single breath」, and wiped off 「the sweat
on his brow」.
Shiro
was shivering in fear due to nearly drowning early, and Sora hugged her while
complaining dissatisfiedly.
“The
game hadn’t even started and we were already facing a death end, can you please
not use that sort of weird plot
settings
here?”
“…I
still…hate the ocean…”
“The
「Sea」 that caused the Masters harm… it appears there is a need to remove it
completely.”
“Wouldn’t
it be fine if you were to just learn to swim…”
At
this point, Steph who appeared to be the only relaxed one spoke with her eyes
half open.
But
Miko and others beside her – all the Werebeasts in frustration – agreed with
Jibril’s words.
“…Yeah,
who cares about the ocean, who created these weird puddles anyway?”
“I
have to agree with Jibril-san for once, just let the sea dry off already.”
“Also
the sea is so stinky… if only the sea could just disappear and leave behind all
the fish.”
Everyone
had completely entered the dream, and even though they were cursing, they were
gradually returning to
their
usual calm selves.
-
Sora, Shiro, Steph, Jibril, Miko, Ino and Izuna.
They
stepped on the floor individually, and the 「Setting (scene)」 in front of them
constructed slowly.
Even
though they were at the bottom of the sea the sky could be seen, and clouds
were moving about on the water’s
surface.
The
uneven terrain was re-flattened, and 「School buildings」 appeared on the sea
floor originally filled with rocks
and
corals.
The
schools of tropical fish swimming around them gradually transformed into
nameless normal students (NPC).
In
the blink of an eye a virtual stage known as the 「Underwater school」 was built.
That
was a 「High school」 built in the same style as the other buildings around
Oceando –
Glancing
at their surroundings, beside Sora –No Game No Life:Volume 4 76
“What
shocks me is that Her Majesty actually knows about 「Schools」… did she read
about them in books?”
Plum
who had appeared to have snuck into the game (dream) successfully, spoke.
Understanding
the meaning behind Sora’s glance, Plum smiled wearily, and explained bitterly.
“Haha…
Oceando doesn’t have anything like schools… what would those people need to
learn anyway.”
As
the scene around them stopped changing, Sora and others began showing changes
instead.
First
– countless signs lit up, entering their field of vision.
“…?
What is this?”
Steph
wanted to touch the signs that appeared, but grabbed air instead, and Sora
explained:
“That’s
the UI (User Interface)… the 「Command Selection Screen」.”
-
It was exactly like a status screen in a standard dating simulator.
It
brought back memories, like the title screen of 「Toki〇 Memorial」, but Sora
complained instead:
“…Since
you could generate something like this this perfectly, then you shouldn’t have
let us drown in the first place.
“Because
this only causes any effect on the players… when the scenes are being
constructed, it’s actually the process
of
combining Sora-dono and Her Majesty’s memories, something that took us quite a
lot of effort to do, but –“
Plum
spoke in shock all of a sudden:
“Where
did Sora-dono get your information? I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Plum
didn’t know that Sora came from another world, and indicated curiosity at how
he was able to imagine such
things
– but Sora merely ignored her.
“Speaking
of which since what you’re doing is reflecting the imaginations of the players,
the settings should be rather
easy
to change right?”
“Ah,
yes, because the spell is being constructed… so as long as Sora-dono wishes it
anything can be changed.”
Plum
continued:
“But
one’s appearance, age and sex are unchangeable… please take care.”
-
The Empress was hibernating in wait of a 「Prince」.
If
she were to fall in love only to realize that the person that had awoken her
was completely different from the
character
in her dream, like a photo scam – she would probably resume hibernation.
They
didn’t have any problem with that, but what was important was:
“Since
we can change our names, please set my name as 「Ko〇man」.”
“…Nii,
setting all base stats…to 573 is cheating…”
[16]
Facing
his sister’s accusing gaze with her eyes half open, Sora shook his hand while
chuckling in denial.
“Using
official cheats are technically allowed according to the rules, and also if
this cheat is used as long as you
perform
any actions you will be afflicted with neurosis, causing you to miss the entire
first year and all the flags in
it…
so it does have its negative side effects!” (TL note: See what I mean by
negative stats?)
“…Then
Shiro will… use the name「Se〇ponume」.”
[17]
“Um…
is there any particular reason for that…?”
As
they were conversing – Sora and others’ appearances changed according to Sora’s
imagination made reality by
the
spell.
Sora’s
dressing was merely an extra uniformed suit over his usual T-shirt saying 「I ♥Humans」.
“…Oof,
this clothing is rather stuffy.”
Wearing
a male school uniform as well – a ninety-eight year old man with bulging
muscles spoke beside him.
“…A
uniform that bulges tightly due to overly large muscles…I think I’m going to
have nightmares tonight.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 77
Sora
spoke while averting his gaze from hell (Ino) over to heaven (playground) –
which was essentially the female
members
of their posse.
Shiro
who was standing on the other side of him wasn’t wearing her usual full black
uniform – but instead a brightly
colored
female uniform.
-
Maybe because it was mixed in with the Empress’
impressions as well, it was a sailor uniform slightly more
revealing
than Sora had expected it to be.
And
around her were Izuna, Jibril and Miko who were wearing the same uniforms –
“…Miko-san’s
sailor uniform, really does look amazing…”
“Do
you have something to say about it?”
Stroking
her long golden hair, Miko spoke while wearing a sailor uniform identical to
Shiro’s.
Her
twin tails lifted her skirt slightly as they shook about, and her beautiful
legs underneath were extremely
attractive,
but –
“…Miko-san,
how old are you?”
“Didn’t
anyone tell you that asking for a lady’s age is extremely rude?”
“Oh,
right… speaking of which the one that created the Eastern Union was Miko-san
right?”
Miko’s
ears twitched slightly.
“You
kept saying things like since you were matured or whatever, Izuna’s eight years
old but she’s already matured,
while
the Eastern Union prospered rapidly within fifty years (half a century) – even
when you leave out the time
taken
to take care of the entire Eastern Union, you at least have to be about
fifty-eight –“
“Let
me give you a piece of good news OK? Imanity (bald monkey). Werebeasts –
especially in their 「Blood
Devastation」
form, age extremely slowly.
Miko
interrupted Sora’s accurate deduction, and spoke with a dazzling smile.
-
After which a dangerous smile appeared on her face, and she spoke clearly:
“If
you dare to call me 「Auntie」, you know what will happen, don’t you ♥”
“-
Phew… and I was the one about to tell Miko-san some good news.”
Sora
met her smile head on, and replied:
“Looks
are everything! Miko-san gives off an air like she’s older than she actually is
because of her actions and tone
of
voice, but appearance-wise you look no older than a beautiful twenty-year-old
lady –which means actual age is no
more
than a title, which is what we Imanity believe.”
“…That
is what you believe.”
Despite
clearly hearing Steph’s words, Sora excellently ignored her, and pointed beside
him.
“Also
there’s someone here who is 「Over six thousand years old」, so there’s nothing
to worry about right?”
“Ah,
Master, to be precise I’m 「Six thousand four hundred and seven」 years old.”
Jibril
who was looking at her garb curiously since earlier, replied with a smile on
her face.
Her
shirt was lifted up slightly by the wings on her waist, revealing a short
snatch of bellybutton, while the rest can
be
omitted.
On
the other hand –
“…Speaking
of which, may I ask a question?”
“Hmm
– is there a problem? Steph.”
“Why
am I the only female along with you and Ino – that’s wearing male clothes?”
-
That was true.No Game No Life:Volume 4 78
Shiro,
Jibril, Miko and Izuna.
They
were all wearing sailor uniforms, but only Steph was – wearing a male uniform
identical to Sora and Ino’s.”
Sora
nodded his head meaningfully, and explained his reasoning.
“Good
question – this is what is known as 「To kill a general, first shoot his horse」.”
“…What?”
Sora
spoke with a serious expression, and everyone’s eyes were on him.
“-
First, there are 「Two」 reasons why I didn’t let everyone wear male clothing.”
Sora
continued while lifting up a single finger.
“First,
if we’re going to conquer the female lead, I want to have help from her friends
– the girls.”
“…You
really say all these dastardly things without hesitation.”
Miko
spoke her thoughts on everyone else who was glaring at Sora coldly.
However
Sora ignored her and raised another finger:
“Secondly
– I considered the possibility that a
trap like the Empress 「Never was interested in men」 in the first
place
might exist.”
“…I
did say earlier that the Empress was looking for a fertile male…?”
“There’s
insufficient evidence to prove that.”
Sora
rebutted Plum who objected while staring daggers at him as well, and continued:
“Next
up is the reason why I let specifically Steph wear male clothing – Steph has
strong communication skills, so
she
can be our scout for information.”
If
they were only looking at political power, Miko could be a stand-in for her as
well.
But
according to Sora’s instinct, Steph was the correct choice as she could make
friends easily.
“I
want a male comrade that has the social skills and ability to collect
information like Saotome-kun – but…”
[18]
Sora
turned to Steph and sighed.
“…But
compared to Saotome, you’re more of a… someone like Ijuuin…”
[19]
“-
What? I don’t really understand…”
- A
redhead with rather proper looks.
She
looked like a rather high-classed handsome teenager – the male-dressed Steph
tilted her head in confusion.
Her
attitude was nonchalant as she hadn’t particularly noticed her appearance, but
she was proficient in both physical
ability
and studies, even being a decent homemaker.
She
had social skills, a drive to get things done – and had a set of determined
blue eyes.
And
deep in her eyes, one could even get a glimpse at her overwhelming gentleness
and resilient personality – she
was
quite literally a model teenager.
-
To be honest.
Sora
wanted to punch her, as she was the enemy of unpopular people (the world) –
once again glancing at her riajuu
appearance,
Sora sighed.
[20]
“…Ijuuin?
Who’s that?”
“…It’s
first-gen… don’t bother about it…”
[21]
“…Speaking
of which, how about we not bother about Gramps over here and just let Steph go
talk to the girls?”
“What?
No, for me to go talk to the girls – and about that… S-Sora and I –“
“…Ah,
it appears the spell is complete.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 79
Part
4
“Hmm,
so let’s play the opening cutscene all over again – after which I’ll infiltrate
the Empress’ subconscious.”
Following
Plum’s announcement, a giant screen appeared in the middle of the air.
The
badly made advertising clip that had just played in their minds once again made
an encore accompanied with
relaxing
background music.
Following
the narrator’s descriptions, after photos of the school buildings and
classrooms were shown on screen, the
image
cut to the courtyard, where a giant madder-red colored piece of coral that
seemed to have branches extending
in
all directions was shown with the camera angle slightly tilted.
The
narrator explained calmly.
“Marinal
Kagayaki High… there is a legend that as long as one confesses under the
magical coral, one will acquire
「True
Love」.”
[22]
Hearing
these recycled words, Sora complained with his eyes half-opened:
“…Hey,
I wouldn’t care if it was like a magical tree or something, but what the hell
is a magical coral…?”
To
confess under an ancient tree was somewhat understandable.
Confessing
in the midst of bells ringing or on a slope with Sakura blossoms blowing around
would be acceptable as
well.
But
no matter how you think about it, 「Under the magical coral」 just seems a bit too over-the-top, don’t you
think?
“Even
if you say that I can’t do anything about it… there aren’t any trees in the
ocean…”
-
Speaking of which stuff like corals would probably look disgusting up close.
The
opening cutscene continued to play, disregarding Sora’s inner thoughts and
protests.
-
After a while.
The
boring narration ended, and pop music began playing.
Under
the pink-colored 「Magical coral」, a mermaid with blue hair flowing along with
the waves appeared.
-
The empress.
The
uniform-wearing empress – Leila swam quietly under the giant red coral as
though dancing.
Her
colorful uniform covered up her firm body that was shaking from side to side
unpredictably in the water brought
out
her natural sexiness and charisma even more, and the very action of her scaly
tail sticking out from her short skirt
while
flapping about in the water was attractive.
The
Empress’ eyes carried a hint of
melancholy, and she stretched her hand out to the sky as though earnestly
waiting
for something –
“La
- ♪”
She
began singing.
-
Upon hearing her voice, everyone simultaneously inhaled sharply.
“Ah…!”
“Oh,
this is… she really is a beauty, even her voice is exceptional.”
Steph
and Ino began praising her.
An
Empress that could bewitch anyone through a single glance.
Her
beautiful voice brought a sensation to the listener’s soul that was almost like
taking drugs.
…Except
for Sora and Shiro.
Sora
and Shiro stared at the screen in boredom.No Game No Life:Volume 4 80
“Even
I’m beginning to think that there’s something wrong with our taste…”
Ignoring
her voice for now –
The
song and video that was playing were completely mismatched with her sensual
actions and melancholic
expression.
But
before that, the Empress wasn’t suitable to wear sailor uniforms at all because
she’s too sexy.
It
was like a thirty-year-old woman (laugh) pretending to be a female high school
student –
“Well
it’s true that everyone’s preferences are different… but you want me to conquer
her?”
