Chapter IX: Thus, Shimizu Shou Voices His Frustrations. (2/3)

Day 1

10:27 AM

...

The incident between Natsuki and Keiko is far from the last. As time passes, paranoia periodically triggers outbreaks driven by envy or sheer madness. Consequently, the number of executions carried out by the council has increased considerably.

Unfortunately, actions like this will only become more frequent.

I keep a guy kneeling before a group of student council members.

"Kaito Yamamoto, charged with the premeditated murder of Daikichi Watanabe and Sakura Sato, do you have any last words in your defense?" Mikoto asks, her gaze cold.

I step back, giving space to Ailiss, who approaches and points the barrel of her revolver at the guy's face.

He remains silent, staring tremblingly at the floor.

Keiko, Haruki, and the other members take their positions.

"Very well. By unanimous vote, the student council sentences you to death," Mikoto declares.

As Mikoto finishes her sentence, Ailiss pulls the trigger, the gunshot echoing throughout the school.

The boy's body falls silently onto the snow.

I approach Ailiss and take responsibility for disposing of the body.

The hands of the clock continue to turn and reset so that, in apparent time, several more years have passed. The student population continues to decline, now below forty percent.

More than half of all the students who once lived here, laughed, and enjoyed themselves are now dead. Their existences have been permanently erased. Not even dust remains—only their memories, which, like them, will soon disappear...

"Thanks for your help, Manabu. I owe you one for this," I say as we finish covering the grave.

"It's fine, Jocchi. I've read my manga so many times I know the stories by heart. So I've got plenty of free time anyway."

I continue following Ailiss and Mikoto's advice to keep him and the others in ignorance. I'm unsure if this was the right decision or how long this facade will last. But it's all I can do for now.

As we shovel the last bit of dirt, I feel uncomfortable and decide to break the silence with a random topic.

"By the way, how are things with Miyu?"

"Well… I guess. Maybe you could give me some relationship tips—you've got twice the experience, considering you basically have two wives," he laughs.

"You all have a pretty wrong impression of me. I've told you before, our relationship is more like that of masters and a servant. This work we're doing now is proof of my servitude—they leave all the dirty work to me," I reply.

"For a masochist, that's not a bad deal," he stops laughing. "But tell me, Jocchi, is everything okay between you three?"

Is it that obvious? Because he's close to me, Manabu seems to notice this rift clearly. Yes… it's not just them I'm being dishonest with. I've really had to sink into this falsehood to survive my own self-awareness.

"Yes, everything's fine. Why do you ask?" I avoid eye contact.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the three of you together when you're not working on student council tasks."

The truth is, after Takashi's attack, I started feeling uneasy about being visibly close to them. There's no way to be sure there aren't others like him who might, out of envy, try to do something terrible—not to me, but to them.

Even if everything resets at the end of each iteration, the experience of an assault can't be erased. Despite their impeccable self-defense skills, especially Ailiss's, I feel an unconditional tremor just imagining someone hurting them.

"It's just your imagination," I force a smile. "We talk a lot while working on student council matters, and besides, I think they get a little tired of me. So it's always good to give them some space to breathe, or it'll seem too clingy."

"Space? I didn't have that problem with my 2D girls. Do you think Miyucchi thinks I'm clingy?" he rests his weight on the shovel, looking thoughtful.

Clearly not. I just made all that up on the spot.

"And speaking of the devil, look who decided to show up," I point behind Manabu.

Miyu approaches us with two cups in her hands.

"What kind of comment was that, Johann-kun? I was thinking of bringing you something warm to drink since you're working in the cold, but now I'm not so sure you deserve it," she pouts.

"Hey, Miyucchi, don't be mean to us," he scratches his head. "Jocchi was just joking, right?"

"Yes, it was just a joke. Don't take it seriously," I force a smile.

"I shouldn't, but since we're friends, I'll forgive you this time," she smiles. "Let's sit somewhere to drink."

The most noticeable change in my circle of friends occurred about fifty iterations ago when Miyu confessed her feelings to Manabu. They've been in a relationship for almost a year now.

It's evident that even their over-the-top humor hasn't fully withstood so much time trapped here. I can see the exhaustion in their eyes—so many repetitions would drive any human to the brink of sanity. However, I've noticed that opening up about their feelings has given them greater resilience.

