[Ohohoho! I knew that if it was Izumi, she would come here!]
As I turned around at the voice, there stood Kurokami-senpai, smiling with her hand on her hip.
She had an assault rifle slung over her shoulder, but she didn’t look like she was about to fight me.
But what I was currently doing was a clear illegal intrusion.
An illegal intrusion for the sake of war, no less.
If Kurokami-senpai were to inform Namikawa-senpai about this, it would be a huge problem…
[It looks like you’re engaged in something interesting!]
Fortunately, Kurokami-senpai didn’t seem like she would do that.
“Wh-what brings you here, Kuro, Kurokami-senpai?”
I still couldn’t let my guard down until the end.
If I relaxed my defenses here, there was a possibility she might betray me later.
The Gray City had little meaning for alliances. Trusting others should never be taken lightly.
“C-could it be that you also want to go to war with me…?”
[No. The reason I’m here is to propose an alliance with Izumi.]
“An, alliance?”
[Yes. Right now, Izumi is in a situation where she has to fight with Tsubaki and Nekoto, isn’t that so?]
“I-I was going to cancel the war with Aki…”
Of course, I hadn’t told Aki about it directly, but I thought she might notice if I didn’t go specifically to find her.
We were bound by the connection of being second-years…
[Hmm? Earlier, Tsubaki was heading out to propose an alliance to Nekoto, you know?]
“Uhh…”
I hadn’t thought of that.
Ah, now that I think about it, Aki mentioned that she had heard Namikawa-senpai’s story when she tried to kill me earlier.
This was bad.
To be honest, after I had stolen all of Namikawa-senpai’s materials and managed to secure some foundation, I thought I would never lose to her no matter what happened.
But if Aki was there, the circumstances would change.
Aki was an experienced player in the Gray City, and she appeared to be quite skilled in the game as well.
Not that she was better than me!
Anyway, if Aki formed an alliance with Namikawa-senpai, then I’d be in a seriously disadvantageous situation.
While I got killed by the senpai twice, Aki would have steadily developed her base.
No matter how great the skill gap might be, it would result in an overwhelming suppression by money.
“Ugh…”
[So, let’s form an alliance! If the other side forms an alliance, they will have two people: Tsubaki and Nekoto. If Rinze joins to support Tsubaki, that’s three people, right? No matter how confident Izumi is in the game, that would be a bit tough.]
It’s true; surrounded by three people in this situation, I wouldn’t have a future.
It would surely lead to an unilaterally fatal outcome.
So what I needed now was an alliance, just as Kurokami-senpai said.
“Okay, then I’ll go ahead and ally with you, Senpai…”
[Good, then let’s resurrect Hikazumi for the first time in a while!]
Ohohoho! Kurokami-senpai’s laughter echoed.
– Didn’t they say that the Grim Reaper never compromises with anyone?
– Just compromised with reality in an hour ( ´･ω･)
“…It’s l-loud.”
★
[First of all, Nanase, Yukari, and Ayaka said they weren’t interested in the war. So, it’s probably unnecessary to worry about the opponent’s forces increasing.]
“Th-that’s a relief.”
Well, honestly, I thought it would be fun if we all split up into groups of four and fought together, but I guess if that happened, everyone would try to switch over to the other side, making it a bit difficult.
There was no way someone like me—a total social misfit with communication impairment—would team up with anyone.
Sadly, that’s the reality.
Akabane would surely choose me as her opponent, and Utsumi would follow Akabane for Ayakari.
Natsune might think about coming to our side for the sake of the Pitch Black Star, but to be honest, her gaming skills wouldn’t be much help…
No matter how I thought about it, increasing numbers would be disadvantageous for us.
Thus, it was much easier for the 2:3 scenario to work in our favor.
“…B-but why does Kurokami-senpai want to form an alliance with me?”
At the sudden question that came to mind, Senpai clicked her tongue and answered.
[Of course, it makes sense since I’m the villainous noble lady!]
“…Eh?”
[Well, even though Izumi is cornered right now, the one who declared war first was Izumi, the bad person. So I’ve aligned myself with the villains as a suitable villainous noble lady?]
“Is that so…”
[So don’t let your guard down, Izumi. At any moment, I might betray you and switch sides. Ohohoho!]