I
can’t seem to get excited… Sora took a small breath.
■「The
First Day」■
-
All of a sudden, the words 「The First Day」 appeared in front of everyone.
Sora
and Shiro were undoubtedly already used to it, but Plum continued to explain it
to the others.
“Um,
I believe a few 「Commands」 should have appeared in front of everyone, if you
use those you can perform
specific
actions… like giving presents and things like that.”
Hearing
Plum’s explanation, Sora tilted his head in curiosity instead.
“It’s
like that in theory, but this is a realistic romance game right? So there
shouldn’t be a hidden affection meter…”
“…Nii.”
As
Sora was complaining, Shiro quickly passed something to him.
“…Command…present…Nii,
did your affection gauge rise?”
Shiro’s
eyes appeared to be expecting something, while Sora smiled bitterly and
replied:
“Sorry,
sis, my affection for you is already at maximum levels, so even if you try
nothing will –“
“So
Master, if you allow me to, I will –“
Jibril
gave him a gift as well.
Plum
looked away from them and continued her expression.
“Also…among
the commands displayed, there should be two heart shapes as well.”
Everyone
carried out individual confirmations and found them almost immediately.
It
was in the lower-half corner of a screen with multiple signs on it.
There
was a normal heart shape and another heart shape with a 「+」marked on it.
“That
heart is the confession command…it’s up to you how you wish to confess, but if
you choose this and get
「Dumped」,
it will be regarded as a 「Loss」… while the one with a + on it is…”
“Your
「Love Magic」 right – a cheat command right, OK, I think I’ve got it… yep.”
Sora
had figured out the system since earlier, and turned towards Ino.
“So
Gramps, since you’ve married thirty wives, the amount of people you’ve slept
with must be more than that right?
So
how about you use those skills that even Ka〇 Taka can’t beat to quickly conquer
the Empress and get her heart.”
[23]
“The
way you put it is rather displeasing…”
Ino
wrinkled his forehead, but after that –
“I’m
looking forward to your lover’s skills that seem to be your pride, Hatsuse
Ino.”
“…Good
luck Grandpa, des.”
“Yes!
As Miko-sama orders…!”
Hearing
the two women’s encouraging words, Ino replied respectfully and turned towards
Sora.No Game No Life:Volume 4 81
“…But
Sora-san, I was quietly listening to you since earlier, all that stuff about
shooting generals and horses,
helpers,
scouts for information and others seems pretty hard to comprehend.”
“…What?”
Sora
replied with his forehead wrinkled, and Ino shrugged his shoulders and
continued:
“…Could
it be that Sora-san believes that ignoring women’s preferences and forcing
one’s own preferences onto
them
– even stooping to the point of changing one’s appearance to suit them is 「Love」?”
…He
got me, Sora thought.
“To
be precise, that’s how it is in a 「Romance Game」.”
Noticing
that Sora was unable to answer, Ino looked at him solemnly.
“Phew…
so that’s how it is, it was a good idea after all to leave it to me after all,
it seems that just like how being
good
at fighting games doesn’t make one a good fighter, mastering romance games
doesn’t allow one to talk about
real
romance and love.”
-
He was right, but Sora somehow felt angry as he realized that his
self-confidence probably came from the fact that
he’d
slept with many women.
“Sora-san
do you know why you’re a virgin – an unpopular, antisocial, incurable man now?”
“…Old
man, don’t make me get Jibril to teleport you to the ends of the universe.”
Ino
didn’t appear to be the slightest bit threatened by Sora’s devilish glare.
“Some
say that 「Love is the art of reading hearts」- if so, why can’t Sora-san do it?”
“…Hmm?”
-
If it was 「Reading hearts」.
Then
Sora who was way above himself (Ino) should be able to do it.
Ino’s
words carried absolute confirmation at Sora’s ability with it as well, leaving
Sora speechless.
“I
see, there are many different ways to love, but… the end result is always to 「Convey one’s
feelings to the
other」,
and –“
Ino
stared at Sora sharply.
-
His eyes didn’t carry any hint of condescension.
It
wasn’t a look of sarcasm, hate, pity, nor underestimation.
It
was a look that Sora – knew all too well.
With
the look in his eyes that Sora never wanted to see again in his original world
– Ino continued:
“The
words spoken by a liar that lives on mountains of lies do not have the power to
convey one’s feelings at all!”
No
doubt about it, it was – a look of 「Distrust」.
“But,
it’s true, if it really is about reading hearts, there’s only one way, which is
–“
Ino
spoke while glancing towards his own command screen.
“「Seize
the upper hand」.”
Unhesitatingly
choosing the 「Confession Command」- Ino dashed forward.
“”Eh-!?””
Leaving
behind Sora and others who were still frozen in shock –
Using
his physical ability as a Werebeast to the fullest, Ino launched a surprise
attack with a blinding speed.
His
footsteps even caused loud booming noises, while his eyes were focused only one
thing.
Which
was the Empress that was about to step into the school gates – Leila.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 82
Ino
yelled at the figure that was being surrounded by several NPCs:
“The
pretty lady over there! Please wait!”
His
voice was like a knight reporting his name on the battlefield, and hearing his booming
voice, the Empress turned
around
slowly.
Her
sapphire colored eyes spotted Ino – and she replied:
“Are
you talking about me…?”
-
Those few words alone were like a force of nature.
“…!
Of course!”
For
a moment, Ino forgot he was in a game.
Every
word, sentence, action, and smile of the beauty in front of him was melting his
soul.
But
he shook his head in self-warning, and focused his strength at his abdomen.
[24]
-
There wouldn’t be a problem if he was to fall in love with her, or more
appropriately, he needed to fall in love with
her.
He
clenched his jaw and focused his energy with a determined look in his eyes.
-
But he couldn’t be consumed; he needed to consume the other –
“Oh
beautiful lady, please forgive me for interrupting you suddenly, if it’s
convenient for you – I would like you to
hear
a few words of mine.”
“Ah
– and what would those words be?”
The
Empress smiled sweetly.
Ino’s
heart felt like it was being grabbed onto tightly just from those words.
He
wanted to forget everything – at least, he was tempted to.
The
Empress’ eyes, the Empress’ voice, the Empress’ expression, her snow-white
neck.
The
angle at which her fingers touched her breasts unintentionally, the shadows
created by her waving hair –
Those
things, he considered them priceless treasures…!
-
Ino thought, there was a possibility –
The
previous challengers were all consumed by the Empress’ beauty and were unable
to even confess.
She
had that standard of beauty, a radiance that was almost violent in nature.
In
conclusion, in front of this woman, a normal young man wouldn’t even be able to
open his mouth.
But
Ino… replied with a smile.
-
He wasn’t at ease; he was already at his limit.
Love
isn’t about reading hearts – yes, love is a battle.
The
action of 「Laughing」 was an act of war.
-
It originated from how beasts would bare their jaws at their pray.
Ino
calmly, carefully, solemnly kneeled on the ground.
-
Love.
He
raised his two palms towards the heavens and beat them on the ground violently
as though in prayer.
-
The so-called love.
He
looked at the girl with a powerful gaze – it wasn’t a threat, but a silent
declaration of war.
-
Must be won with one’s own hands.No Game No Life:Volume 4 83
He
clasped his hands that were plastered onto the floor onto his knees,
and
pressed his forehead sharply down onto the concrete, head, bones
and
all…!
-
It was …
Impeccable.
A
glorious –
“Please!
I beg you to spend a passionate night with me -!”
-
He kneeled and kowtowed.
-…
“”-What!?””
-
Whose voices were those?
Or
were those possibly everyone’s voices?
Sora
and others didn’t need mentioning, as even the Empress was
frozen
in shock, however Ino continued, ignoring everyone else!
“Since
the first time I saw you, my heart has been boiling like lava,
please
look! My sword is hard and erect like steel -!!”
“Eek…”
The
Empress breathed sharply, and backed away continuously with a flustered
expression.
While
Ino increased his volume, and pressed his attack…!
“Oh,
please forgive me, dear Empress of the ocean! It’s all because you’re too beautiful!
Since the first time I saw
you,
I’ve been having this overflowing, unstoppable urge to hold you and penetrate
you! Please forgive my burning
feelings!”
“It’s
a straight-up kowtowing strategy that doesn’t give the other party time to back
down at all - !?”
Sora
felt a sense of immense trepidation.
Was
this the sure-win tactic of a man that has married thirty women!?
As
the surrounding atmosphere dropped to absolute zero temperatures, Ino’s
passionate kowtowing strategy was still
being
carried out in full.
“Please!
I beg you! Please carry out intercourse with me! Please have passionate
intercourse with me!”
“Eh?
No, wait, um… that…”
Since
she had begun hibernating, the Empress’ dreams had been interrupted countless
times, and she had received
countless
confessions as well.
Even
if she was really an Empress that had rejected all sorts of men, it was
probably her first time receiving such a
direct
confession. She hurriedly attempted to run towards the school blocks.
But
-!
“Please
wait!”
(Grasps)
Ino’s
muscular hand grabbed onto the Empress’ arm, stopping her in her tracks.
“No,
hey, let go -!”
“I’m
not going to! I won’t let go! I want you to feel the beating of my heart, the
burning heat of my loins! My body is
old
and insignificant, but I will make you satisfied even if it costs me my life!!”
“Noooooooooo!?”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 84
-
They were speechless.
It
was literally a crime – no, what was occurring in front of them was an act of
complete pervertedness.
If
a temperature below absolute zero existed, Sora and others spectating would
definitely feel like they were in it.
“…No,
but…”
Sora
who was watching the events unfold from a safe distance asked Miko nervously:
“Did
that old man use this method to get himself thirty wives…?”
“…No,
I don’t know, why are you asking me?”
“No,
unless those methods when used on Werebeasts actually…”
(How
could it possibly work!? I’m not even there and I feel like refusing myself!!)
“No,
wait, let go of me! I said let go of me!!”
The
Empress began crying out mournfully, and finally managed to shake off Ino’s
grasp.
After
which she turned, cut through the crowds and disappeared into the school blocks
with her tail flailing about.
“Please
wait, Empress! EMPREESSSSSS!!”
Ah…ah…
-
Ah…
-
…Ah
–
Ino’s
mournful cries echoed in the clear blue ocean – and disappeared suddenly.
The
rejected Ino lay motionless, appearing extremely depressed.
-
Seeing his current state, everyone else had the word ‘Disappointment’ engraved
in their hearts.
“…He
can’t make it anymore right?”
“…”
-
No one bothered to rebut Sora’s words.
“…B-but
that doesn’t count as being dumped yet, doesn’t it?”
Ino
did kneel down in pursuit of her love earlier, but the Empress didn’t
officially reject his love.
So
according to the system, the game – the dream should still continue…
Regarding
Sora’s question, Plum replied somewhat hesitantly:
“…Before
that, I think the real problem is whether that sort of action should be
considered as a confession or not…”
Hearing
Plum’s words, Sora nodded and said:
“-
Anyway, let’s have some fun normally, select command…「Leave the school」.”
“…Nod.”
“…Why
did you people choose this setting anyway?”
However,
no one bothered to answer Miko’s question…
■「The
Second Day」■
Immediately
after they woke up, the date and the 「Attend School」 commands appeared in front
of them.
As
they selected the command, the scene immediately changed.
When
they returned to their senses – Sora was already walking on the way to school
with Shiro.
The
activities that they had all done so far – eat breakfast, change into their
uniforms, get out of the house.
Those
were completely shortened out, and their memories of actually doing those tasks
merely remained fuzzily in
their
heads.
“…Nii,
good morning…”No Game No Life:Volume 4 85
“Good
morning…since in this game we’re under the 「Sibling Setting」 as well, we’re
allowed to be together from
morning.”
Not
to mention that they were set to be in the same grade.
An
eighteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old in the same grade – it
could be somewhat dismissed as a result of
continuous
grade-hopping.
Just
like that, as Sora, Shiro and the NPCs were going to school together, someone
called out to Sora from behind.
“-
Ah, Sora, g-good morning.”
“Oh…?”
Turning
around, Steph (male-dressed) was standing behind him.
Sora
raised one hand in response to her greeting, and then spoke with his forehead
wrinkled:
“…Good
morning, speaking of which the fact that you’re dressed like that but you’re
still speaking like a girl is
somewhat
disgusting.”
“Didn’t
you set this yourself…”
Steph’s
eyes narrowed in a devilish glare, and she took out a thick stack of papers
from her bag and passed them to
Sora.
“…What
is all this?”
“It’s
the Empress’ personal information in this game and also her contacts… I’ve also
done some slight research on
the
characters that may be acting as her friends in-game.”
“-
Eh? You’ve already done research!?”
Sora’s
eyes widened in shock as he began flipping through the information.
Steph
did say it was merely rough research, but what Sora saw was 「Information」
regarding tens upon tens of
characters
from their contacts to their hobbies.
-
To have such staggering amount of information in only the second day of school.
