No Game No Life - Volume 1 - Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 
BEGINNER 
—Once upon a time, there was a time still longer ago. When the Old Deus race fought with their relations and creations for the title of One True God. With that, the battle continued so long as to make one faint. There was no ground not stained by blood, no sky not filled by screams. All thinking things hated each other, and to destroy their enemies they murdered and slaughtered without mercy. Elves mobilized from their little villages, honing their magic, hunting their foes. Dragonias followed their instincts, giving themselves over to butchery, and Werebeasts devoured their prey like animals. The earth was laid to waste and swallowed in dusk, and yet still fell deeper into the darkness of the war of the gods. The “Devil” emerged as a mutation of the Phantasma, and monsters of the Devil’s breed swarmed across the land. In this world, royal houses, their many beauties, and most of all, their heroes—these did not exist. Immanity was of no consequence. The people built nations, formed cabals, staking everything merely to survive. There are still no heroic tales for the bard to sing—so blood-drenched was this time, long before this land and sea and sky came to be called Disboard. But, even upon this chaos of war that was thought to be never-ending, the curtain dropped. The land, the sea, the sky—the planet itself. Everything was haggard, worn-out, exhausted, and the struggle toward mutual destruction could not be sustained any further. And, thus—the deity who had the most strength left came to sit upon the throne of the One True God. A god who had never once intervened in the war. A god who had stayed an observer. 
This deity who sat on the throne of the One True God looked around at the state of the world. And he spoke to all things that wandered its surface. 
—O ye who expend your might and force and arms and mortality building a tower of the dead, and yet call yourselves wise, prove me this: What shall set you apart from the witless beasts? 
Every race spoke up to prove its own wisdom. But every word rang hollow before the wasted world. In the end, not a creature could give the God a response that answered. The God spoke. 
—On this heaven and earth, all bodily injury and plunder shall be forbidden. 
His words became a covenant, an absolute and immutable rule of the world. And, thus, from that day, combat vanished from the world. But each of the thinking things spoke up to the God: that, though combat vanished, conflict remained. And so the God said, very well. 
—O sixteen seeds that claim yourselves wise, ye Ixseeds: 
expend ye your reason and wit and talent and wealth, 
building a tower of wisdom to prove yourselves wise. 
The God drew out sixteen playing pieces—and smiled mischievously. And thus were born the Ten Covenants, and thus ended the world of war. So it came to pass that all quarrels should be settled by games. 
The new One True God had a name—Tet. He who was once known as the God of Play… 
 
On the continent of Lucia, in the Kingdom of Elkia—the capital, Elkia. The continent that swept northeast with the Equator at its south, and there was a small city in a small country at the western tip. No trace was left of the age of myth, when the kingdom had reigned over half the continent. Now, all that was left was one last city—the capital, a tiny city-state. 
—To be more exact: It was the last bastion of Immanity. 
In the city, just beyond the downtown area, in the suburbs, was a single building that housed a tavern and an inn of just the sort that might show up in an RPG. Two girls sat on opposite sides of a table, surrounded by spectators, playing a game. One was a redhead who looked to be in her midteens, her manner and accoutrement suggesting high breeding. And the other—. She was probably about the same age as the redhead, though her mien and attire suggested someone quite a bit older. This black-haired girl was wrapped in a black veil and cape as if for a funeral. The game they were playing…appeared to be poker. Their expressions contrasted sharply: The redhead was a mask of seriousness, perhaps from tension. Meanwhile, the black-haired girl seemed unconcerned, with a dead, expressionless face. The reason was clear to see—piled high in front of the black-haired girl and low in front of the redhead: coins. The obvious interpretation was that the redhead was losing hopelessly. 
“…Can you hurry up?” 
“Qu-quiet, you. I’m thinking, don’t you see!” 
—In the tavern, the crowd jeered crudely, already intoxicated despite the early hour. The redhead’s brow knit further in frustration. In any case it seemed that some excitement was being had. 
……?.Outside the tavern where the game was being held, a young girl wearing a hood sat at a table on the terrace and peered in through the window. 
“…Some excitement… What’s this?” 
“Huh? Don’t you know? Are you folks from another country—wait, there are no more other human countries.” 
At the table next to the girl peering through the window sat another pair, who sat around a table playing a game. A young man wearing a hood like the young girl’s, and a middle-aged man with facial hair and a beer belly. The young man answered. 
