"........."
Of course, none of us could show any reaction.
After all, living, moving stuffed dolls had suddenly appeared and claimed to be the academy headmasters or whatever...
"Th-the doll talked!! Magic!! Tana is curious now!! Tana wants to be friends!!"
"...Tch."
Even I, who had barely managed to accept vampires and psychics like those two, had to draw the line somewhere.
"...Oh?"
But then, someone insisted on opening their mouth.
"A-Akano...?"
"Headmasters, hmm... That's quite interesting."
It was Akano, walking forward past a flustered Karafuru.
"Miss Akano! I told you to stay still for now! If you have questions, later..."
"Oh my, I don't think that will be possible. No matter what, I can't quietly listen to the words of creatures who won't even tell us their real names, can I?"
"Huh!? Are your cochleae seriously made of cooked snails!? We just told you! We're the Monotwins!!"
Akano gently lowered herself to one knee, letting her reflection appear in the black doll's red sunglasses.
"Surely not. That's merely a collective term referring to you and that pale little doll over there. You each have individual names, don't you? Go on, tell me. I'll listen after that."
"Urgh...!"
I had noticed it from the moment I first met her, but Akano was an exceptionally eloquent speaker.
As if proving that, the Monotwins spent a moment in meaningless deliberation before finally letting go of each other's hands.
"That certainly makes sense! To think you figured out that we have real names! Then allow us to introduce ourselves properly!"
Right afterward, the white doll timidly gave a salute.
"My real name is Momono (モモノ)! I greet you as one of the co-headmasters of Private Kyusen Academy!"
[Momono / Co-Headmaster]
"Hmm... I can't exactly call that a thoughtfully chosen name, even as empty flattery."
"Hmph. A paltry thing deserves a paltry name."
Our reactions were as cold as Kitsui's and Kadra's.
"Hawawa... This isn't what I expected... That's why I didn't want to tell you!"
"Shut up already!! Don't whine! If you did it, I'll do it too! That's only natural!!"
As it said that, the black one pushed up its sunglasses with a smooth motion.
"My true name is Monono (モノノ)! And let me warn you: if you say the same crap about it being lame, I won't let it slide!!"
[Monono / Co-Headmaster]
"Eugh, it really is lame... Were your parents also complete trash...?"
"I have no desire to agree with you... but this once, I'll let it pass..."
This time, Ubauchi and Tsurudo rebuked them at the same time, contempt written all over their faces.
"S-Shut up!! Did none of you hear a damn word I said!?"
"M-Monono, please calm down! This isn't the time for that—we need to proceed like machines! The inhuman horror concept we worked so hard to establish is completely falling apart!"
The words, “I've never felt any horror whatsoever,” rose to my throat, but I did agree that they needed to get on with it.
"Hmph... The longer an appetizer goes on, the more poisonous it becomes. You two, proceed as she says."
Unpleasant as it was, Hiranui apparently shared the same thought.
"Huh!? You bastard, who the hell are you ordering—"
"I have no interest in intercourse where only foreplay is permitted. If you gathered us all here and made such a spectacle of it, at least allow us to get to the main act."
Narita and Mayumi looked awkward, as if wondering what kind of analogy that was, but the dolls themselves did not seem bothered.
"W-Well, we have no choice... It's not exactly wrong... Right, Monono?"
"Tch! Fine, then!! I'll get straight to the damn point and tell you only the main issue!! Everyone!! Listen up!!"
At that moment, Shuko and I glanced at each other.
The meaning of that glance was surely that we were using each other as refuge from the unease we had both sensed.
"This may be sudden, but from now on, you will..."
And their voices began to overlap again with a precision chilling enough to raise goosebumps.
But that was only a prelude.
"...be taking part in a murder game where you kill one another—!!"
A prelude telling us to face the coming storm.
*
*
"..............Huh?"
That sort of dumbfounded exclamation escaped from a considerable number of us, myself included, though not everyone.
It was only natural. We were suddenly supposed to kill one another... in a murder game?
Of course, that was more than enough to draw all sorts of reactions from everyone.
Some shouted, demanding to know what insane nonsense they were spouting.
Others asked why they had been invited to an academy like this in the first place, telling them to cut the bullshit and let them out.
And there were those, like me, who quietly watched this pandemonium unfold.
"Quiet—!! We're going to explain in detail now, so every last one of you shut up—!!"
At the Monotwins' command, everyone fell silent at once.