She
had a speed that even Saotome would envy, and Sora continued half-suspiciously:
“How
did you research about this sort of thing?”
Steph
widened her eyes as well in response, and replied nonchalantly:
“It’s
exactly the same as a 「Social Network」, as long as you get close to a few of
her attendants, you get all their
information,
including things from interests, dislikes, injuries, even relationships they’re
in. Also there apparently
won’t
be any consequences for talking about private matters here unlike in the real
world.”
-
Cheh!
“What
was that for!? Why did you go ‘cheh’ at me earlier!?”
Her
communication abilities were stunning.
Although
it had achieved the effects he had intended it to, but Sora felt anger first
instead of gratitude at her
superhuman
social skills.
“Ah,
I’m sorry, it was an accident… I-I’ll be using these as references, thanks for
everything.”
Sora
rallied once more and began comforting her.
“-
A-about that, speaking of which, just now, earlier, that… did the 「Affection
Gauge」 rise?”
Steph
(male according to the settings) asked while twiddling her fingers shyly.
“…What?”
“No,
the gift command earlier – “”””Steph-sama♪”””” –
Ah!?”
A
flirtatious voice sounded from behind her, and Steph let out a cry, falling
onto the floor.No Game No Life:Volume 4 86
As
she hurriedly turned, she saw a group of girls with heart shapes in their eyes
struggling and fighting amongst each
other
to get to her.
“Steph-sama!
Let’s walk to school together!”
“Hey
you, don’t ask so chummy with her! Here, Steph-sama, this way –“
“Eh,
wait…I haven’t finished – someone, someone help me ahhhhhhhh -!?”
Upon
seeing Steph being dragged away by a group of girls, Sora responded by
half-closing his eyes.
“…Just
let yourself be chased to the ends of the earth.”
He
let out a small choking noise, then left her behind and resumed his walk to
school.
As
he reached the school gates, he noticed Ino was still there in a kowtowing
position.
■「The
Third Day」■
Izuna
used the 「Gift」 command on Sora.
What
she gave was a can of mackerel.
However
Izuna was drooling while staring at the can of mackerel, and she appeared to be
undergoing an internal
struggle.
Sora
couldn’t help but consider giving up and going on the Izuna route instead, but
he managed to control his urge.
-
In school, he bumped into the Empress and Steph at the school gates, was there
a flag being triggered?
But
Sora didn’t know her yet, so he ignored her and continued towards the
classroom.
Immediately
as he reached – probably because she was set in the same grade as well – Plum
walked over in a female
uniform.
“U-um…
why is everyone ignoring the Empress…?”
“Because
we need to begin our assault only after we achieve the stats required to
conquer the character in order to
easily
gain affection points.”
“…Early
game…except for scripted flags…ignore everything…focus on raising stats…”
Shiro
and Sora raised their opinions with focused expressions, while Plum looked
somewhat troubled.
“…That’s
how it works…?”
Ino
was still kowtowing at the school gates.
■「The
Fourth Day」■
Miko
used the 「Ask on a Date」 command – on Sora.
He
was stopped on the way to school, and Miko took the initiative.
“I’m
pretty interested in this 「Sakura Coral Park」 set in the spring season, so
would you like to go together?”
She
appeared to be reciting lines off of the UI (User Interface), but it was the
first time Sora had heard of the place.
“Eh?
What’s that? Where did you see that?”
“Really,
you hadn’t noticed? There’s an icon shaped like a small book in the lower right
corner.”
“Ah…
really. The Oceando Messenger – I actually fell behind Miko-san in a romance
game of all things…”
“Heheh…
so? Could it be that you’re not interested in what Sakura corals may be?”
“Fine,
I’ll go, Shiro can follow along right?”
“…Mm,
I want to… see.”
“Since
we’re going, let’s invite everyone else as well, Izuna, Jibril, Steph – does
Plum want to go?”
“Master,
there’s a 「Make Bento」 command under the
「Hobbies」 command section, I’ll make
some for our
visit.”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 87
“…Um,
are you sure all of you haven’t forgotten what we’re here for…?”
Ino
was still kowtowing at the school gates.
■「The
Fifth Day」■
Today
was the day that they were to select their clubs, and everyone chose the
go-home club.
[25]
Only
Steph joined the students’ council, and for some reason she was glaring
hatefully at Sora.
-
After school, Shiro was tugging on his sleeve, and he looked up –
“…Nii,
over there.”
She
pointed at the Empress that appeared to be going home as well.
“A
go-home flag…?”
“I
think so, forget it, it’s too troublesome, let’s go home.”
“…「Going
home together…if anyone were to spread rumors… it would be very embarrassing」.”
“Hey
sis, can you not say that line again?”
[26]
-
Memories from his past awakened.
The
other party was his childhood friend, and as he nonchalantly invited her to
walk home together, he heard that
line
instead.
“Thinking
about it, I think that was the time when I stopped trusting people.
Plum
appeared to be hurriedly saying something, but Sora ignored her and replied
with “OK yeah it’s very funny”
dismissively.
Ino
was still kowtowing at the school gates.
■「The
Tenth Day」■
They
were having a meeting in preparation for the sports meet next month.
Since
it would probably end up with Jibril performing alone, they reached an
unanimous vote that they would select
the
leave school command immediately after classes ended.
As
they were stepping out of the school gates, Sora finally tried to use the 「Date
Command」.
-
And his target was Miko.
“Ah~
um, how about we all 「Go shopping」 together?”
“Why
do you sound like you’re reading from a script?”
“Nah,
it’s just a habit.”
“Speaking
of which wouldn’t it be no fun if we were to go shopping without having
anything to buy?”
“…I
think there’s…a food fest…”
“Alright,
let’s go, there should be wine right? Ah, does Izuna want to come along as
well?”
“As
long as there’s meat or fish then definitely, des.”
“Ah,
I’ll definitely go as well, Master.”
He
had planned to invite Steph, but possibly because she was busy with council
activities, they didn’t see her after
school
at all.
-
Although they spent all their 「Money」, everyone got to try pretty delicious
food.
Ino
was still – never mind.
■「The
Fifteenth Day」■
“-
Everyone, do we really need to go to school?”
Hearing
Sora’s words, everyone realized something.No Game No Life:Volume 4 88
After
which their actions were very fast-paced.
Everyone
began making plans in order to try out all the dating spots within their
reachable radius.
Sora
and Shiro dressed up carefully, wore dress suits and went to their meeting
point, but –
“…Disappointed…”
Shiro
sagged her shoulders in disappointment, while Sora helped her ask her question.
“…Miko-san…
allow me to ask, why are you wearing that?”
Miko
who had arrived on time was wearing a tracksuit and a pair of slippers,
appearing particularly pathetic.
It
was no different from an old man’s home clothing, but Miko shrugged her
shoulders.
“Because
there aren’t any straw shoes or skirts or pants. Although these may look cheap,
they’re easy to move about
in,
and they’re comfy as well. Shouldn’t I be the one asking you why you’re wearing
suits and dresses off for a hike?”
“Hey
Jibril, could you tell me why you’re wearing a swimsuit over?”
“Eh?
Because there was a clothing selection, so I just chose something that was the
closest to what I usually wear.”
…On
another note, according to Steph who was still going to school diligently, Ino
was really still… never mind.
■「The
Twentieth Day」■
-
Everyone was just about bored of playing.
On
a spur of the moment, Sora attempted to actually begin going to school.
Immediately
after that, he noticed that for some reason a rumor had spread that 「Sora hurt
Steph (male)」.
In
order to find out what exactly was going on, he went to find Steph during
recess, and –
“…!”
Upon
seeing Steph, she glared at him fiercely and ran off.
“What’s
going on here?”
“…The
game’s…like this in the first place…”
The
fact that 「Bombs」 would appear without
the player doing anything was really the way the game was
designed.
[27]
But
why would the bomb icon – appear on a male (by setting only)?
“Hey,
Plum, there seems to be a bug with the system of the game.”
“…Compared
to that, you’ve really forgotten the main aim of the game, haven’t you?”
Sora
complained to her that the game should be properly debugged.
Plum
looked to the horizon and let out a long, sad sigh instead.
-
While – Ino, was still, kowtowing, at the school gates…
■「The
Twenty-fifth Day」■
Nothing
much happened.
It
was almost as if the entire affair had become the second half of a summer
holiday.
■「The
Thirtieth Day」■
Nothing
much happened.
■「The
Thirty-fifth Day」■
Nothing
much, basically.
■「The
Thirty-ninth Day」■
-
Let’s just go check out the school tomorrow.
Ino
somehow began regaining realization of what was going on…No Game No Life:Volume
4 89
■「The
Fortieth Day」■
-
The sky was dyed with the dawn sunlight.
In
front of the school gates that were bathed in the sunlight as well, there was a
frail-looking, thin, stone statue that
was
covered in barnacles and appeared to have become one with the ground.
This
solemn, serious, memorial that even let out a saintly air was –
“…C-could
it be… the old man?”
Everyone
took a breath in shock as they finally went to school once again.
-
Sora and others who had retreated from the scene earlier… had nothing to say at
that point.
His
back even appeared to be emitting light…
He
– unquestionably was more of it than anyone else – like a real man.
…This
man had done it ever since the day the game started, to the Empress that passed
by him without a word daily
–
Kneeled
and kowtowed.
Like
a statue, he didn’t budge at all.
Even
until now, he continued to request.
No,
his very appearance was his very best articulation, and he was letting out a
single sentence.
Which
was –
Let
me have you - !!
Faced
with his awe-inspiring image, Sora couldn’t help but admit that he truly had
the dignity of a man –
Ah…
so love isn’t about reading hearts.
-
It’s the act of proving one’s love.
The
old man succeeded in doing that.
If
so – the fact that he didn’t understand love wasn’t surprising any more.
Sora
swaggered towards the stone effigy – no, the true man within it, and his body
was trembling uncontrollably.
“Too
small – I’m so incredibly insignificant.”
Compared
to that man, what was he?
For
a mere – he couldn’t help but think of it so - 「Romance」, could he bear
kneeling for forty days?
Sora
could only say no.
He
– Ino didn’t disguise himself, and shamelessly, fearlessly pulled out his heart
and gave it to her.
Was
there a love more sincere than this – no, there wasn’t!
“So…
so this is… this is 「Love」…”
“…Absolutely…not…”
Sora
spoke while almost at the point of tears as though he had reached some sort of
spiritual awakening, while Shiro
immediately
rebutted him.
But
– suddenly.
As
though it was hiding from the sun – a shadow fell upon that holy statue.
Looking
at the owner of the shadow that was swimming through the waters gracefully and
appeared to be on the way
to
school –
It
was – the Empress.
Her
line of sight brushed past Sora and focused upon the sacred statue – no,
focused on Ino.No Game No Life:Volume 4 90
-
Could it be?
“…Impossible
– it can’t be…?”
Miko
who was looking from a distance couldn’t help but mumble to herself.
The
Empress continued to approach Ino.
And
then she clasped Ino’s cheeks lightly.
In
that instant… as though it had finally recalled that it was a human being, the
statue moved.
The
barnacles, the floor and even the rocks and stones on it began to peel off.
The
Empress’ hands gently support Ino’s
cheeks and raised his head up, and as though receiving some divine
guidance,
Ino raised his head.
After
which – she spoke with a voice that would enchant any listener –
She
smiled a smile that was more valuable than any treasure on earth.
She
spoke a single sentence.
“…It’s
impossible for us to be together.”
- I
knew it~…
Everyone’s
inner thoughts seemed to overlap.
“-
Ah…”
However
Ino clenched his teeth and thought, it can’t end like this.
It
was true – his love was rejected.
It
was crushed into dust.
But
now – since it’s come to this, there’s no other way -!
In
order to fulfil Miko’s orders – Ino selected a command from the UI (User
Interface).
-
The heart shape with a 「+」 sign on it.
Which
was – the command for Plum’s 「Love Magic (cheat)」.
And
then –
“-
Forgive me, Empress! Hnng~~~!!”
He
exerted a force strong enough to rival a sumo wrestler.
-
He grasped onto the Empress’ breasts firmly.
Yes
– in order to complete Plum’s「Spell」, he used the command.
“-
Eh!?”
In
an instant, a red light began glowing around the Empress, and she opened her
eyes wide in shock.
-
At the same time.
“-
Ah, ugh -!”
Complex
patterns formed in Plum’s eyes, and she let out cries of pain.
Maybe
because her powers were being taken from her, her black wings became blood-red
in an instant, and she fell
onto
the floor in a sitting position.
“…Ah,
aahhh…”
On
the other hand the Empress let out weak noises with her breasts being fondled
by Ino.
Her
face was beet-red – even Sora and others could tell obviously that her heart
rate was rising.
“We,
we did it – now we can – !”
Plum
spoke in a convincing manner.No Game No Life:Volume 4 91
“N-now,
no matter how appalling of a person Ino-sama is, even with the fact that he
only cares about the lower body,
and
no matter what kind of feelings the Empress may have… she will take those
feelings – and recognize them as
「Love」!”
