Chapter 173: There’s No One to Rely On

The room is silent.

The red letters “MISSION FAILED” appeared on the pitch-black screen.

Lacking the energy to move, I sat on the floor and watched in dismay.

Kyoko-san’s end was so unexpected. It was abrupt. Part of the reason for her death was my own.

The number of votes was seven. I believe that Kyoko-san’s fate would not have changed even if I had not cast a vote.

Or perhaps it was only my fate that have changed.

Perhaps, when Kyoko-san was holed up in that room, I might have been holed up with her, as a fellow human being.

If Kyoko-san hadn’t kicked me away and had entered the room with her, I might have been crushed to a pulp along with her by now.

When I thought of this, I felt as if my body heat was draining from my fingertips.

How helpless I am. I’m like a bamboo boat being tossed about by the waves. There’s nothing I can do. I feel like I can’t do anything anymore.

I looked around in a daze.

Akira-chan is clinging to Fumijima-san’s right arm.

The President stood there dumbfounded.

Masakey-chan and Natsumi-chan remain in their seats, looking up at the monitor with blank faces.

Yamauchi-san, who was also seated, was looking back and forth between the President and Fumijima-san, which was somewhat impressive.

Although I couldn’t read their expression, one of them is the mastermind of this death game, and one of them killed Misuzu-chan.

（No…no…no more…）

I’m so scared that tears are slowly coming to my eyes.

After a while, there was a heavy silence. It was the President who broke it.

「Let her go!」

He snatched Akira-chan’s lead out of Fumijima-san’s hands, pushed him away with all his might, and held Akira-chan in his arms.

「Master!」

「Akira! Pull yourself together! Come to your senses!」

「No, Papa, let go of me, please!」

Holding the writhing Akira-chan in his arms, the President distanced himself from Fumijima-san.

「Ow… that’s terrible, President. You can’t be violent, you know」

「Shut up! I won’t let you touch Akira anymore!」

The President looks like a menacing bulldog.

Fumijima-san, who had fallen on his butt, stood up, making light of the situation.

Natsumi-chan rushes to his side. She clung to Fumijima-san’s arm and whispered to him in a sweet voice.

「Fumijima-san, I’m so scared. I want to stay with you」

Then Fumijima-san made a dirty grin and hugged her shoulders.

「Then… I’ll take care of you until morning」

「Hyaan..」

I couldn’t believe it. Now that two people had died there, why were they going on as if nothing had happened?

Rather…I can’t help but be amazed at Fumijima-san’s unequalness.

「Let me go! Let me go! 」

The president is dragging a raging Akira-chan to her room.

Fumijima-san walks back to the room, holding Natsumi-san’s shoulder as she cuddles.

Masakey-chan sits at the round table, staring at the backs of Fumijima-san and Natsumi-chan with an expressionless face.

「Well, I’m going back to my room」

With that, Yamauchi-san left her seat, leaving Masakey-chan and me alone at the round table.

But as soon as Masakey-chan saw the door to Fumijima-san’s room close, she grinned and twisted her mouth.

（I knew it, this girl is really scary…）

I turned my head to look for help, but Kyoko-san was not there.

There was no one to rely on anymore.

◇ ◇ ◇

When I came back to the “Confinement King’s bedroom”, I was the last one.

「Masaki, welcome back」

Misuzu-chan smiled, her hair a little damp, as if she had just taken a shower.

「I’m back, Misuzu-chan had a hard time too…」

「Ahaha, it’s hard to get the smell of tomatoes off」

I had seen the preparation scene, but Lili-chan was happily sprinkling ketchup on Misuzu-chan’s head as she poked her head through a hole in the bed, saying “Hahaha, Devi”.

It must have been hard to wash up after getting so much ketchup on her head.

As I sat down on the sofa, Fumio-kun opened his mouth.

「Everyone’s here. Well, good work everyone」

「Good work~」

「Thanks for the hard work」

「Good work!」

On the table, there are enough scones and tea for everyone.