"Now, now, we'll explain everything one by one, so please be quiet and listen. Go ahead, Monono, explain it. This is in your manual, after all?"
"Ah, shit, what a pain in the ass! First, let's go back to the beginning: why you bastards came to this academy, and why you're stuck in this situation!"
What followed was a brief silence meant to command attention.
"I'll give you the conclusion first. You bastards are the ones who 'agreed' to take part in Private Kyusen Academy's murder game."
Even that was followed by words too unbelievable to accept.
"W-What!? W-Wait a minute! That's a lie! According to my memories—no, my 'recalled memories'—I was selected for this academy because I possessed an Ultimate talent!"
"Yeah, Shu's right! In the first place, there's no way I would have agreed to take part in some murder game... something so utterly abhorrent...!"
Momono waved its dumpling-like hands to either side.
"Oh dear, that's exactly the objection we expected. You can't argue with something like that, you know? Now, here comes the second declaration!"
Another silence, and then...
"As you've surely already noticed, 'certain parts' of your memories have been altered!"
Another bombshell declaration tore through everyone's minds.
"W-Wait just a moment! What do you mean, certain parts of our memories have been altered!?"
"...I see. At least Karafuru and I may understand..."
Komada answered Narita's question as though shooting him a glare, then looked at Karafuru, whose eyes wavered uncertainly.
"R-Right... Komada, you said you'd lost all your memories of the past, didn't you? Then... could that be related to what the Monotwins were talking about?"
"...Good. You two have made an excellent deduction."
Indeed, as Akano's praise suggested, that might have been decisive evidence.
"N-No way... My memories... were altered?!"
But that did not mean we could immediately accept this situation.
"B-But that's strange! Didn't I come to this academy after being recognized as an Ultimate Detective on the basis of the achievements I had built up in the past?!"
If anything, it only fed the paranoid doubts that had become even more precarious than before.
"That's what was altered, idiot!! If we compare it to a game, it was backstory inserted to force the plot along smoothly!"
"I-Is that so...? Then was the reason I suddenly woke up in this academy also part of that forced progression!?"
In response to Tsurudo's question, the two nodded with satisfaction.
"Yes, exactly! Before coming to this academy, you lost 'some memories,' and when you awoke, you were suddenly given an Ultimate talent and 'fabricated memories' of this academy!"
Yet no one among us nodded along with Momono's dismissal.
"And now, the third and final declaration!!"
The next moment, their overlapping voices surged forth again.
"Unless you kill someone, you will never, ever, ever, ever leave this academy for the rest of your lives!!"
What it produced was, once again, a brief silence.
".........Huh?"
"T-There's a limit to the bullshit you can spew, hey...!"
"Heh heh. So this is what they mean by living long enough to see everything. Isn't this an interesting development?"
"W-What's interesting about it!? I-I want to go home!! I don't want to stay in a place like this anymore!!"
That silence gave birth to every sort of voice bound together under the name of denial.
The word pandemonium fit perfectly. The hall already seemed like the depths of hell itself, but then...
Clap!
At once, the crisp sound of hands coming together rang out.
...Tap, tap.
The sound of something hard tapping against something soft followed.
"...Let's sort out the situation. Get a fucking grip and look, everyone."
It was Kaiju, who had not said a word until then, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
"First, it seems all of us have, due to the influence of 'some motive'... however unwillingly, ended up participating in a murder game where we can't leave unless we kill someone."
Perhaps because it was not an ordinary voice, the hall that had been thrown into chaos was eventually left with nothing but the faint rustle of paper.
"And as a consequence, we lost the memories of some unknown period and were brought to this academy as though abducted. Then, when we woke up, didn't we all recall something, probably along with a headache?"
As expected, his handwriting, crushed beneath anxiety, was no longer the elegant penmanship I had seen at first. It was somewhat clumsy.
"An 'Ultimate talent' based on our experiences before those memories were lost, basic personal information, and... the false memory that 'we enrolled at Private Kyusen Academy of our own free will.'"
But that one line regained its elegance, as though it were filled with certainty.
"........"
Having finished, Kaiju put away his sketchbook as though that was all there was to say, but the silence continued for a little longer.
"Good...! Kaiju, that was an excellent summary."
The one who broke it was Akano once more.
"Everyone, why are you so stunned? Kaiju's summary, the Monotwins' existence, and our own existence. Everything forms a perfect trifecta. Surely you can't say that any of it is a lie?"
"K-Kiramari... How can you be so calm? It's impressive, but kind of scary too...!"