Plum
seized her opportunity to insult Ino to the point of worthlessness while
speaking tiredly.
-
Sora was grumbling to himself that it was a really low form of magic as well.
But
no matter by hook or by crook, the Empress would 「Fall in Love」.
Which
means Game Over.
And
then –
“-
No, nonono, even if you want love it shouldn’t be this way, this is impossible,
sorry!!”
-
Just like that, she clearly rejected Ino.
The
Empress waved her fins, and almost flew – towards the school buildings.
…
- …
…Sad~
depressing~ melancholic~… -
That
sort of background music began playing in Sora’s mind.
That
man was reduced to ashes.
He
was burned white – no, his fur was white in the first place – burned into a
white pile of ash.
The
words 「Hatsuse Ino•Lose」 appeared in the world.
While
in front of the gates, although he had been shattered and burnt –
-
The man who was still maintaining his posture from squeezing the Empress’ boobs
earlier – Hatsuse Ino turned
into
ashes.
Sora
stumbled over.
He
didn’t know what to say to him,
-
But despite that, Sora felt like he had to say something.
“Old
man – no… Hatsuse Ino, I’ve misunderstood you all this time.”
Sora’s
voice was trembling as he searched for the correct words to say.
“You
are truly a – great man, just for that woman… for that woman that can’t
appreciate truly great things, you’re too
great
for her…”
But,
even though Ino was about to turn into ashes and disappear –
He
still spoke –
“-
No, Sora-san… it was my love that wasn’t enough, for love is without sin.”
After
finishing his sentence – as he was 「Rejected」, Ino would lose all his rights
and be removed from the game.
He gradually
began slowly changing colors from a dark, charred gray until he appeared almost
transparent, and then
–
“Ino…?
Ino, hey, wait! You’re joking right!?”
Sora
yelled while grasping onto Ino’s shoulders, but Ino’s body ignored him and
gradually began disappearing from
the
game.
-
Just like that, Hatsuse Ino’s high school life was over.
It
was a high school life that was rather eventful, but ended up with him
kowtowing all the while.
If
he could go through it again, he wouldn’t leave behind any regrets –No Game No
Life:Volume 4 92
-
At this time, some weak-sounding closing transcript along the lines of that
would probably be heard, but Ino
instead
–
“Phew…
I have no regrets… if there’s a next time, I’ll do it, all over again –“
With
a blissful smile on his face, blatantly refusing to speak such weak words, and
disappeared from Sora’s arms.
-
In complete silence, Sora looked up to the sky.
His
face which was that of real man’s was covered in tears.
“Hatsuse
Ino… how could a man like you – ugh!”
Ignoring
the emotional Sora, everyone else appeared cold.
-
This wasn’t just an awkward moment.
Ino
wasn’t dead, nor had he disappeared.
He
was merely brought out of the dream – and returned to the world outside the
game.
But
Sora was so emotional that his body was shaking uncontrollably as though he had
lost an irreplaceable
brother-in-arms.
“How
could this be -…!!”
Sora
yelled to Plum who was looking at him coldly as well with a tone that suggested
he was about to vomit blood.
“What
is this!? Wasn’t that a sure-fire way to win!? That man – he even sacrificed his aesthetics!! Why did
this
happen
even after using 「Cheats」, why… why – didn’t the Empress let him in!!”
“-
No, it’s not that… w-with the way he was acting any sort of magic wouldn’t be
able to help, probably…?”
-
Plum’s words did make a lot of sense.
Miko
suddenly recalled something Plum had said.
To
fall in love with someone like that, even a rock would have a better chance
against him.
But
-…
Just
as Miko revealed a thin smile, Sora knelt and began pounding the floor beside
her emotionally.
“What
kind of joke is this!? Is there anyone that’s more of a 「Man」 like him – do you
agree? Shiro, Miko-san,
Jibril!”
Sora
yelled, almost roared at them.
The
three of them that were called out merely –
-
Nodded in approval.
“…Eh,
eh~~?”
Steph
was so shocked that she stepped back upon seeing them nod their heads.
On
the other hand, Plum was utterly stunned by Sora’s angered stance –
She
hurriedly attempted to comfort him.
“P-please
calm down… t-this is just a really extreme example… I’ll ask Amira-sama to
return Ino-sama, I just want
Sora-dono
to try the game properly one more time –“
Speaking
those words –
She
looked over at Sora’s face –
And
Plum –
“-
…!?”
Her
heart was crushed.
No,
more correctly she thought it had been.No Game No Life:Volume 4 93
The
person there was – not the Sora from earlier.
It
wasn’t the emotionally charged, begging, pleading man from earlier.
It
wasn’t the cheerfully laughing, carefree man that had listened to Plum’s
request.
The
person there was – someone else that Plum didn’t know.
A
man with the eyes of a hunter that pitied the 「Prey that had fallen into the
trap」.
The
man spoke a single sentence with a cruel, strange tone:
“Again?
– Why?”
-
Because –
“…We’ve…already
won…”
“-
Eh…?”
The
man stood up nimbly with a gaze that didn’t carry any warmth, and Shiro
followed suit.
No
– Shiro as well…Plum didn’t know her – she was a girl with eyes at
absolute-zero temperatures.
Faced
with their sudden, drastic change – Plum took a step back.
Plum
didn’t understand the two of them.
While
Steph, Jibril, Miko and Izuna… they all knew.
The
ones that didn’t know could just die –
They
just had to stumble upon them of all people – Sora and Shiro – these two
siblings –
And
those unknowing ones were Plum and others that stood against them.
They
would only appear when their plan to drive the enemy into the corner has been
completed.
- 「The
most vicious enemy」- 『 』.
“-
That’s enough, Miko-san, Jibril.”
Sora
turned around and asked while looking behind him.
“Yeah,
we’re done playing, it’s complete.”
“I’ve
already confirmed it; I’m ready anytime – just waiting for your command.”
Seeing
the two of them nod in approval, Sora spoke in an emotionless voice:
“Do
it, Jibril.”
“-
Your wish is my command.”
Jibril
took a deep bow, and spread her wings.
-
Just like that.
The
spell that had been held together by tens upon tens of Dhampirs – the 「Magic
(Game)」 that was interfering
with
the Empress’ dreams.
Just
like blowing daffodil seeds into the wind, it was scattered easily – and the
scenery around them shattered.No Game No Life:Volume 4 94
Chapter
4 - Wild Card/The Fool
Part
1
The
surrounding space exploded.
And
Amira, who was spectating the game from the real world, got the brunt of the
impact.
“…Eh?”
-
Plum and Amira were frozen in shock as they saw that everyone had broken out of
the dream world and woken up.
The
reason why they were surprised wasn’t simply because Jibril had easily
shattered a spell that had been
constructed
by tens upon tens of Dhampirs that had recently consumed blood with the force
of her will alone.
It
was because of what Sora said as he stood up.
“-
Alright, checkmate, we win.”
“…Eh,
about that, Amira doesn’t really get the situation~ ☆”
Amira
spoke with a stiff smile.
However,
Sora and Shiro told her nonchalantly:
“…The
rules didn’t say we can’t… 「Save and Quit」…”
“In
other words you never said that we couldn’t leave the game until every one of
us was rejected, so there shouldn’t
be
a problem with us 「Quitting」 the game for now… you have to uphold the 「Pledges」
as far as you can, you
know!”
Sora
replied impatiently, and spoke to everyone else who had just woken up:
“Alright,
Jibril, we’re done here so restore the air.”
“-
I obey.”
Jibril
nonchalantly began drawing out the outline of a spell with her fingertips.
-
Suddenly, a gust of strong wind attacked the Empress’ room.
In
an instant, the water parted and inside the room – air began expanding.
“…Eh…?”
Plum
and Amira were completely stunned, while Jibril smiled thinly.
“Pardon
me… I just restored the air that I compressed into a bubble earlier to its
original state.”
In
the room, the air continued to expand, pushing and splashing apart the waters.
“-
Cough -! …Phew…ugh…hah.”
-
She hadn’t said anything since earlier, when they were in the dream.
Miko
who had been pretending to be calm since earlier, suddenly revealed an
expression as though she was in pain.
Breathing
fresh air that she hadn’t got the chance to breathe in a long time, her
shoulders heaved up and down almost
as
if she was laughing.
In
an instant, steam began rising from her completely blood-red body.
-
She revealed the truth straightforwardly.
“To
bear water pressure twenty times higher than normal with a body of flesh and
blood for such a long period of
time…
it feels pretty uncomfortable even after using 「Blood Devastation」.”
Miko
appeared to be at the verge of collapsing, experiencing a liberating reaction
from the overbearing pain instead.
However,
she strengthened her will, sat cross-legged and cupped her face in her hands
while smiling.
“-
Eh?”
Plum,
Amira and Steph appeared completely clueless as to what was going on.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 95
Sora
didn’t appear to pay any attention to them, and instead he continued
emotionlessly as if he was wearing a mask:
“-
But 「Due to the water pressure, blood
won’t flow out of the body」 - so even if
she used 「Blood
Devastation」 it would be undetectable, which was why we
weren’t noticed and we were able to listen to your
heartbeats
to our heart’s content – thank you very much, Miko-san, please give us your
verdict.”
-
Miko’s expression was…
“…You
really like ordering people around huh… ah, forget it.”
Miko
thought from the deepest recesses of her heart 「Luckily these people are on our
side」, and replied with a
thin
smile.
“That
Seiren over there – she doesn’t want to awaken the Empress at all.”
-
Hearing her words, Amira appeared visibly shaken.
And
then… hearing her next sentence, she positively froze in place.
“Next
up we have Sora’s deduction – all that about complying with the Empress’ 「Bet」
was a lie as well – ah~
and…”
Upon
seeing Plum and Amira’s reactions, she appeared genuinely happy, and smiled
bitterly.
Miko
looked towards Sora gently and continued:
“All
that stuff about you being just her type, being a handsome guy and all that,
those were all lies as well.”
“I
realized that long ago - …dammit.”
Miko
laughed cheerfully upon seeing his reactions.
And
then – as though she was looking down upon Plum and Amira.
“…Did
you really think being in the sea would be able to seal off my senses?”
She
spoke painfully, but with the highest degree of mockery, and laughed with a
twisted smile on her face.
“-
The fact that I’m the 「Full Representative (Strongest) 」 of the Werebeasts
isn’t a fluke, you know.”
Sora
tried extremely hard so as to not show how hurt he was, and looked away
instead.
“Yes,
Master, same goes with me.”
Jibril
replied while kneeling reverently at Sora’s feet and meeting his gaze.
“Plum’s
spell actually did work properly, as in that it did make the Empress fall in
love with others.”
-
After which – it was Plum’s turn to freeze.
“-
There’s no question that it worked properly, and the Empress was actually
affected.”
-
Was there a possibility that it was a fake?
Sora
confirmed it with her wordlessly, but Jibril laughed and replied:
“Please
don’t worry, that’s the reason why you let Miko-sama experience it herself,
didn’t you?”
Sora
replied her with a smile, and lastly – turned towards Shiro.
They
didn’t need any form of verbal communication –
“…Mm…memorized…everything…”
-
With this sentence alone, Shiro fulfilled all of her brother’s requests.
Seemingly
satisfied with everyone’s answers, Sora nodded.
He
still had a cheerful smile on his face.
Above
that smile however – was a sinister shadow created by his fringe and an
unbelievably sharp gaze.
With
a gaze that could make anyone feel as if they were being glared at by a wild
beast, he spoke:
“-
Hey you, Dhampirs and Seirens (you bastards), did you really think that you
could use us as 「Food」?”No Game No Life:Volume 4 96
Hearing
those words, Plum and Amira’s gazes shifted slightly.
If
they really thought that sort of suspicious action wouldn’t be noticed by Sora
that he was 「Exactly correct」- that
would
be too –
“Eh?
Huh? Um, well, what’s going on?”
“…?”
Steph
and Izuna still didn’t appear to understand what was going on.
They
looked at each other in disbelief.
But
Sora didn’t appear to want to explain any further, and instead clapped his
hands and turned to leave.
“Alright,
we’re going back, Jibril, take us to the beach.”
“I
obey.”
Jibril
spread her wings and her halo began spinning, while everyone hurriedly got in
contact with her.
“Eh?
Um! P-please wait!”
Plum
hurriedly ran over as well –
“You’re
pretty observant, Dhampir – can you stop acting the errand girl (victim) now?”
What
welcomed her was – Sora’s thin smile, which caused a chill to run down her
back.
-
Amira spoke.
“Eh~?
Ino-sama~ Is 「Still here」~! Is it really alright to leave this early~ ♥”
Beside
Amira, Ino was lying motionless, and everyone looked over at him.
Izuna
began looking uneasily at Ino and Sora –
But
Sora replied casually:
“Yeah,
it’s fine.”
“Because…the
consequences if you do anything to Ino – you know them very well, don’t you?”