On the other hand, the one who's suffered the opposite effect is the one left out of this new relationship: Shou.

We sit on a bench in the yard to drink the tea Miyu brought us. The two of them chat calmly while I focus on the figure watching us resentfully from a distance.

This behavior from him isn't new. When he learned of Miyu's confession, his reaction was one of congratulations, but how genuine that was remains highly questionable.

'I'm happy for you!' says the social pact.

However, ego cannot be denied. Despite Shou's open talk of wanting to date multiple girls, the one he always wanted for himself has slipped through his fingers.

A few iterations after Manabu and Miyu began their relationship, I noticed he was avoiding direct contact while watching them from afar.

What are you planning, Shou?

If I remember correctly, he even fought with them during one iteration over mere jealousy. It's true that he later apologized and cooperated with us and Ailiss… but that tendency hasn't disappeared. And we're in the perfect scenario to lose reason.

I've seen this before… a tragedy is about to repeat itself.

"What's wrong, Johann-kun? You seem distracted," Miyu asks.

"It's nothing; I'm just lost in thought."

I hope I'm wrong about him.

He's waiting for us when we return to the main building lobby.

A behavior change? Has he come to his senses? I hope so, but even so… his expression doesn't look good. Depending on his mental state, I may need to speak to Mikoto to ensure the three of them are under constant surveillance.

"Ah, Shimizu-kun. Are you okay? It's been a while since we talked. What have you been up to?" Miyu greets him, waving.

"Do I really need to answer that? Am I okay? Only if you are," he replies with unusual coldness.

"What happened?" Miyu asks, surprised.

I have a bad feeling… this seems to be heading toward the same situation as Keiko and Natsuki. In this case, I need to intervene immediately before a fatality occurs.

This situation is not good.

The biggest problem is that I left the revolver with Mikoto this morning and don't have a knife on me.

Damn it, I didn't think this would happen today of all days.

"You still have the nerve to ask? How many times did I tell you I loved you? How many times did you ask for time to think? And in the end... in the end, it was always him, always him. If only you'd had the decency to tell me from the beginning... why keep my hopes alive for so long? Were you planning to use me as a consolation if he rejected you?"

Had he confessed to her? I wasn't aware of that. This way, his resentment grows even deeper—he sees Manabu and Miyu's relationship as a complete betrayal—a betrayal of love and friendship.

Miyu, shocked, stares at him wide-eyed.

"Shoucchi, that's enough," Manabu steps in front of Miyu. "I know this has been bothering you for a long time, and every time I asked to talk about it, you refused."

Things happened between them without my knowledge, I understand. Perhaps if I'd been less focused on simulating my own behavior near them and tried to understand them better, this wouldn't be happening.

"And what would we talk about? There's nothing to clarify between us. The truth is simple: you and Miyu are two damn traitors," Shou spits the words, his eyes narrowing.

Shou's expression becomes eerily similar to Takashi's when he attacked me out of jealousy.

If things keep escalating at this rate... I don't want anyone to die—I need to stop him now.

"Hey, Shou. Take a break and rest. I don't think today is the best day for this conversation," I interject.

He glares at me angrily and begins speaking slowly.

"Johann, shut up. You're the last person who should be talking here... how can life be so unfair? Thinking about it, you're a player... which means you're one of the culprits for us being trapped in this hell," he puts a hand in his pocket, revealing the tip of a metallic object.

I brace myself to react while continuing to listen to his rant.

"And how are you punished? By having your love reciprocated not once but twice and by the two most coveted girls. Anyone here who has already killed themselves would cut off a limb to be in your place," he laughs, then shifts to an aggressive tone. "Are you seriously asking for patience from someone as privileged as you?! You can't die, and everything is handed to you!"

I see that my hypothesis was correct—Takashi wasn't the only one who thought this way. Just being friends or close to those two is enough to spark this kind of outrage in some. Normally, this wouldn't happen, but this confinement pushes people to their limits. Takashi, who had psychopathic tendencies, had his behavior triggered by this environment.

Notably, people like him and Shou can only see the positive aspects of those they envy. Do they want to be in my place? Would they have the determination for it? Because I barely did.