"It's nothing special. Even if we panic any further, it will only be a meaningless hamster wheel... So I merely thought that we should first recognize reality, then determine how we can use that reality to our advantage."
She looked around as if inviting further objections or panic, but what came back were our faces gradually accepting it one by one.
"Hawawa... Thank you, Akano. It's shameful for a headmaster, but I think we've managed to settle things down for now."
"You flatter me. More importantly, trying to repay your own incompetence with something as trivial as gratitude toward others is not a very good habit, you know?"
"P-Please don't use such harsh words! And thank you too, Kaiju! That was a fine summary! Wow... What a relief. We've already found two people who seem sure to shine in the class trial!"
At those words, we all turned our eyes toward Momono.
"A class trial...? Momono, what do you mean by that?"
"Huh!? You bitch, Kitsui, didn't I tell you!? You have to play a murder game! Don't tell me you thought you could just kill somebody however you wanted, say, 'We killed someone, let us out!' and be done with it!?"
"......"
Unlike the rest of us, who were left speechless for various reasons...
"Heh heh... It's not a particularly sweet feeling, being struck by mind-reading."
Only Hiranui answered with an easy shake of his head.
"H-Hiranui!? What did you just say!?"
"Don't get so worked up, Detective. I merely tossed a pleasant joke into a place that was neither pleasant nor a place where jokes should be made."
"If you know that, shut up, Hiranui...!"
I was so fed up that an insult slipped out, but Hiranui only narrowed his eyes at me for a moment.
"...Whoops. Did I shine too brightly in front of our detective?"
With that, he shrugged and said nothing more.
"A-Anyway, keep talking, Monotwins. You said something about a trial, so what exactly is that?!"
"Calm down, Kadra. I'm sure they're about to explain that in their next line—"
"You already said it, idiot!! We have to speak at the same time or the script gets longer!"
Just as they said, their next line was...
"What you'll be required to conduct is a 'class trial'!!"
Once again, it was a statement that made no sense.
"A-A class trial...? L-Like the one Maruho and big brother Rugi did when they were elementary schoolers?"
"That's right! Exactly!! Let me explain very quickly and simply! A class trial is Private Kyusen Academy's biggest event, triggered whenever one of you dies!"
In a class trial, the person who killed is the true culprit—the blackened—and everyone else participates as white.
After a sufficiently logical debate, you nominate one person by vote. If that person is the blackened, the true culprit receives 'punishment.'
Conversely, if you nominate a white who is not the true culprit, only the true culprit survives and 'graduates' from this academy.
"Wow! Keisha has a talent for summarizing too! I want to give you a kiss!"
"W-What are you saying!? Don't say weird things to Shoko!"
"I'm fine, so don't worry about it. More importantly, what exactly do you mean by punishment and graduation...?"
I asked as I put a hand on Shu's shoulder, where she stood protectively in front of me. Monono answered with a snicker, as though I had asked the most obvious question in the world.
"Isn't it simple, idiot! Punishment means death, and graduation means survival! In this slaughter academy, those are the only two things of the utmost value!!"
"And if any of you still happen to think, 'I will never kill,' or 'I will never die.'"
Their voices overlapped once again.
"Wake up."
What followed was another horrific chorus.
"Let us say it once more. This Private Kyusen Academy is a stage devoted solely to your slaughter. A place where you must deal with causality by seeing one another not as comrades, but as potential culprits and potential corpses. In such a place, murder is inevitable."
Carried on that chorus, the lyrics reaching our ears were...
"Strangulation, bombing, poisoning, shooting, dismemberment, drowning, double suicide... Kill one another to your hearts' content, by any other method you desire! That is the sole wish of us headmasters!"
They were filled only with agonizing, revolting words that were difficult even to hear.
"........."
More agonizing than anything was the suspicion that a different reason now lay behind my silence, and everyone else's.
Some were silent in refusal. Some were silent in agreement. Some were silent in neutrality.
"Well then, with that, we conclude the orientation for this sudden and utterly unofficial entrance ceremony! Thank you for listening!!"
But no kind of silence could ever be enough to contain the Monotwins' malice.
'...Damn it.'
At least, I wanted to believe that.
A mysterious academy. A mysterious encounter.
And even this mysterious feeling of 'despair.'
I wanted to believe it was all nothing more than a nightmare.
*
*
*
[Prologue - Reunion of Black and White]
[END]
Participants: 16 > 16
Eliminated: 0 > 0
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