Amira’s
eyes grew wide in shock, and Sora laughed mockingly.
“Acting
like an idiot in front of me – you’ve got to have a limit somewhere when you
underestimate others,
outsider.”
Sora
turned around.
“-
We’ll be back, Seirens, and don’t forget that the price for looking down on 「Us」
- is great indeed!”
After
which Jibril teleported them out, only leaving behind Amira and Ino.
Part
2
They
were back at the seaside.
The
sun had set long ago, leaving behind a reddish moon and countless stars – and a
beach lit up by bonfires.
Amongst
the crashing of the waves and the explosions of the fireworks on the bonfires,
Sora spoke cheerfully:
“Oh,
Shiro, it’s almost done roasting right?”
“…Tropical
fish…can we eat it…?”
“It’s
a saltwater fish called 「Lelite」, I heard it tastes pretty good.”
[28]
-
Everyone was teleported from Oceande back to the seaside by Jibril.
Since
they had teleported a large amount of seawater with them, they were currently
grilling the fish that were swept
along
as well.
“Hah
-! …This stuff is usually what I eat as side-dishes with alcohol after work
anyway… if only it was –“No Game No Life:Volume 4 97
Miko
finished her drink in one gulp, ate her entire fish after which Sora continued
her sentence.
“If
only it was 「Fried tofu skin」 - am I right?”
“-
How did you know that’s my favorite food? Did I mention it?”
Ignoring
the shocked Miko, Sora and Shiro began laughing.
And
a few paces behind that peaceful scenery –
“W-what
is this… what’s going on?”
Steph
still appeared to not have understood what was going on, and was asking herself
this question.
Beside
her Izuna was looking down, speechless.
While
further ahead – Plum was silent as well.
Sora
glanced at Steph, and spoke while chewing on a piece of grilled fish:
“It’s
nothing – it’s just that Plum wanted to trick us, that’s all.”
-
As Steph was looking wide-eyed over at Plum, Sora continued as though in reply
to her query:
“You’re
going to ask when did I realize that – right? Plum.”
…No,
he was speaking to Plum who was looking at the ground – and he continued
mockingly.
Upon
seeing Plum lift her head up in trepidation, he smiled bitterly and continued
nonchalantly:
“It
was 「From the beginning」 - your story was pretty suspicious from the start.”
As
though imitating Sora, Shiro, Miko and Jibril sneered as well.
-
The Dhampirs and Seirens had a relationship of mutualism.
And
their relationship was crumbling due to the Empress entering hibernation.
Plum
did not rebut Jibril’s words at the time – but…
Sora
smiled bitterly again as though he had just heard a bad joke, and continued:
“「Since
we’ve created a form of magic to awaken her, please help us」- hah, that’s
impossible.”
“…Eh?
W-why is that?”
Steph
was the only one that hadn’t caught on, while Sora passed a stick of grilled
fish down –
“Pretending
to have a sure-win method in order to cheat us into playing a game where we
have no chance of
winning,
causing us to lose everything, doesn’t this sound like an extremely profitable
method to you? Wouldn’t you
do
the same?”
“-…”
Steph’s
face twitched instinctively upon hearing Sora who was uttering such cruel
methods with a smile on his face.
“That’s
true, but there’s still something that 「Worries」 me.”
Sora
spoke while chewing a grilled fish:
“I
couldn’t seem to tell whether Plum was lying, and Izuna who was in the same
room couldn’t detect it either – ah,
Izuna,
aren’t you going to eat the fish?”
Sora
held out a stick of fish while recalling the night when they first encountered
Plum.
“…No
thanks, des.”
Izuna
shook her head slightly.
Miko
who was drinking wine opposite them – closed her eyes and shook her head as
well.
“So
just in case she really was lying I even took her to Miko – but she still
wasn’t lying.”
If
Jibril was on alert, magic that could conceal a person’s lies would be revealed
instantly.No Game No Life:Volume 4 98
So
in front of the strongest Werebeast 「Miko」, any lies would be completely exposed,
or at least that was what
Sora
had thought.
Sora
began grilling another piece of fish over the fire.
“But
what Plum casted back there really was - 「A magic that could make people fall
in love」.”
Under
the glow of the fire, Sora appeared to be genuinely enjoying himself.
However,
he then took on a sinister smile and continued:
“So
she really had a spell that could guarantee victory – but why ask for our help
then?”
“Essentially,
w-what that means is, she really wasn’t lying?”
So
that would mean that she really needed Sora and the others’ help -?
Hearing
Steph’s question, Sora began twirling a fish stick and replied:
“Yes,
she wasn’t lying – and that’s 「The source of the problem」.”
-
Sora looked down at Shiro who was at his knee-height, and she replied:
“…UTC
(Universal Time Coordinated) 6/20 22:42…「Nii」…”
As
though she was a recorder, she recited his words out perfectly –
“…「If
we win the game, what will we get in return?」…”
Shiro
adhered to the accurate time displayed on her phone from their 「Original World」-
to organize her memories,
even
「Completely memorizing」 his pitch as he spoke those words. She spoke Sora’s
previous words completely
accurately,
just like a 「Replay」, causing everyone there to widen their eyes in shock.
“-
And in reply to this, what did Plum say?”
“…UTC
(Universal Time Coordinated) 6/20 22:43…「Plum」…”
She
emotionlessly, calmly –
“…「Um… we will reward you with thirty percent of
Oceande’s underwater resources, and permanent good
relations
between our nations… a-and… um… I-I will do whatever you wish.」...”
This
time she 「Replayed」 Plum’s words and Sora smiled bitterly upon hearing it.
“Exactly
– right 「Here」, she wasn’t lying – but 「There was also no truth」.”
Sora
pointed the stick he was playing with previously at Steph.
“Steph,
didn’t you have something to say about us having to bet 「Everything」 in their
game?”
“Y-yeah…
because they’re requesting for our help, aren’t they?”
“Yes,
you’re correct.”
“-
Eh, huh?”
Sora
chewed on his fish while nonchalantly uttering shocking revelations, and
continued:
“I
shot your protests down only because I needed to gather the necessary
information. In apology, I’ll explain why
you’re
feeling such incongruity.”
At
that moment Steph’s incongruity could only be described as she felt 「Something
wasn’t right」, and that was –
“This
「Game」- is like a 「Horse race」.”
“H-horse
race? The kind where you bet money for horses to win?”
Sora
nodded in relief at the fact that this world had horseracing as well.
“Horse
racing is to let horses race, a 「Game (Gamble) 」 to predict which one will win…
but in its most basic
form
it’s just the act of letting horses race against each other – which is also a 「Contest
between the riders」 isn’t
it?”
To
be precise, what he meant was –No Game No Life:Volume 4 99
“Horse
racing is - 「A gambling sport created from a rider’s sport」- a double-layered
game.”
“The
riders (us) race against each other (romance game) to win the Empress’ love.”
And
–
“On
the other hand, the resources and relations given as rewards by Amira and Plum
is a 「Prize」 merely directed
at
the aim of「Awakening the Empress」- racing and horse racing (gambling) are
clearly two different games, but
we
were forced into the game as both horses and gamblers – of course we would feel
something wasn’t right.”
…Steph
inhaled sharply, realizing what was going on.
According
to Sora’s example, they were the riders in a horse race.
But
they were forced to bet all they had on themselves - 「Also」 being forced to
take part in a second game.
And
Sora appeared to read Steph’s thoughts…
-
He shook his head and said “That’s not the problem.”
“So
if this is a horse race, where did the riders’ (our) – 「Prize」 for the
competition go?”
Sora
looked evilly at Plum.
“…Huh,
it’s the love of the Empress of course… allowing her to wake up?”
“-
If you make the Empress fall in love with the person, the Empress would love
the person forever? And she would
wake
up for her prince? – This doesn’t make sense at all, and only the
Empress benefits right? Where’s the
「Equal」
reward for the winner?”
Finally,
Steph found the 「Source」 of her incongruity.
Resources,
good relations, and Plum’s free will – none of them sounded like what the
Empress would’ve bet.
So,
the game that allowed the Empress to hibernate after 「Swearing by the Pledges」.
The
「Bet」 of equal value to both parties – to be given to the victorious rider –
-
Regarding that reward –
-
She hadn’t mentioned it all!?
Miko
laughed bitterly and began playing with her fish stick as well.
“This
series of games has two sides to it, but when Sora mentioned 「The rewards for
winning」, the Dhampir over
there
intentionally avoided the two-facedness of it, so she didn’t lie.”
She
smiled and continued.
“But
even though she didn’t lie – it doesn’t mean she was telling the truth.”
Miko
immediately sensed something in Plum’s heartbeat that told her 「I was found out」,
and she smiled again
thinly.
Sora
spoke in an exaggerated fashion as though deep in thought –
“Alright,
here’s where the 「Problem」 comes in – why couldn’t she mention the
two-facedness of the game?”
Sora
looked at Plum while twirling the stick in his hands and continued:
“Before
we reached the sea floor – the place
where you thought you could seal Miko-san and Izuna’s senses, you
ignored
the topic, why couldn’t you just say something like 「Amira said there won’t be
any risk」?”
At
this time Jibril who was busily preparing the fish and piercing them on sticks
behind Sora passed him a fish stick
that
was coated in salt, and continued for him:
“-
Because as long as she were to say that it would be 「Lying」… right?”
She
smiled thinly, having answered the question.
Sora
nodded, so what that meant was – Sora glanced at Shiro meaningfully.
“…UTC
(Universal Time Coordinated) 6/20 04:28…「Plum」…「Please save our species!」…”No
Game No Life:Volume 4 100
Nibbling
on her fish lightly, Shiro skilfully - 「Replayed」 Plum’s initial words.
“If
the words 「Our species」 wasn’t a lie – that would mean she really wanted us to
save the Dhampirs.”
Which
would mean –
“Which
means – only – save the Dhampirs – so what should we do?”
Sora
ignored Steph whose eyes were wide as marbles.
He
flicked the stick he was playing with earlier –
towards Plum who was sitting on the beach, and it stuck in the
sand
beside her.
“Alright,
so we have all the materials we need for the verdict, don’t we?”
Sora
began throwing stick after stick in her direction in the same fashion.
“There
are three questions. And, only one conclusion.”
Looking
over at the beach sand that had three sticks lodged in it, Sora spoke to Plum.
“-
Are you prepared for this? Plum.”
As
though in reply to Sora’s words.
-
Under the light of the bonfire, the red moon and the stars.
Four
pairs of equally mysterious eyes each began exhibiting a unique glow.
The
first to react was Miko.
“-
Why would you avoid talking about anything related to the two-facedness of the
games?”
Miko
threw out a stick at a speed that broke the sound barrier, hitting the first
stick Sora threw, causing it to split into
halves.
“Because
you can’t lie.”
After
Sora replied, Jibril was the next to act.
“Why
would you request for our help even if you clearly have love magic?”
Jibril
shot out a stick that broke the sound barrier as well, hitting Sora’s second
stick – crushing it into pieces.
“Because
Plum can’t lie.”
Sora
replied, and the last to react was Shiro who was sitting on his lap.
“…Getting
to the bottom of it… why – can’t you… tell a lie?”
The
stick Shiro threw drew an arc in the air and hit the center of Sora’s third
stick… connecting the two.
“Because
if she lies – she would be exposed.”
-
Exactly.
“If
this is a 「Horse race」, then one mustn’t forget – each of us is betting on
different horses.”
The
Seirens bet on – the Empress.
The
Dhampirs bet on – Sora and the others.
Two
games, two aims.
Combining
all the conclusions they had made.
Yes,
there was - 「Only one」 conclusion.
“The
Seirens plan to use 「The Empress’ hibernation game」 to 「Feed on the Imanity」.”
“What
-!”
Steph
was the only one shocked by this.
The
Seirens had done what Sora had said initially.No Game No Life:Volume 4 101
Pretending
that the game they were participating in would be a sure win, to lure Sora and
the others – the full
representatives
of Imanity into their game.
In
order to get new 「Materials for reproduction」- in this case the Imanity, to
avoid the crisis their species was in.
But
–
“The
Dhampirs took advantage of this plan to betray the Seirens – they plan to 「Free
the Dhampirs」.”
Yes
– Plum did want the Empress to fall in love and awaken from her slumber.
While
Amira – did not.
“Since
Werebeasts were present she couldn’t lie, but since she had another plan
entirely she couldn’t reveal the truth
either.”
Once
again, Steph was the only one who remained speechless.
But
– as though requesting everyone to stop, Sora raised up one hand.
-
As though to say 「The fun has only just begun」.
“Alright,
so let’s all recall, what was the 「Prize」 if the Empress were to win the game?”
Sora
smiled at Plum genuinely, and he looked away.
After
which – under the glow of the moonlight, four pairs of sharp and unusual eyes
began discussing.
“Would
that bet let Amira – let the Seirens choose maintain their current situation
over awakening their Empress?”
A
pair of bewitching golden eyes, Miko smiled thinly.