“Oh, you know… We came from way out in the sticks. We don’t really know much about what’s been going on in the city.” 
As it happened, the game they were playing was the same as the one inside…poker—but here they were using bottle caps. 
The middle-aged man replied dubiously to the youth. “You’re saying there is countryside left in the territory Immanity still owns…? You must be some kind of hermit.” 
“Ha-ha, something like that. So, what’s all this about?” 
The youth dodged the topic and drew an answer from the fuzzy man. 
“Right now, Elkia is having a grand gambling tournament to decide the next monarch.” 
While still watching what was happening inside, the hooded girl questioned further. “…To decide the next…monarch?” 
“Indeed. According to the will of the late king.” 
«The crown of the next monarch we bequeath not upon our royal bloodline, but upon the greatest gambler among humans.» 
The fuzzy man spoke on while stacking his bottle caps. 
“You know, Immanity lost everything in the play for dominion, and now all that’s left is Elkia, and Elkia has nothing left but her capital—so it’s too late to worry about appearances.” 
“Hmm, play for dominion, eh? Interesting stuff you’ve got going on here.” 
So said the hooded young man. Following the hooded girl’s lead, the young man took an interest in the proceedings in the tavern, peering in. 
“—So, what, are those girls eligible to be the future queen?” 
“—Hmmm? I’m not sure ‘eligible’ is the right word. Anyone of Immanity may enter. But—” he added as he turned his gaze into the tavern. 

—They were playing poker. Didn’t she know the term “poker face”? With a glance at the redhead, who was glaring at her hand as if she would groan audibly any second, the man spoke. 
“The redhead is Stephanie Dola—she’s part of the bloodline of the former king. The way the will is written, if someone not of royal blood takes the crown, she’ll lose everything, so she’s aiming to put herself on the throne. 
“After that king brought us humans to such ruin, that his family should struggle so hard…” The man added this and sighed. It was a blunt explanation of the excitement inside. 
“Hm…mm…” 
“Hmm… ‘Play for dominion’—even national borders are decided by games, huh?” 
The hooded girl and young man muttered their thoughts to each other. The girl impressed. The young man amused. 
“So, that’s how it is: it’s a free-for-all gambling tournament.” 
“…Free-for-all?” 
“Basically, any member of Immanity who wishes to stand for the crown may speak up and challenge his rivals to a game, by any means he sees fit. He who loses shall be stripped of his right, and he who stands left at the end shall be king.” 
—Well, well, these rules were easy enough to understand. Excellent. Still, the hooded young man asked doubtfully: 
“…Sounds pretty casual. Is that really going to work?” 
“It is, after all, a play for dominion under the Ten Covenants, which promise that each may wager whatever each agrees is of equal value, playing according to any rules—anyone may contest anyone at anything at any time.” 
“…No, well, that’s not exactly what I meant.” 
As the hooded young man muttered suggestively, he peered once more into the tavern. “…No wonder she’s losing,” the girl muttered to him. 
“Yeah, no kidding.” 
As the two conversed, the young man drew a rectangular object from his pocket. He faced it toward the inside of the tavern and manipulated something, and there was a sound: snap. 
—And the middle-aged man grinned. 
“So, lad? Should you really be worrying about other people’s battles?” With that, the man opened his hand flat. “Full house. Sorry about that.” 
Sure of his victory and thinking of what would come after, the man’s lips curled in a filthy smile. 
—But the hooded youth replied as if never interested from the start, as if he’d just now remembered that he was playing a game of poker. “Huh? Ohh, yeah, sorry, that’s right.” 
As the youth carelessly opened his hand, the middle-aged man’s eyes opened wide. 
“A r-royal flush?!” 
The youth had been holding the strongest hand in the game without so much as a peep. The man stood up and shouted. 
“Y-you…you think you can pull one over on me?!” 
“Whaa… Come on, don’t be rude… What basis do you have for saying that?” 
The youth blithely slid out his chair and stood up. The man pressed further. 
“The odds of a royal flush are one in 650,000! How could that happen?” 
“It just happened to be that one in 650,000 today. Bad luck, old man.” 
The youth slipped out the words and held out his hand. 
“Now, may I accept the promised wager?” 
“?Damn it!” 
Clucking, the man held out his purse, and then another pouch. 
“The Sixth of the Ten Covenants: ‘Wagers sworn by the Covenants are absolutely binding’—fine, good game.” 
“…Thanks…Pops.” 