"Shimizu-kun, if you have a problem with me, don't drag Johann-kun and Manabu-kun into this," Miyu says.

I turn to her and interrupt.

"It's okay, I'll handle this," I turn back to Shou. "I accept your criticism but don't hurt Manabu and Miyu. They're not to blame for your feelings. Remember everything you've been through together—I don't think you want to ruin that friendship. I know this confinement we've been subjected to is enough to drive anyone crazy, so stay calm and think carefully before doing anything."

He's armed and ready to attack them at any moment. If I can't persuade him, I'll need Manabu's help to restrain him. However, this is risky—in the worst case, we may have to...

"They ruined our friendship in the first place but hurt them? No... there's no need to worry about that. They are indeed traitors, but as you said, I would never hurt my friends."

Manabu and Miyu sigh in relief.

Was it that easy? There's no way he's serious about not having bad intentions. I can see the same hostility in his eyes as Takashi's. And what's the point of the weapon he's hiding?

"The one I'm going to kill is the person responsible for us being trapped here, isn't it, Johann? Do you think all this talk fools me? These rules are just another one of your inventions!" he lunges at me. "All it takes is for one player to die, and it's over!"

I'm the target? Well... we covered up the case where Takashi killed me, so Shou doesn't know that the loop reset even after my death. Perhaps even if he knew, he'd still do this—he's already stopped reasoning and is just looking for someone to blame.

I brace myself to counter his charge.

Manabu grabs Shou's arm to save me and, consequently, himself.

"Stop, Shoucchi! You're crazy! You'll die, too, if you kill Jocchi! Don't you remember what the loudspeakers said?"

"Let me go! That was one of his tricks! I'm going to end this right now!"

I grab Shou's other arm and help Manabu try to disarm him.

"Shou, listen to us. The rule is real. You may not remember, but everyone who caused my death suffered the same fate," I say.

"Save it. You're just clinging to the loop because you can't let go of one of your girlfriends. I don't blame you for that—I'd probably do the same in your place," he laughs. "So I hope you won't take it personally when I kill you."

Still, insisting on this? There's no way to change his mind.

"Stop being stubborn; you've got it all wrong!"

"Help! I need help!" Miyu shouts.

From struggling so much, Shou finds an opening to strike Manabu. He stabs him superficially in the chest, forcing him to release Shou's armed arm.

With one hand free, Shou turns to me and tries to stab me in the stomach.

Damn it, in this position, it'll be impossible to restrain him again.

"Die, Joha—" Shou suddenly stops, and blood drips from his mouth.

Trembling, he looks down and then loses his strength. He takes a few more steps toward me before collapsing to the ground with a large hole in his chest.

I quickly realize he was shot.

"Sorry about your friend, Mistkerl. But given the threat, he had to be eliminated," says Ailiss, entering the lobby.

Shou was caught red-handed. In circumstances like this, there's no need for a student council trial. Ailiss has full authority to eliminate anyone caught in the act of attempting murder.

"Don't worry about it. If you hadn't shot, he would've died anyway trying to stab me. I don't think there was anything we could've done about him," I lower my gaze. "We wouldn't have been able to restrain him, and even if we had, it wouldn't have helped—sooner or later, he would've tried this madness again, leaving no option but the death penalty. Now, we need to treat Manabu as quickly as possible."

I observe my bloodied friend on the ground. The situation is analogous to those endless repetitions when I was without memory. Ailiss ended up killing him with a chest shot in the same way.

However, I feel a stark emotional contrast. Back then, I felt guilty for the times I killed him in other timelines without even consciously remembering them. It was a guilt I couldn't understand.

Now, despite trying to value my friendships, even if false, and consciously attempting redemption, I feel only immense apathy deep down. After having killed him consciously so many times, it would be hypocritical of me to express any lamentation.

This can only mean that all the torture I've endured seems to have killed what minor sensitivity remained in me.

"Manabu-kun! Are you okay?!" Miyu screams upon seeing the cut on Manabu.

"I'm fine, Miyucchi. I'm fine," Manabu replies.

"Since the cut is superficial, his life isn't in danger. Let's take him to the infirmary. Keiko can perform first aid, and then when the world resets, he'll be fully healed," I comment.