“Would
that 「Bet」 let Plum – let the Dhampirs achieve freedom if they were to win it?”
A
pair of cold amber eyes, Jibril smiled mockingly.
“…Regarding
the survival of the Seirens…something that could return the rights of the
Dhampirs…”
A
pair of emotionless ruby eyes, Shiro smiled sympathetically.
Each
one of them spoke in order, and a pair of obsidian eyes, Sora emotionlessly –
revealed his conclusion.
“What
the Empress bet was –「Everything she had」… am I right?”
-
Plum bent her head down while Steph inhaled deeply.
Back
when the current Empress first entered her hibernation, she wasn’t the Empress
yet – which meant she wasn’t a
「Full
Representative」.
But
now it was different.
Now
regarding the 「Bet」, as long as they were to fulfill the victory conditions
– they would win all the Seirens
had
as well.
-
Including the Race Piece as well, winning 「Everything」 just as the bet implied.
Sora
smiled bitterly again, completely ignoring Steph.
He
casually uttered words that made Steph question her own hearing.
“I’ve
deduced everything up to this point before we even reached the beach.”
“-
What?”
“But…since
I didn’t have enough evidence, I decided to go to Oceande anyway.”
Sora
sounded like he was joking, but his voice carried a hint of seriousness as
well.
“We
don’t get to go to the beach very often, so we definitely have to enjoy it – which
is to say…”
As
he said this, Sora flashed an unbelievably cruel smile in the direction of
Plum.
In
a single breath – he provided the solution to the rest of the riddle.
“We
brought you to the beach in broad daylight to weaken you.”No Game No Life:Volume
4 102
“We
let Miko-san and Jibril pretend to fool around to test whether 「Blood
Devastation」 could be disabled
underwater.”
“We
also made Jibril venture forth to the oceans in order to confirm the location
of Oceande.”
“The
strain of using 「Blood Devastation」 the
entire day was partly alleviated by Shiro who was fondling
Miko-san
until nighttime.”
“We
didn’t wait for the 「Reception Boat」 that could very likely be a trap, and
instead we proceeded using Jibril’s
teleportation.
“We
forced you, Plum, into a situation where you had to top up on fresh Seiren
blood to allow us to breath
underwater
and part ways with us; while Jibril used that time to compress and save the air
that we brought there;
casting
extra preventive methods on Miko-san as well to prevent your underwater
breathing magic from taking
effect;
allowing us to meet Amira with her Werebeasts senses fully awakened.
“-
That’s it. Do you get it now?”
…
… -
-
Steph and Plum were both shocked to the point of speechlessness.
While
Sora was nonchalantly checking on whether his fish was grilled properly.
“It
was impossible for you to 「Not lie at
all」 before the game started, since you
had to make us swear
「Everything
we had」 on the pledges, and to expose
your lies Miko-san had to be – in a
condition where she
couldn’t
be affected by your suspicious magic.”
A
magic that allowed them to speak and talk underwater –
And
the caster was Plum who was confirmed to be an 「Enemy」 as well, so there was a
high risk of her managing
to
cheat their sensory devices.
After
uncovering all the solutions, Sora continued:
“The
Seirens and Dhampirs may be different – but have you forgotten? They made us
bet everything we have on
ourselves,
taking part in both a horse race and a gamble – so we have a sweepstake as
well.”
- Exactly.
“-
A sweepstake of 「Cheating all of you and allowing us to take victory」.”
“Ah,
Plum, you’re quite something, that’s a strategy rather suitable for a weakling,
no doubt a level of intelligence
only
achievable by the race that had all their power taken by the 「Ten Pledges」.
Since even if Amira’s evil plot
were
to succeed and Imanity were to be used as 「Food」, the Dhampirs could still
survive, as let’s say the Empress
was
actually awakened –“
Sora
clapped in genuine admiration, not carrying any malice.
“What
made the Empress fall in love was your magic and not us, so you alone won”
-
Even managing to deduce Plum’s reason for joining in the game as well, Sora
continued.
“Just
a disclaimer, I don’t praise others, I just genuinely think that – this is a great
strategy.”
She
had managed to create a situation where she would win no matter what happened.
Also
she virtually didn’t need to do anything except sit back while others do the
work.
It
was an ideal method of victory, but –
“You
left out one thing!”
“-
Eh?”
Plum
lifted her head up.No Game No Life:Volume 4 103
“Didn’t
you realize? The problem here isn’t because your plan was revealed, nor was it
because you hid the fact about
the
true 「Reward」we receive when we win the game in order to free the Dhampirs; and
neither is it because –
your
magic can’t awaken the Empress.”
Sora’s
mouth twitched at a corner.
And
then he spoke as ironically as he could:
“It
was because Amira assured us that we 「Absolutely couldn’t」 awaken the Empress.”
“-…Ah!”
Plum
inhaled sharply.
Because
of that, everything made sense.
Why
– Ino couldn’t beat the game –
Plum’s
magic worked properly.
Jibril
confirmed as well that the magic unquestionably achieved its effect on the
Empress.
But
despite this, the Empress did not awaken.
Which
would mean –
“The
condition to awaken the empress - 「Isn’t making her fall in love」.”
-…Only
gnawing noises could be heard.
Those
were the sounds of Plum clenching her jaw, while Sora continued:
“Amira
knew that from the start, as no matter how much you beg her she would never
give you 「An actual
opportunity
to awaken the Empress」, because it would be a huge blow to the Seirens – you
understand that right?”
Sora
even kept his smug smile.
“The
Seirens that you’ve been looking down on since earlier – even took your
betrayal into consideration.”
“…-!”
Plum
collapsed onto the beach in a sitting position, unable to believe that the
Seirens that she had always looked
down
upon on had tricked her.
However
Sora continued to add fuel to the fire.
“A
strategy befitting of a weakling, an excellent strategy. But – in the end it’s
all just futile.”
-
Exactly.
Even
if the strong were to use the knowledge (weapon) of the weak, they wouldn’t be
able to exercise its full
potential.
Because
the weak had something they didn’t stemming from self-pity –
Stemming
from their weakness – cowardice.
Sora’s
expression changed once again as he stopped smiling, instead continuing
solemnly:
“The
natural enemy of the strong is the weak, but the natural enemy of the weak is
not the strong – it is the ones that
are
even weaker.”
The
weak – the man that was the very personification of this term began approaching
Plum dangerously.
He
crouched down, meeting her exact line of sight, and spoke softly and directly:
“An
idiot that knows he’s an idiot – is even harder to deal with than an idiot that
thinks he isn’t.”
-
Whoever that was referring to, Sora chose not to reveal.
“Alright
– checkmate.”
-
Plum’s face was pale.No Game No Life:Volume 4 104
Originally
only Sora’s bunch had accepted her terms.
But
since they had saw through her deception and interrupted the game, Plum had no
other choice..
In
order for the Seirens to survive, they could only devour the Dhampir’s 「Hidden
last living male」.
Since
they had confirmed that the Dhampirs had betrayed them, they would definitely
do it.
-
If so, the Dhampirs would be the first to 「Checkmate」.
And
after the Dhampirs turn extinct, the next up would be the Seirens.
The
Seirens – needed to find a partner that would allow them to carry out
reproduction.
But
what they needed in return for that was the partner’s 「Life」, so of course no
one would agree to it.
-
Just like that, the Seirens would reach 「Checkmate」 as well.
In
order to survive, they could only unconditionally surrender and become -「Domestic
slaves」.
“Plum,
do you know what the ultimate way to win a game is?”
He
had a devilish smile on his face – that could make anyone tremble in fear.
“-
It’s 「To win without fighting」. Even if we don’t win the Empress’ game, we
still win.”
After
which it was something that dragged Plum into the depths of hell – a smile.
“Trying
to beat the Imanity with 「A weakling’s strategy」, you all are too inexperienced
– rookies (beginners).”
-
One move.
He
was a man that had the survival of two species in his control in just one move.
He
laughed creepily, sinisterly and continued.
Part
3
“Alright,
you should have got the gist of it, so…”
Sora
appeared restless.
Looking
closely, Shiro who was sitting in his lap appeared awkward as well –
“Hmm?
Master, is something the matter?”
“-
W-where’s the toilet?”
…
Sora
asked with a pitiful expression that completely shattered the serious situation
from earlier.
“The
toilet you speak of… is the chamber where Imanity excrete –“
“What
kind of toilets are there other than that!”
Sora
yelled while pointing at everyone else.
“Speaking
of which what kind of inhuman bladders were you all born with! Being by the sea
for an entire day, diving
into
the ocean itself, coming back to the beach at night, even eating fish, a normal
person would be at his limit by
now!”
“…N-Nii…S-Shiro
is…”
Shiro
signaled with tears in her eyes, while Miko laughed heartily:
“Beautiful
ladies don’t do that sort of thing, although I don’t really understand how you
feel, but shouldn’t it be
alright
as long as you find somewhere nearby to take care of business?”
-
Not counting Jibril for now, Miko-san is a 「Living Being」 right –
Sora
stood up, sensing that it wasn’t the time for such comments.
“W-we
– no, I’m going to the toilet, Shiro’s going to pick flowers!”No Game No Life:Volume
4 105
Sora
suddenly ran off while carrying Shiro.
“…N-Nii
– d-don’t… shake…”
“Ah!
This is the beach so there should at least be some 「Seaside Teahouse」! Where is
it!?”
Sora
and Shiro noisily ran off.
Leaving
behind the perfectly silent beach.
-…
There
were only the noises of the waves and fireworks exploding.
“Alright,
now we just have to wait for them to surrender unconditionally. I’m tired, so
I’ll be heading back first.”
Miko
appeared extremely tired, and she stood up in preparation to leave.
“Ah,
wait a minute! What should we do about Ino-san!”
Steph
asked hurriedly, having finally come to terms with the situation.
-
She understood that the Seirens wanted to take the Imanity as food.
She
understood that Plum wanted to take advantage of their plan to free the
Dhampirs as well.
She
also agreed with the fact that Sora had saw through everything and was on a
whole new level above them.
But
–
The
Seirens still possessed a card known as 「Hatsuse Ino」.
Steph
yelled loudly as this problem was yet to be solved.
And
– Miko turned around.
She
appeared even more enchanting under the moonlight – and she spoke with a
monster-like sinister smile:
“We
won’t do anything. Just like that we get two races – isn’t it a good deal?”
Miko
indicated that there was 「None」 of that sort of option, allowing Steph to
finally understand everything.
Which
is to say – she could summarize the incident.
(Neither
Sora and the others or Miko-san planned to save anyone from the start -!)
Sora
and Miko and the others had discussed – a single move that could put the two
races in 「Checkmate」.
Just
for this purpose, only for this purpose, they had actually so easily.
-
Treated Ino as a sacrifice - !
“…That
sort of thing… I don’t approve of it.”
“Huh?”
Golden
– exactly like a 「Monster」, even though Miko’s beastly eyes were causing
Steph’s knees to wobble.
But,
even if so – Steph continued to survey her surroundings, squeezing out her
voice with all her might.
In
an Elchea without Sora and the others, the only Werebeast that had supported
Steph was – Hatsuse Ino.
Although
he had only been with them for two weeks, playing together and struggling to
rebuild Elchea, he had spent
a
tremendous amount of effort on the establishment of the Elchean
[29]
Federation,
without him, they might not even
know
where to begin.
No
matter to the Eastern Federation or to Elchea – to Steph, he was definitely not
a cheap talent, and if a sacrifice
were
to occur for the sake of uniting multiple races – it would cause unbelievably
negative repercussions.
Miko
couldn’t possibly fail to understand this unspoken rule –
“Hatsuse
Ino is undoubtedly a man of great talent, a man who had supported me since the
very beginning of the
Eastern
Federation, and a man who would undoubtedly reply 「I obey」 if he was given the
order to die for it – this
sort
of man really cannot be considered worthless
– but in the end he still remains
an impeccable man that hasNo Game No Life:Volume 4 106
achieved
great things.”
Miko
spoke regretfully while looking up at the moon.
For
their own benefits, they could even sacrifice someone like that so easily -!
(Then
I might be sacrificed at any time then – who could trust someone like that!!)
Within
the emotionally charged Steph’s field of vision.
Izuna
appeared, sitting slightly further away from them.
-
Of course, Izuna couldn’t possibly come to terms with a situation like this.
With
her own grandfather being sacrificed, even for the sake of Izuna, Miko still –
“I-Is
Izuna -?”
-
Fine with this? Before Steph could finish her sentence, Izuna began hugging her
knees as though attempting to hold
herself
in, rendering her unable to continue.
Even
though she couldn’t see her properly in the dusk – she could still hear Izuna’s
voice.
“…Grandpa
was prepared long ago, des…”
Far
away from the bonfire, under the faint glow of the moon and stars, Izuna’s
expression couldn’t be seen.
“…No
matter it be Grandpa’s heartbeat or smell, they are good sounds and good
smells, des.”
However,
Izuna’s voice.