As the hooded young man calmly left his chair, and the girl nodded her head and chased after him, the bearded man watched them go into the tavern, and an apparent friend of his approached him. 
“Ho, I was watching the whole time, but did you really bet everything you had on you?” 
“Aahh… Mercy me, how will I pay the bills…” 
“But, wait, back up. You bet the money you needed for your bills? What the hell kind of wager did your opponent make?” 
The fuzzy man sighed and answered with a look of disinterest. 
“That I could do whatever I wanted with them.” 
“Wha—” 
“I did think it sounded too good to be true…but they seemed unworldly, and I thought it might… What?” 
“No, I mean…which are you?” 
“—Come again?” 
“I mean…a fruit or a pedo? Either one is…well…” 
“Wha—h-hey, wait!” 
“Oh, relax; I won’t tell your wife. Just buy me a meal!” 
“It’s—it’s not like that! And, anyway, I just lost all the money I had! And, to begin with—” 
…… 
“…Brother…that’s not fair.” 
“Huh? What’s your problem?” 
“…You intentionally…cheated, in such an obvious way.” 
—Yes, just as the man had said. A royal flush was a hand that could hardly ever happen. Laying out a hand like that was tantamount to declaring that you had cheated. But— 
“The Eighth of the Ten Covenants—‘If cheating is discovered in a game, it shall be counted as a loss—’” 
The young man mumbled the rules of this world he had just learned as if to confirm them. 
“—In other words, as long as it’s not discovered, you can cheat. Isn’t it great we confirmed this?” 
Suggesting that he was just trying it out as a casual experiment, he stretched. 
“Welp, now we’ve got some war funds.” 
“…Brother… Do you understand the money here?” 
“How am I supposed to understand it? But don’t worry; this is what your brother does best.” 
They talked so as not to be heard by the bearded man and his apparent friend. Then they entered the tavern-inn. 
 
Ignoring the table at the center where the crowd still hooted over the match, they approached the counter. The hooded young man dropped the pouch and purse with a thud on the counter and asked slowly: 
“So. Two people, one room, one bed is fine. How many nights can we stay?” 
A man who appeared to be the master. A glance. A moment’s hesitation, and then: 
“…That’ll be one night, with board.” 
But the hooded young man responded coyly—smiling, except with his eyes. 
“Aha-haa… Look here, Mister, we’ve been awake for five days, and we’re dead on our feet from walking way more than usual. We’re exhausted, you know? Can you just cut to the chase and tell us how many nights, really?” 
“—What?” 
“I mean, if you want to try to swindle people you think are just bumpkins who don’t know the value of money here, that’s up to you, but let me just give you a tip—when you’re lying, you should watch the direction you look and the tone of your voice, okay?” 
—Sharpening his gaze to see through everything, the young man spoke with a smile. With a line of cold sweat and a cluck, the master answered: 
“Tsk. It’s two nights.” 
“And there you go again… Well, let’s split the difference and say ten nights with three meals.” 
“What! What difference are you splitting?! Fine—fine—three nights with board. It’s true!” 
“Oh, is that so? Then give us a discount and make it five nights with board.” 
“Wha—” 
“Come on, you can treat us with some of that money you’re embezzling as you rip off customers, right?” 
“Wha—wait—how—” 
“You’re the master of the tavern, not the inn, right? I’ll be happy to rat you out.” 
The young man smiled wanly, but played dirty. The master strained his face and answered. 
“You’ve got an innocent face, but a dirty disposition, kid… Fine, four nights with three meals; how’s that?” 
“Great; it’s been a pleasure.” 
The young man smiled and took the room key. 
“You go up to the third floor, all the way back, and it’s on your left. Hff… What’s your name?” 
Looking in a sour mood, the master took out the register. The hooded young man answered. 
“Hmm… Just leave it blank.” 
Sora spun the key he’d received around his finger. He thumped his hand onto the back of his sister, who was watching the table where all the match excitement was happening. 
“Hey, I got four nights. Sing praises upon your brother and his—what’s up?” 
Shiro was staring at Stepha…whatever her name was, the redhead that the bearded man had been talking about. She was still suffering, and still showing it clearly on her face, so much so that it was hard to imagine she might still think she could win. 
“…That one’s—gonna lose.” 
“Well, yeah. So?” 
If she showed her emotions on her face so obviously, there was no way she could win regardless of her draw. Perhaps the bearded man was right when he suggested that the blood of the royal family was stupid. As Sora pondered this—he realized. 
