After the feeding game between Takumi and Maki ended, the two of them stayed in the woods a little longer, getting a bit close and playfully fooling around, before Maki left first because she had to return to class.
Takumi felt slightly regretful about this. Having time together cut short like that was genuinely unpleasant. For Maki, however, it was actually a good thing—because just like on their previous date, once Takumi got to chatting with her, he would start getting handsy: constantly wanting to steal kisses, touch her hands, her waist, her thighs, and so on.
Why was this guy always so unsatisfied? Were men's desires really that strong?!
Feeling both quite dissatisfied and embarrassed, Maki complained inwardly, yet at the same time there was also a faint sense of reluctance—a strange feeling, hard to put into words, spreading in her heart, as if she actually hoped he might go a step further.
Come to think of it, his actions today somehow felt even harder to accept.
Sitting in the classroom, Maki listened absentmindedly to the teacher's voice, her thoughts replaying some of Takumi's actions from the small grove earlier. Vaguely, she began to sense that something was off.
When his hand rested at her waist, when it lightly brushed over her thigh—how should she put it? He had done these things often before, yet today those same actions felt especially uncomfortable, making her heart race, giving her an indescribable sensation, as if her whole body were trembling.
Why had this change appeared?
It was as if something about his way of touching had changed—but why would it suddenly change?
Maki felt deeply puzzled by this.
Moreover, it wasn't just the way he touched her body. Even when they kissed, it seemed there had been a subtle change compared to before.
Previously, Takumi would always kiss Maki with great force, often leaving her short of breath. But today, his kiss was much more restrained—more focused on matching her rhythm—bringing her a strange yet pleasant sensation that made her heart race even faster.
So why had such a change occurred?
The girl couldn't help but think of that bow-wearing, overweight woman who had been clinging to Takumi.
It shouldn't be possible…
No matter how one looked at it, that woman had only known Takumi for a few days at most. Besides, Oba-san had said that Chika herself had no romantic experience; there was no way she could have taught Takumi any kissing or touching techniques. Impossible, impossible—something like that was simply impossible!
As Maki kept repeating these thoughts deep in her mind, her mind had already drifted completely away from the classroom.
As for Takumi in the small grove, he had originally been preparing to head back toward the security booth. However, just as he stood up, he was stopped by Hayasaka Ai, who emerged from one side of the grove.
"Oh, you're coming out already? I thought you planned to keep following me a bit longer—the Shinomiya family's maid."
Takumi said this casually, showing no surprise at all.
"…You knew I was here?"
Ai's eyes widened slightly. She had thought she was hiding quite well, never expecting that she had already been seen through.
Still, considering it was this man, it was understandable. After all, just a month ago, he had effortlessly shaken off her attempt to tail him. Though he appeared to be an ordinary person, in terms of physical ability and perception, this man was undoubtedly standing at the very peak of humanity. He was someone who should never be underestimated under any circumstances.
"Mr. Takumi, an elder of the Shinomiya family hopes to invite you for a talk this evening. May I ask whether you would be willing to accept the invitation?"
With her expression unchanged, Ai bent slightly at the waist and spoke respectfully to Takumi.
"An invitation?"
Ai's words caused Takumi to pause slightly.
Takumi himself was fairly familiar with the original story surrounding Kaguya-sama, so he understood clearly on whose behalf Ai was extending this invitation.
Had Kaguya's brothers begun to take action? Come to think of it, I haven't really done anything. Why would they suddenly seek me out? And this must definitely be happening without Kaguya knowing. Under normal circumstances, a chess piece like Ai wouldn't be deployed so casually—so what reason could there be for sending her to make this invitation?
"Shinomiya-san doesn't know about this, right?"
Not intending to beat around the bush, Takumi looked at the blonde girl in front of him and asked directly.
"…Yes. This invitation was initiated by an elder of the Shinomiya family. They hope that you… will not tell Kaguya-sama about this matter."
Ai lowered her head a little more than before, though her voice still tried its best to remain calm.
"Tonight? What time exactly? And the location?"
Takumi quietly observed the girl's reaction. After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"Seven in the evening. Tōmei-rō, 19th floor, Room 8."
Ai continued to answer calmly.
"Mm, alright. Then I'll go take a look when the time comes."
Takumi nodded casually, not paying this matter much attention.
Unless one of Kaguya's brothers turned out to be a Player, they were ultimately just ordinary people. And if Takumi, right after clearing Shirakawa Apartments, had still had many shortcomings and might have been captured by ordinary people, then now he basically had no such concerns anymore. Even if he were to face a fully armed army, Takumi had ample confidence that he could withdraw unscathed—or even defeat them.