It
carried sounds of her crying as well – despite the pitch darkness, her emotions
were sufficiently conveyed.
“I
don’t want Grandpa to die… but it’ll be fine as long as Izuna bears it alone,
so – s-so! More people… can be
saved…
de, des –“
Steph
recalled a scene from the beach earlier.
After
the ruckus at the seaside – when she was deciding whether to let Sora or Ino
help with her fur.
Izuna
who should have been sick of being fondled by Ino, instead – walked towards him
without hesitation.
-
She understood… it would be the last time.
Izuna
had accepted this outcome from the start.
Werebeasts
– they had supernatural senses, and they were done communicating by then.
Steph
was the only one not in the know, but –
“-
Still, don’t you feel sad?”
“I’m
not sad – I just… don’t understand some things, des.”
She
clenched her teeth, appearing to exhale.
Izuna
asked a question with a shaking voice.
“…Because
Sora said – no one will die, no one will suffer, des! …B-but then, why – is
Izuna suffering, des? Is Izuna
weird,
des…!?”
-
Her tears fell like rain.
Even
in the darkness, it was obvious from Izuna’s voice that she was crying large
tears.
However
Steph – felt the blood that was concentrated in her head dissipate slowly.
Hatsuse
Izuna – this child was too young.
Too
obedient, too pure, too smart – too clever.
To
make a girl like that, a girl merely eight years old take part in games she
does not wish to, even causing her to
feeling
guilt towards pleasurable things, making her shoulder the burden of the lives
on an entire continent. This
truth
made Steph realize:No Game No Life:Volume 4 107
-
The Eastern Federation’s actions – didn’t start from here.
-
Sacrificing the minority for the greater good – was normal for them.
“You
created the Eastern Federation with such ways that make children cry like this,
didn’t you – you’re despicable.”
-
The Werebeasts had previously split into many small tribes and continued their
disputes.
A
method like this that united them within the short time of half a century and
made the Eastern Federation a great
power
–
Steph
suddenly felt that she had a small glimpse of the big picture, and she – even
scolded Miko in an
underestimating
fashion.
Miko
met her gaze head on, and replied:
“Sacrificing
some for the greater good – it’s not
even a necessary evil, but a 「Natural」 one. If you want to care
about
every single person – then every single
person would express his/her opinion, how are you going to run a
government
like that… little wench.”
…Steph
had no way to rebut that.
To
be honest, Elchea’s nobles acted the same way.
They
had tried their best to not let anyone suffer any losses, but completely
equality was impossible in the end.
Steph
clenched her fists, which was when Jibril began attacking her.
Maybe
because she was unable to understand Steph’s opinion, her expression was that
of genuine curiosity.
“Does
Dora-chan have something to say? Just by sacrificing one person, we can save
two dying species; and we
might
even move one step closer towards uniting with the Eastern Federation through
strengthening Elchea’s forces
–
what else is there to be desired?”
-
Steph still was unable to rebut them.
“Could
it be –“ Jibril continued.
“You
think that without sacrifice and unhappiness, we can conquer the world – no,
taking a step back, we can
reclaim
Elchea?”
“…!”
“Or
maybe you simply –“
Jibril
continued with an even more provocative smile:
“You
simply don’t want to hurt those close to you – how selfish of you ♥”
Steph
clenched her teeth – she understood clearly.
Just
by sacrificing one person, they could unite two races.
They
could save two races that would go extinct if they did nothing.
If
it was not good of her to feel bad for sacrificing Ino alone, then –
“-
So what…!”
Steph
spoke determinedly.
Looking
at Izuna who was trembling in shock, she yelled – as though she was awakened.
“I
don’t care what you call me, be it selfish or self-interested, but despite
this, there’s only one thing I truly know! It’s
that
using this method to unite all the races – is impossible!”
-
She had no concrete evidence.
Miko
and Jibril’s words were very true, and what they spoke of sadly was the
unquestionably more realistic thing to
do.
But,
Steph was confident that it 「Wasn’t the way」.No Game No Life:Volume 4 108
As
for why – probably because – it was 「Common sense」.
The
two of them made perfect sense, and it was a proper method of attacking
head-on.
-
But, getting down to it.
Attempting
to unite all the races by attacking head-on – would probably be an impossible
feat –
Part
4
Sora
and Shiro returned calmly after wiping their hands.
What
they were met with was Miko who was returning home and a solemn atmosphere.
And
– Steph’s gaze pierced them like a needle.
“Ah…
what’s up with this atmosphere?”
“Essentially
speaking you choose to run away right?”
“-
What?”
“I
get it, you want to sacrifice Ino-san alone to get two races – that’s just a 「Threat」… I’ve overestimated you!
How
do you still have the guts to say you want to unite all the races after you’ve
used this sort of method!!”
Faced
with Steph’s harsh words and expression, Sora scratched his head and looked at
Shiro in confusion instead.
“Eh,
um, Shiro, why am I being scolded?”
“…Because…you
took too long…?”
“Of
course I didn’t take long, I just went to take a piss!! F-forget it, I don’t
really understand but my bladder’s empty
now.”
-
With a grunt, he cleared his throat, and Sora said “Let’s get back to the
original topic.” –
“So
let’s start over – to awaken the Empress, let’s get moving.”
…-
Huh?
Everyone
was speechless, while Sora continued calmly:
“Without
Plum’s magic, as long as we actually awaken the Empress the Dhampirs and
Seirens won’t go extinct; and
we
can use that as a condition for them to release Ino as well, which would
resolve the entire situation – speaking of
which
we only 「Interrupted」 the game,「Giving up」 is against my personal policy, so
we’re going to try again
–“
Ignoring
the stunned masses, Sora stroked his chin and spoke:
“The
problem is 「How do we awaken her」.”
Sora
looked sharply at Plum:
“I
can just about guess – no one knows the condition… right?”
“…Y-yeah…”
“Huh?
You said no one knows… how is that?”
Steph
peeked at Izuna.
Izuna
who was crying since earlier looked up attentively, seemingly transfixed by
Sora’s words.
She
closely observed Plum’s reactions – then she nodded her head, indicating she wasn’t
lying.
However
Sora nodded, as though he had expected that.
“The
Seirens can’t use magic while the Dhampirs can – if anyone knew the plan would’ve failed a
long while ago,
and
Amira only knows -「It’s not a game to make the Empress fall in love」.”
“…How
can you be sure?” Steph asked.No Game No Life:Volume 4 109
“The
Empress went into hibernation before she became the Empress… but in her
standpoint she would become an
Empress
sooner or later… if someone like that said she would give all her rights to you…
what would you do?”
Plum
sighed and spoke, originally thinking that she had found the real condition.
Sora
and Shiro nodded and continued:
“If
such a dangerous truth were to be mentioned with someone like Amira in the
vicinity, she would definitely
conceal
it – and what is the ultimate method of doing so?”
“…If
no one knows the truth…then…no one will find out…”
-
Exactly, which is to say.
To
beat the Empress’ game…
One
had to find the victory condition that no one knew except for the Empress
herself.
It
was – a game called 「Victory Condition」.
It
would be nearly impossible to beat, and could be described as extremely
difficult.
But
–
“As
long as it isn’t a 「Realistic Romance Game」-「 」won’t lose!”
“…Mm…!”
The
two of them powerfully – uttered their maxim that was both reliable and
embarrassing.
But
upon seeing the siblings’ actions – Steph asked nervously:
“…A-about
that… Sora, didn’t you – wanted to sacrifice Ino-san?”
“Huh~?
What are you talking about, you’re such a Steph.”
Hearing
Sora’s words, they carried an unmistakable 「Denial」.
She
didn’t care even though her own name was being used as an insult.
“I
can’t possibly let a living cultural artifact like Izuna get depressed, and Ino
– that real man among men, how could
I
leave him… Steph, it’s not possible to not get tired, but you need to wake up
before you start sleeptalking nonsense
like
this!”
…Sora
spoke as though Ino’s value to him had risen multiple folds like a profitable
company in the stock market,
and
he didn’t seem as though he was faking it.
“Also
– I said I would come back, didn’t I? Amira can’t lay a hand on Ino since he’s
the only way they can get us to
rejoin
the game, and if they do they can only become 「Slaves」.”
Steph
spoke once more:
“B-but
about Ino-san, Miko-san said 「We won’t do anything」-“
“Of
course, Miko-san let us use Ino as 「Proof」, while the rest is our job.”
Hearing
Sora’s crisp and blunt response, Steph’s eyes grew even wider.
Yes,
Miko – didn’t need to do anything.
Because
after this – Sora and the others 「Wanted everything」.
“Miko-san
continuously used an ability 「Blood Devastation」 that might cost her life, even
offering an important
subordinate
of hers to us – now it’s our turn to do our best – exactly what it sounds like,
we need to put our lives on
the
line.”
Sora
announced cheerfully, while Shiro nodded in agreement.
However
– the process of undergoing a chilling revelation and their next words caused
Steph to inhale sharply.
“That’s
called -「Working together」 right?”
A
small shadow passed by Steph.No Game No Life:Volume 4 110
Izuna
looked up with her eyes red and swollen at Sora and Shiro somewhat uneasily.
“You
all are planning to save Grandpa, des?”
Sora
and Shiro didn’t know why she was crying.
But
– Sora placed his hand on Izuna’s head, fondling it somewhat forcefully, then
spoke with a laugh:
“But
of course, I’ll definitely get the old man back
– I’ll make a
「Promise」
with you.”
The
uneasy gaze shifted towards Shiro – and
what welcomed it was
「Confirmation」.
“…Izuna-tan…believe
in Nii…”
It
was unavoidable that Izuna didn’t know.
It
was… something only Shiro knew.
When
Nii – Sora – said the word 「Promise」.
Even
the 「Ten Pledges」 falter under the might of it – for that word
meant
an absolute oath.
But
–
“…Nii
absolutely…won’t go back on it…”
Hearing
Shiro’s confirmation, Izuna looked up at her once again.
The
hand that was caressing her head – Izuna smelled it.
And
then – she wiped her wet eyes and spoke:
“…Mm,
I believe you, des.”
“Alright,
someone believes me, des.”
Sora
spoke jokingly, while Steph looked on from a distance.
Jibril
stood beside her.
“Sorry,
Dora-chan, I went too far.”
“…What?”
“I
was curious as to how you would react, so I couldn’t resist… but Dora-chan is
right.”
-
Her expression looked like she was going to jut out her tongue, as the overly
curious person spoke.
And
as Steph glared at her, Jibril continued solemnly:
“The
Masters will undoubtedly change this world.”
But
the method – Jibril continued:
“Because
no currently known methods will allow it.”
“…”
-
So regarding the true way to awaken the Empress –
Steph
was only half listening to Sora’s next words.
…At
that time, hearing Miko and Jibril’s words – she felt something 「Wasn’t right」.
As
she was searching for the reason why she felt that way – she finally realized
why as she looked at the two figures
standing
before her.
Sora...
Shiro… the two of them…
They
wouldn’t use any legitimate methods.
They
snorted and laughed at things like 「Reason」.No Game No Life:Volume 4 111
They
sliced away and ignored things like 「Common sense」.
The
two had said – they wanted to rule over all the races without any deaths nor
bloodshed.
It
was like a dream – a completely unrealistic goal, impossible to achieve through
reason and common sense.
-
But their shadows told people that they 「Could do it」.
On
that day – on the day of their coronation – Steph might have seen it.
She
might have seen the same thing Jibril who was standing beside her saw –
-
As she began to understand the future she was predicting for this world, she
began feeling emotional.
“Ah~
right, Steph, you said something that I can’t ignore.”
“Huh?”
Steph
snapped out of her frozen stance upon hearing Sora’s words.
“Sacrificing
Ino to get two races – firstly sacrificing Ino is wrong, and –“
She
once again heard something that made her freeze.
“It’s
not two races – it’s 「Three」♪”
…
…-
Huh?
Epilogue
- Interrupt End
Part
1
She
felt voices conversing behind her by the beach.
Miko,
who was walking alone in the darkness, looked up at the moon and began mumbling
to herself.
“...Did
he realize – I was testing him?”
No...Miko
shook her head, denying her own words.
Even
if he did find out, that man’s actions still wouldn’t change.
Sora
from the start – never planned to sacrifice Ino at all.
The
sounds of his heartbeat didn’t change at all from the beginning, and it sounded
incredibly relaxed.
-
Yes, Miko was testing Sora and the others.
If
Miko was in that position, being forced to make the same decision, what would
she have done?
It
was very possible – no, it was unquestionable that she would choose to
sacrifice Ino.
Because
it was an unnecessary risk, and that just by one sacrifice they would acquire
many benefits.
Because
to ask for even more – would be 「Idealism」.
And
to give up on her ideals -
-
Was her limit.
“...Can
we expect them?”
If
it was those two, they would simply nonchalantly overcome their limits.
Just
to confirm this – Miko who had used the decision to 「Save or sacrifice Ino」 to
test them, closed her eyes.