Surrounding them were me, Fumio-kun, Natsumi-chan, Misuzu-chan, Kyoko-san, and Kaneko-san.

「I’ve been watching you on the monitor, and you all performed very well」

Kaneko-san smiles, and Fumio-kun turns to the ceiling and opens her mouth.

「I don’t care about the performance… Hey, Lili!」

「What, Devi?」

Fumio-kun’s mouth twitched as Lili-chan appeared, drawing a circle in the air.

「Kurosawa-san’s dead body! Those limbs lying on the floor, there were three hands, you know? What the hell… what if they find out?」

「Oh… sorry about that, Devi… I’ll have Freesia punish the maid in charge later, Devi」

After Misuzu-chan’s body was found, Fumio-kun seemed to be in a very nervous mood. He must have been worried that he might have been found out.

After all, those limbs were real human bodies.

I’ve heard that the maids’ limbs that were torn off during training were kept there.

In the first place, I think it’s crazy to train in such a way that limbs are torn off, but I also wonder if I have gotten used to it.

「Oh, well, I guess I’m done with this. I won’t have to get up so early tomorrow」

Kyoko-san stretched with a satisfied look, and Fumio-kun nodded with a smile.

「Yeah, good job, Kyoko. I think it was a good performance」

Then, Lili-chan interrupted.

「If you’re going to praise, you should praise Lili, Devi. After all, when the cast changed from Unsociable girl to other, all the lines were replaced, Devi. Kyoko doesn’t deserve a meaningful intellectual character, Devi」

「Shut up, I’m sorry I’m not an intellectual」

Fumio-kun smirked at Kyoko-san’s pouting lips and spoke.

「Then, Kyoko will be a sweet Lolita again from today. I’ll be calling you to bed soon, so look forward to it」

「Haa… are you kidding me?」

Kyoko-san was about to complain when Fumio-kun reached out and grabbed her by the chin.

「I’ll give you a good spanking. For the crucifixion..」

「Wha!」

Kyoko-san stiffened. And Fumio-kun kept smiling. But his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

I’m sorry, Kyoko-san. I told him off.

「So, what’s the deal with the vote?」

Natsumi-chan tilted her head, and Fumio-kun took his hand off Kyoko-san’s chin to answer. Kyoko-san remains frozen.

「Let’s see… President Kurashima, right? First, I and Masaki-chan will vote for President. If either Yamauchi-san or Ponpoko-san didn’t votes for President. And I’ve told Akira that she can vote for anyone except me. I don’t think she’s going to like the idea of choosing me for President」

「Even if neither the old woman nor the raccoon-faced one votes the president, Lili will just manipulate the votes, Devi」

Then Misuzu-chan looked into Fumio-kun’s face and asked.

「By the way, it’s about Akira-chan… what are you going to do?」

That’s what I’m wondering, too. To my eyes, Fumio-kun seems to be quite fond of Akira-chan.

I welcome the increase in the number of girls who love Fumio-kun, and if that makes Fumio-kun happy, that’s fine, but I also want him to love me the most.

Above all, Fumio-kun’s first baby is non-negotiable.

「Of course I’ll abort the plan of the baby. Misuzu and Akira are going to be the models of my new agency. Oh, and Kaneko-san, how about make another debut?」

Then Kaneko-san smiled a little sadly.

「I’m afraid not. I can’t erase my background as a former AV star, and if I try to hide it, I’ll just become a prey for the media」

「Well…I won’t force you. But since Kaneko-san is going to be mine too, I won’t let the press or anyone else touch you」

「I… I see」

I’m worried that Fumio-kun’s words are becoming more and more like a gigolo. It’s good to have confidence, but…. Actually, Kaneko-san is getting a little flushed. Fumio-kun doesn’t seem to notice it, though.

「Why don’t we just take over the whole media?」

Misuzu-chan jokingly says, to which Fumio-kun replies, “That might not be a bad idea”.

The fact that it doesn’t sound like a joke is a problem for me.