– Even if the Young Lady betrays me, it’s not scary at all.
…It was the same thought I had, but I didn’t say it out loud.
What mattered was that the options had increased.
“Then let’s return to your base first, Senpai…”
[Did you gather everything you needed?]
“Yes. With this much, I should be able to at least prepare for a fight immediately.”
What I had gathered was about 40% of the materials I had collected earlier and those from Senpai’s storage.
Honestly, if you asked me whether it was perfect, I’d say it wasn’t, but it was impossible to carry everything with me anyway.
[Great. Then just before we depart, let’s…]
Kurokami-senpai said this and took out a piece of paper, writing something on it and placing it on Namikawa-senpai’s storage.
After a quick glance, I saw that the content was:
[Ohohoho! It’s war, Tsubaki! So I’m going to take some items from your base before that!]
[From your classmate, Kurokami Hikari]
It was clearly a declaration of war.
★
“Why did you betray me?!”
In the battlefield, echoing with gunfire, the scream of a gray-haired man rang out.
However, the other man standing across from him did not respond to the question.
He just quietly kept shooting.
“You called me a valuable comrade! Is that all ‘valuable’ means to you?!”
And as if the endless outcry struck his heart, the black-haired man slowly opened his mouth.
“I already told you last time, didn’t I? The world operates on the law of the jungle. The one who is betrayed is considered the culprit, not the betrayer.”
Bang! The gunfire rang out again.
And the bullet that pierced through struck the chest of the gray-haired man.
“Gah!”
With a groan, the man collapsed, coughing up blood.
The sky he saw through his blurred vision had become the now-familiar gray.
“Damn it…”
And the last thing the man heard before closing his eyes was a sound.
Shwoooosh──
It was the sound of something tearing through the air.
★
[Ohohoho! Now it’s obvious that Tsubaki is one step below me!]
“C-congratulations…?”
Of course, Namikawa-senpai wouldn’t have taken all her gear from the base, so she wouldn’t be starting from scratch like me.
But in the war of this game, gaining the initiative is critically important, so Kurokami-senpai eliminating Namikawa-senpai alone was a massive point gain.
[Tsubaki: I hate Hikaring.]
[Tsubaki: Back when I suggested an alliance, you said a villainous noble lady should stand strong alone!]
[Tsubaki: Was that the extent of the bond and connection of the first-year students?]
[Hikari: Tsubaki also ditched first-years and went to propose an alliance to second-year Nekoto. Aren’t we both the same?]
[Tsubaki: I did say we should ally, even to Hikaring!]
Namikawa-senpai was expressing her anger towards Kurokami-senpai in the chat.
However, Kurokami-senpai easily brushed off that anger like it was nothing.
[Hehehe. A villainous noble lady must turn the world against her confidently. There are no exceptions, even if you’re my classmate!]
“Hmmm…”
I had kept an eye on the surroundings since Kurokami-senpai and Namikawa-senpai started fighting each other in case of any unforeseen circumstances, but I didn’t see anyone else around.
I guessed Yuzuki-senpai might be around, but I thought Aki would be looking to sneak up on us…
Ah, thinking back, Namikawa-senpai only went to propose an alliance to Aki, but she never said whether Aki accepted or not, right?
Meaning, perhaps, our only opponents now are Namikawa-senpai and Yuzuki-senpai?
If that’s the case, then I could boldly head over to Namikawa-senpai’s base and legally plunder the spoils of victory…
[Huh? What’s that sound, Izumi?]
“Eh?”
Snapped out of my thoughts by Kurokami-senpai’s words, I indeed heard something strange coming from the sky.
How should I explain it?
It sounded like an incredible rumble, similar to when a plane breaks through the sound barrier?
“…Ah.”
This is bad.
[Nekoto: Sorry, but the war is my victory.]
The moment I had the intuition, Aki’s chat popped up.
“Ku, Kurokami-senpai.”
[What? Is there something wrong, Izumi? Do you perhaps know what this sound is?]
“Yes…uh, um. I think we might need to start over from the beginning….”
[…What do you mean?]
“Ah, it’s here.”
No sooner had I said that than an immense roar erupted from beyond, precisely from the base of Kurokami-senpai and me, and a mushroom cloud soared.
And the Gray City was destroyed.
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