Sora
and Shiro – would they choose to 「Sacrifice him」 like she would...
She
had stubbornly 「Tested」 Sora and Shiro, attempting to make them surpass limits
that even she could not.
-
To punish herself, to force her to live with extreme guilt for the rest of her
life, she had intentionally chosen
Hatsuse
Ino (him) as the sacrifice, and -No Game No Life:Volume 4 112
“...Maybe
we really can expect them.”
At
this point, Miko finally realised.
The
ruckus coming from behind her – Imanity, Werebeasts, Flügel and even Dhampirs.
-
Sora and Shiro never had the concept of 「Racial Discrimination」.
“...If
it’s them – maybe we can trust them with it.”
As
she spoke, she clutched her chest.
Miko
felt her own heartbeat – an emotion long forgotten.
She
murmured to herself while looking up at the blood-red moon.
Part
2
“Jibril.”
“I’m
here.”
Upon
hearing Sora’s calls, Jibril immediately teleported behind him.
“You
know how the Empress went into hibernation, and the conditions to awaken her,
don’t you.”
When
they met Plum, it was Jibril that had explained the situation to them.
“Yes
– but that was false information...”
Thinking
that she would be scolded again, Jibril’s voice softened slightly, but then
Sora said:
“It’s
not that, where did you get the information?”
“My
hometown – Avant Heim.”
Sora
continued half expectantly, half helplessly:
“...Anyway
with the way you Flügel do things, you must have gathered all sorts of written
resources from all over the
world,
right?”
“Yes,
of course ♪ “
Jibril
nodded proudly in confirmation.
Looking
at her expression, Sora couldn’t help but smile bitterly in helplessness,
thought to himself “Never mind” and
continued
pondering the situation at hand.
-
To beat the Empress’ game.
Victory
conditions that nobody knew and practically didn’t exist, and there were
extremely limited ways to find
them.
But
– there were still ways.
They
needed – information, and -
“Steph,
please work together with Izuna to search for information in the late king’s
books.”
“-
Huh?”
“Regarding
the continent Elchea originally possessed that bordered the Seirens’ seas.”
And
then – Sora said:
“I
don’t believe that the king that had exposed the Eastern Union’s game wouldn’t
do any other research regarding
neighboring
nations.”
The
man that had pretended to be a foolish king with noble aspirations – probably
wouldn’t have a complete answer.
Because
if he did, the Empress would’ve been awakened by now – but -
“...Even
if there’s no answer, there could be observations that might lead us to
them.”No Game No Life:Volume 4 113
Upon
seeing Sora’s eyes that contained trust in the King, trust in her grandfather.
“Please,
Steph.”
“-
Alright, leave it to me.”
“...I
understand, des.”
Izuna
and Steph nodded in agreement at once.
“...Um,
about that...w-what should we do...?”
“Ah
yes, Jibril, Shiro and I.... and Plum, you come along as well.”
“Oh,
a-alright... huh, where are we going?”
“Didn’t
I say it earlier? - We intend on conquering three races, not two.”
Sora
continued with a smile:
“Alright,
here’s the problem, in order to find out about this game where the victory
conditions aren’t clear, the only
surefire
way is to look for records of people that have taken part in the game
previously, and deduce the victory
conditions
by comparing them – so where’s the only place we can go that probably has the
most records?”
…
- A
second’s pause, and then...
A
whooshing sound was heard, and another one – but that was a sound carrying a
completely opposite meaning.
“Finally
– finally! A new Master to rule us Flügel are to sit on the throne – ah, to
think that such a grand day would
come
so early!”
“Kyaaaaaaahhhhh
please no! I don’t want to go to the lair of monsters like those!”
Jibril
knelt on the ground and began to pray with a force that kicked up all the sand
around her.
And
the sounds of Plum struggling, yelling in an attempt to get away but was being
restrained by Jibril.
Sora
ignored the commotion, and grasped Shiro’s hand.
He
nodded slightly.
“Alright,
let’s go – we’re heading to 「Avant Heim」.”
Afterwords
Phew~
I’m really tired w. That’s it for now! (TL note: Japanese people often add ‘w’ to
the end of words. Kind of
how
we say ‘lol’ a lot.)
To
be honest, it all started with my editor discussing with me to turn the episode
preview I made originally as a joke
to
a reality.
Honestly,
I never really thought about what I was going to write ←
But
I couldn’t turn down the editor’s well wishes, so I decided to try it out
anyway w.
So
here are the messages to you readers from our editors -
Second-generation
editor S: “Kamiya-sensei, please don’t adopt such poor work attitudes any
longer.
If
it weren’t for the fact that the author and illustrator is the same person,
this novel might even be delayed for
another
month.
Also
on online message boards, please limit yourself to about three lines.” (TL note: The author’s first few lines
came
from the Japanese message board 2ch, as one author there went overboard and got
famous on the internet for
being
overly emotional.)
-
I’m sorry, I’ll work seriously from now on, and I’m Kamiya Yuu.No Game No
Life:Volume 4 114
『NO
GAME NO LIFE 』 that was supposed to be published every five months or so – was
delayed by one month.
(TL
note: Japanese publishing time.)
First,
I deeply apologize for the delay.
“Sensei,
please reflect on this deeply. Even deeper than the Marina Trench.”
Also,
one of the reasons for the delay is because the editors got my work progression
completely wrong.
“I’m
reflecting on this already, even deeper than the earth’s mantle.”
Alright,
now regarding this time’s 『NO GAME NO LIFE Volume 4』.
Just
like what I had planned, I attempted to write a volume with a rather cheery,
relaxing atmosphere.
Because
I wanted to let up on the plot from the first to third volumes, and continue
from there.
Also,
to help the story progress for the following volumes, just a cheery, happy,
relaxing volume -
...That
was what I had planned, so how did it turn out like this?
“I
had heard originally that this was going to have a cheery, relaxing plot, so
why is the first draft over four hundred
players
long? I personally really want you to explain this mysterious scenario that
seems straight out of the X-Files.”
...Yes,
the truth about this entire affair is actually even deeper than the
Gutenberg.” (TL note: A layer located
between
the earth’s mantle and core.)
Do
you want to know?
“Even
deeper than the earth’s mantle? Spit it out then.”
I’ll
be honest.
Wasn’t
it because some editor wanted to make this series into a manga with my wife?
Because
of that, I ended up spending one week of each month on drawing manga instead –
essentially returning to
my
roots as a manga artist.
“...Eh...about
that...”
Also
it was because I took up one of the series my previous editor S sent over.
Over
here there isn’t much work since everyone cooperates on everything, but just as
I was rushing to finish the
volume
up my typewriter broke, and as I was going to get a new one I was run over by a
car that smashed my bones
to
bits, but luckily since I was short on cash my insurance helped my purse quite
a bit so never mind.
“...Is
that all?”
The
problem is after that, because my lead editor completely messed up my work
progression, wanting me to work
on
three volumes, and due to the process of dividing the workload being rather
complicated, I was at my limit just
writing
half a volume.
So
it became four hundred pages, but since it’s half a volume the structure of the
story began to have problems, with
the
most worrying one being the story lacking a climax -
Thus,
I began pondering and editing the structure of the story with regards to that.
So?
Did this explanation reach the Guten-whatever?”
“It’s
the Gutenberg, how should I put it, um – thank you for your hard work ♥ “
Yeah,
the situation could be mostly attributed to 「Human error」, so please say a few
words about this incident ♥
“To
think that such devilish editors exist... what a horrifying working
environment...”
Yes,
to think that a devil could say such words with a straight face... how scary
(trembling voice)
-
Never mind, I won’t mention human error for now, but actually a lot of other
things happened that I just didn’t write
down.
Such
as diabetes, I was scolded by my doctor, and got food poisoning just from going
out to eat yakitori once.No Game No Life:Volume 4 115
-
But just let me say this, all this isn’t made up.
“Kamiya-sensei,
I suggest that you go for an exorcism!”
I
already have!
“...Huh?”
I
went to Meiji Shrine before I got cancer.
I
visited Fushimi Inari-Taisha after I got cancer.
This
year I went to visit Kawashika Daishi. But all this still happened anyway.
If
I hadn’t been to visit all these places, I might even be on the other
side
of the Sanzu River by now. (TL note: All the places above are
places
significant to Japanese Buddhist beliefs. Sanzu River is a river
that
traditionally divides the border between life and death.)
Ah,
but at the end of the year I went to check my bank book only to see
that
it had only the number 「0」written on it, I don’t even have
money
to pay the ferryman across the river... what happens if I don’t
pay
him? Will I come back to life?
“No,
I don’t think those sort of lifelines exist...”
Fine
– just like that, I’ll stop here.
The
content of this volume is relaxing, cheerful (with a deeper meaning).
But
this is also approaching a sprint – the plot of this series entered its climax
in the previous volume, so to surpass
it!
I will sprint forward even faster, so please support -
“Ah,
Kamiya-sensei, Kamiya-sensei.”
Huh?
Ah, I’m here, what is it? I’m just preparing to finish this up.
“The
editor of Alive is here to rush you, is your storyboard draft completed yet?”
…........
“And
the special volume and the script for a booklet of some project, and don’t
forget – huh? Kamiya-sensei? Hey~
are
you still there?”
References
[1]
In Japanese tradition, architectural spaces designed to be used for tea
ceremony (chanoyu) gatherings are known as chashitsu (茶 室, literally
"tea
rooms").
[2]
-kou (公) is a suffix generally used for lords at governmental occasions.
[3]
[3] Four of a kind plus a joker (wild card).
[4]
[4] To execute an extremely unsuspected or well-planned out trick that others
do not know is upon them until it is too late.
[5]
In the original text, her body laid on the floor shaped like the kanji
character, 大.
[6]
Translated as Miko’s home in Volume 3, Chapter 4. 巫 社, read as Mikoja,
literally means Miko’s Shrine, and is adapted from 神 社 (jinja/
Shinto
shrine (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Shinto_shrine)) which is where real
Japanese mikos reside in.
[7]
[7] A girl who has already reached adulthood (18 years old) but retains the
looks of a loli.
[8]
A popular dating sim, see here (http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Tokimeki_Memorial)
[9]
[9] Over-Powered
[10]
See http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Hanten
[11]
TL note: Original reads 光 精, fits with the anime translation. Spirits are
basically Disboard chakra...? Edits welcome.
[12]
TL note: http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Thalassotherapy
[13]
TL note: Whoa! There goes gravity. Whoa! There goes Rabbit, he choked, OK this
isn’t funny.
[14]
TL note: Cthulhu are evil beings created by American writer H.P. Lovecraft in
his Cthulhu Mythos. They signify ‘water’. CL note: They
look
like mutant octopuses
[15]
TL note: Tokimeki Memorial is a popular Japanese dating simulator. Probably
censored for fear of… copyright issues.No Game No Life:Volume 4 116
[16]TL
note: Time for some explanation. In the “Tokimeki Memorial” series of dating
simulation games by Konami, there is a well-known cheat
that
sets all the player’s stats to 573 if they change their names to Konamiman.
Konami in Japanese is pronounced the same way as 573.
However,
this affects negative stats as well, like susceptibility to injuries, things
like that. Since the game they’re in is presumably based on it,
this
cheat should work as well.
[17]TL
note: In the popular light novel/manga/anime series “I Have Few Friends/Boku ha
Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, the character Mikazuki
Yozora
changes another character, Sena Kashiwazki’s username in a dating simulator to
Kashiwazaki Semoponume.
[18][18]TL
note: Yoshio Saotome is one of the characters in the very first edition of
Tokimeki Memorial. His role is to provide the player with info
on
the girls, phone numbers, blood type, hobbies, etc.
[19]TL
note: Another character from the first edition of TokiMemo. Rei Ijuuin is at
first introduced to the player as a guy but halfway through
the
game it is revealed that “he’s” actually a girl. It’s a trap!
[20]TL
note: Riajuu – Japanese word for someone that’s living his/her real-world life
to the fullest. Think this term was used way back in
Volume
1 or 2.
[21][21]TL
note: TokiMemo 1st gen, of course.
[22][22]Tokimeki
Memorial Reference. School name derived from Tokimeki Memorial Online
[23]TL
note: Well, Katou Taka is a Japanese porn star. You don’t want to know what I
had to go through to find that out.
[24]TL
note: Abdomen is an approximation. For the accurate term:"Gut" Gut
http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Dantian
[25][25]TL
note: Go-home club i.e. no clubs. Go home.
[26][26]TL
note: That was a line from one of the first-gen TokiMemo characters, Fujisaki
Shiori.
[27]TL
note: Ah. Bombs. Hugest pain in the ass in this game i.e. TokiMemo. Essentially
if the player knows multiple girls but only has high
affections
with some of them, the neglected ones will have “bomb” icons and will begin to
spread bad rumors about the player, ruining the
player’s
relationships. This forces careful planning/dating.
[28]TL
note:烈 立 铁in Chinese, edits welcome.
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