“—Oh—” 
He realized the true meaning of his sister’s words and opened his mouth. 
“Aagh, I get it… That’s scary…” 
“…Mm.” 
Sora murmured and Shiro nodded, looking at the black-haired girl. 
“Now, that’s… This world’s cheats are amazing. I don’t wanna go up against that…” 
“…They put you to shame, brother…” 
Sora, apparently irked by these words, argued defensively. “Hng, don’t be stupid. It’s not how great your cheats are; it’s how you use them.” 
“…Brother, can you beat that?” 
“—Guess this really is a fantasy world… It doesn’t quite click; I mean, it kind of feels too natural… Maybe I really have played too many games?” 
Not bothering to answer his sister’s question, Sora was already walking up to the third floor. 
“……Dumb question…never mind.” 
This was Shiro’s apology. 
That’s right: For “  ”, loss was inconceivable. 
And…on their way, as they passed Ste…what’s-her-name, the redhead, on a whim Sora whispered. “…Ma’am, you know you’re being hoodwinked, right?” 
“?Huh?” 
She was stunned. Her blue eyes went round, contrasting with her red hair. Having had their say, Sora and Shiro went up to the third floor, feeling the dumbfounded gaze of the girl on their backs…Even so, they left it at that, proceeding to their room without looking back. 
 
Turning the key, hearing the creaking of the shaky fittings, they looked beyond the opened door. The room inside—was a cheap-looking wooden room like ones they’d seen in Obl*vion and Skyr*m. The floor squeaked with footsteps, and the room was small. In the corner was a sad excuse for a table with seating. Otherwise, there was a bed and a window. That summed up this most basic of interiors. 
They entered the room, locked the door, and finally took off their hoods. 
The young man in just a T-shirt with jeans and sneakers, with messy black hair—Sora. The small girl in a sailor suit with red eyes hidden by long, frizzy, pure white hair—Shiro. Throwing off the robe he’d borrowed so as not to stand out (his appearance being rather unfamiliar to this world), Sora flopped down on the lone bed as if deeply relieved. He took his phone out of his pocket—and put a check mark in his task scheduler. 
“Objective: Find lodging… Achieved.—That’s that. I can say it now, right?” 
“…Mm. I think so.” 
After checking the item off, he uttered from the very bottom his heart a single statement: “Aaaahh, so tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrred……” 
And how. He’d sworn he wouldn’t say it until that moment, but now that he’d said the words and the dam was broken, Sora’s grousing started flooding out unstoppably. 
“I can’t believe this shit! Not only did we actually have to go outside, we had to walk, like, forever!” 
Shiro followed his lead in finally taking off her robe, and she patted out the wrinkles on her sailor suit. She opened the window and looked out. From the open window, she could just see the cliff where they had been—far in the distance. 
“…People can accomplish great things, when they want to.” 
“Yeah, you can’t do anything if you don’t feel like it—that’s a great way of expressing our reality.” 
This was a rather negative interpretation—but his sister nodded in assent. 
“But, man, I totally thought my legs had atrophied by now. I’m surprised I could walk that far.” 
“…’Cause you were using mice with your feet?” 
“Ohh, yeah! It’s really true that skills are transferable!” 
“…Never thought they’d be…transferred, this way.” 
Their comedy routine seemed to be approaching its limits. Shiro’s eyes started to close more than halfway. The sister wobbled dizzily down onto the bed onto which Sora had collapsed. She didn’t express it on her face, but the pain of her fatigue was clear from her breathing. 
—Well, that was hardly surprising. She may have been a genius girl, but she was still a lass of only eleven. After five days without sleep, she’d played the chess match and gone on a lengthy forced march interrupted only by spots of unconsciousness—she’d traveled a distance even Sora found grueling (albeit on Sora’s back toward the end) without a word of complaint, and that much was worthy of wonder. For that reason itself, Sora had sworn to himself he wouldn’t complain until now. 
“Good job. You’re such a good little girl, my sister; your brother’s very proud of you.” 
He stroked her hair as if to comb it. 
“……Mm. We got a place…to sleep.” 
“Yeah, when we were attacked by those bandits, I really didn’t know what would happen.” 
Sora thought back to a few hours earlier. In other words…when they first found themselves stranded in this world. 
 
“—Well, then, what shall we do?” 