Come to think of it, the one looking for him should be Shinomiya Oko, right? Takumi's impression of this person really wasn't very deep. He only knew that the guy looked a bit like the captain of a logistics unit—bald with a small mustache. When he first appeared, he felt like a traditional villain, but in the end, under Akasaka's intelligence-dampening aura, he turned into a clown raging in impotent fury. Aside from that, there didn't seem to be much else to him.
Who knew what this guy wanted with him? It wouldn't be that sort of routine where they invite you to dinner and then try to make you submit as a lackey, would it?
If that really were the case, then… well, it would probably be better to inform Kaguya in advance. If things went poorly and her brother got eliminated, it would be a bit troublesome to deal with afterward. It would be best to give the family a heads-up first, so that when the time came—whether to follow procedures or go straight to the banquet—they could at least make proper preparations.
Thinking this, Takumi stepped out of the small grove and returned to the security booth.
The Shuchiin Academy security booth was very large—essentially a fully equipped one-bedroom living space that someone could actually reside in—completely different from the tiny guard post in Red Nut Grey Cave. At this moment, there were already two security guards sitting inside. After Takumi arrived, they exchanged greetings, asked after one another, then introduced themselves, briefly explaining their names and general situations. After that, each went about their own business without interfering with the others.
These guards seemed to have undergone quite professional training. Even though they didn't look particularly conspicuous, if it really came time to fight, each of them would likely be formidable in their own right.
However, in Takumi's view, these people were no more than that. After all, no matter how well-trained they might be, to Takumi—who had already surpassed the limits of the human body—they were nothing more than children who could be taken down one punch at a time.
'That is to say, without even realizing it, I can no longer see myself as being on the same side as these security guards.'
Takumi had already noticed this shift in his mindset.
The extreme enhancement of his physical attributes, along with the extraordinary power brought by blessings and Obsession Items, had already changed his way of thinking and his sense of self-positioning to a certain extent.
Ordinary people, for unknown reasons, were unable to comprehend matters related to the Sacrifice Game. Even if they encountered Players who went on killing sprees using Obsession Items, they would forget about it afterward and no longer care—like NPCs operating according to a fixed program—becoming a completely different kind of existence from Players.
As long as Takumi wished it, he could take out a scalpel at any moment and kill everyone present without bearing any responsibility at all; even committing the act under surveillance would be no different. In fact… if he truly wanted to, he could completely slaughter everyone at Shuchiin, wipe out this school filled with elite talent from all across Japan, and afterward, no one would come looking for him.
Of course, Takumi would never do such a thing.
But what about those Players who lacked sufficient strength, yet had participated in too many Dusk-level tasks and were thus forced to face Dark Night-level instances?
Although both of Takumi's own instances had been labeled as Dusk-level, in reality they should both have been Dark Night-level. And how difficult instances of this level were—Takumi understood all too well. He had also asked Aoyama Nanami how Players handled such tasks. The answer was that Players continuously paid casualties to bring out information, barely carving out a path to survival. Then, on the basis of that path, those Players with the ability and courage would continue to delve deeper and investigate further. Only after all the clues had been fully gathered and organized could they find a way to retrieve the core Obsession Item to lock down the instance, or resolve the obsession and obtain a blessing.
Under normal circumstances, a Dark Night-level instance with relatively lower difficulty—assuming that experienced veteran Players survived the very first opening of the instance—would take roughly eight to ten runs before being cleared and having its core Obsession Item taken. However, without exception, these were all single-core instances. As for the double-core instance Takumi encountered in his second task, Red Nut Grey Cave, there were, to date, only eight such dual-core instances on record that had been completely solved. As for the even higher-tier Red Moon-level instances, only three instances worldwide had records of being cleared and having their core Obsession Items taken. One of the more famous among them was Campus Uncanny—an instance believed to contain eight cores, seven of which had been identified, with three successfully taken. As a result, the instance was downgraded to Dark Night-level.
This instance was, to date, the most undeserving Dark Night–level dungeon within the Sacrifice Game—a terrifying dead zone known as a "pseudo–Red Moon." Once Dark Night–level Players entered it, survival was virtually impossible.
Even though information related to this instance could largely be found on the forums, and even though the Red Moon–level Player teams that had successfully seized its core Obsession Items had shared almost all the safety intelligence they could, Dark Night–level Players possessing that information still could not survive. Entering this instance meant death. The reason was simple: the gap in raw strength was too great; the quantity and types of Obsession Items were insufficient; the level of blessings was not high enough. Even knowing the rules in advance, survival remained extremely difficult.
In fact, even after being downgraded to Dark Night–level, the clear conditions of Campus Uncanny never truly changed—there were only minor adjustments.
Survive for three days.
Survive for seventy-two hours.
As long as this objective was completed, Players could clear the Campus Uncanny instance.
When the instance was still Red Moon–level, the clear condition had been to survive for one day. After the downgrade, it was extended to three days—nothing more.
And yet, that alone was enough to plunge the selected Players into despair.
Thus, there was no such thing as a Dark Night–level task that ordinary Players could handle with ease. Those capable of conquering Dark Night–level instances either had a comprehensive team, or were truly top-tier powerhouses at the very forefront.
As for the remaining ordinary Players who could only barely cling to life by forcibly staying in Dusk-level instances, entering a dungeon like this was essentially a nine-out-of-ten death scenario. Take the hidden research base within the Red Nut Grey Cave instance as an example: afterward, Kaguya and Maki's review concluded that at least ten Players or more had descended into it, yet in the end only the two of them left alive. Everyone else failed to survive.
For those Players who, having been pushed back with nowhere left to retreat, were forced to face Dark Night–level instances, their lives had already entered a countdown.
Could people like that truly remain indifferent in the real world, doing nothing in the final moments?
No—madness born of despair was entirely normal.
Yet I didn't know about such things. I hadn't seen them myself…
Or was it simply that I had never witnessed them?
A chill rose involuntarily in Takumi's heart.
He did not dwell on the matter any further.
Calming his emotions, he shifted his attention away from things he was powerless to change.
What was the point of thinking too much? If there truly were such mad Players, unless they harmed Takumi or threatened the interests and safety of his companions, he would not concern himself with them.
That said, since Campus Uncanny was already the most infamous ultra–high-difficulty death zone among Dark Night–level instances… would this broken watch throw me into that school?
Takumi froze as he suddenly realized this problem.
It shouldn't be… that bad, right?
At the very least, there should still be some sense of step-by-step progression, shouldn't there?
And as long as I obtain tickets to other instances in advance, this broken watch wouldn't forcibly redirect my destination, would it?
Takumi felt somewhat uneasy.
And just at that moment, he suddenly heard the sound of someone knocking on the glass.
Looking up, he saw Chika in her school uniform, who at some point had appeared outside the window, pulling a silly face at him.
...
A noisy city.
A secluded alley.
And Kogawa Shu, leaning on a cane, standing expressionlessly in the darkness.
Two men who looked to be in extremely poor condition—unkempt, filthy, and disheveled—were kneeling before him. Off to the side, in a corner by the wall, a humanoid shape was struggling in pain, while dense, continuous chewing sounds rang out from within its body.
"I'm glad you chose the proper reporting procedure, instead of charging into the school like this idiot and planning to go on a killing spree."
Kogawa Shu said gently, black insects crawling across his face.
"Now then—ten cargo crates: one small crate, three large crates, three medium crates, and three old crates. These are the 'crates' allocated to you by the Market. You have full freedom in how you use them, but do not take the 'crates' out of this building. Can you do that?"
"Everyone can understand what you've been through. Each of us has to face this moment sooner or later. However, disrupting order causes trouble for those who are still alive, and that is not permitted. So as long as you submit a request, the Market will do its best to satisfy it—but you must not act recklessly on your own. In this city, there are many eyes watching you. Do you understand?"
The man's voice remained gentle throughout.
In the corner, the struggling and chewing sounds of the writhing humanoid figure never stopped.
In the end, the two players merely nodded lightly in agreement. Then, somewhat dazed, they turned around and walked away, entering the abandoned building next to them.
As for the sounds that followed from inside the building, Kogawa Shu had heard them many times before. He had no interest in listening again.
"Once they're finished, clean up all the traces."
After giving this instruction to a lackey following at his side, Kogawa Shu turned and left.
At the end of a nearby alley, Gotō Hitori watched the scene unfold with a pale expression. Her hand gripped the hem of her tracksuit so tightly it nearly tore the fabric.
"Why did you come here?"
At that moment, Aoyama Nanami walked over from the other side. She was briefly surprised when she saw Hitori, then quickly stepped forward, took her by the hand, and pulled her away.
"They… those people…"
In front of Nanami, the pink-haired girl seemed not quite as socially anxious, managing to speak in a low voice.
"Those are players who have already participated in more than five consecutive Dusk-level tasks. They… this kind of thing is wrong, but the Market has set the rules, and there's nothing we can change. Don't look, don't listen, don't get involved. This is something we're powerless to do anything about. Mr. Kogawa… can only do his best to choose a compromise, a method to maintain stability, that's all…"
Her voice filled with helplessness, Nanami let out a deep sigh and quickly led Hitori away.
The stench of blood in the air grew ever stronger.
Meanwhile, under the sunlight, the city's people—unaware and unfeeling—continued to live out their days, whether busy or leisurely.
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