Sora spoke, and Shiro shook her head. They’d come back from their second spell of unconsciousness. Sora had shouted and ranted about the absurdity of life. Shiro had spaced fully out, sigh after sigh escaping her lips. Seeming to finally grow weary of this, they regained their composure in the midst of their fatigue. They moved away from the cliff and sat down beside a simple road that hadn’t even been paved. 
“…Brother, why here?” 
“You know, in RPGs, they always have these big roads? Where people pass by…” 
It was questionable how far his knowledge from games would apply. But anyway. 
“—So, this is where we check what we have.” 
Sora had a feeling that was always what they did in survival stories. With only that wisdom, they took out their items from their pockets one after another. What came out: Two smartphones (Sora’s and Shiro’s). Two DSP handheld game consoles. Two modular spare batteries, two solar chargers, two multicharger cables. And the tablet Shiro had ended up carrying along with her— 
…It was a wealth of equipment not at all befitting castaways. However, it was all for games. They carried it with them at all times, in the bathroom, in the bath, such that even in a blackout they’d never be without games. 
Though truth be told, it was questionable whether this kind of wealth would help in a real survival scenario. 
“…I guess there wouldn’t be any signal in a fantasy world.” 
Sora looked at his phone. It said there was no service. 
—On the other hand, the backlight would serve as a flashlight at night, and it could take photos and videos. Maps obviously didn’t work, but he could use it as a compass. Feeling gratitude for the sophistication of modern phones, Sora spoke. 
“…All right, let’s turn off your phone and the tablet and charge them up with the solar charger while the sun is out. I have a bunch of e-books on the tablet I downloaded to study for quiz games; in the worst-case scenario, we might need a survival manual.” 
“…Roger.” 
She obediently turned them off and connected them to the solar charger. Shiro had learned from experience that it was best to follow her brother’s instructions when in an unforeseen situation. 
…So: It was possible to use the power of science (Sora’s phone) to find which way was north. But, still, it was just as if they had been cast out on the wide blue sea with no maps and only a compass. With the fruits of cutting-edge technology in hand, they sat on the wayside, lost in life. 
“—Hey?” 
There were a few people walking down the road. 
“Hey! Sweet! It’s time for my RPG experience to shine!” 
“…Brother, they look…weird.” 
And the group that had shown up suddenly picked up speed and spread to surround them. Their green garb, their shoes that looked easy to run in— 
“Oh, God, they’re bandits.” 
Sora looked up at the sky and said this without thinking. That the very first people they should encounter on the road should be Hello, we are bandits from a fantasy world. Just as if straight from a template, this mean-looking bunch—Sora was just about ready to curse the heavens in earnest. Feeling danger to their persons, Sora physically guarded Shiro. 
—But what the bandits said. 
“Heh-heh…If you want to pass—play a game with us.” 
……The siblings could only look at each other—but. 
“—Oh, yeah, that kid said that everything’s decided by games in this world.” 
“This is what bandits are like here?” 
They immediately got the picture: Compared to robbers in their own world…this looked so heartwarming, so cute, even, that they couldn’t help but laugh. 
“What are you sniggerin’ about, you whelps! If you don’t play our game, you ain’t goin’ a step further!” the bandits shouted, not comprehending why they were being laughed at. Regardless, the siblings conspired with each other in voices just too low for the bandits to hear. 
“So, they gang up on one person, cheat, and take everything they have—yeah?” 
“…Sounds…perfect.” 
Having talked it over, Sora clapped his hands twice. 
“Okay, that’s fine; we’ll play you. But I regret to inform you we haven’t got shit.” 
“Hrmm, no matter, lad; we’ll just—” 
But Sora went on, interrupting the bandit. 
“If we lose, do anything you want with us. Sell us off somewhere, whatever.” 
“—Huh?” 
The bandit squinted at this proposal stealing a march on what he was going to say. 
“In exchange, if we win—” 
With a spine-chilling smile across his face—the brother continued. 
“—show us the way to the nearest city! Oh, and give us the robes those two are wearing. I mean, you know how the people from another world always stand out with their weird clothes. Oh, and tell us all about this world’s game rules!” 
Showing the adaptability of his brain to all games, he rattled off requests as if he already knew he would win. 
 
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Sora murmured. 
“Ten Covenants—hmm. Shiro, have you got them down?” 
“…Mm. Interesting…rules.” 
His sister answered drowsily as if about to fall asleep. Once they’d been soundly beaten, the bandits had explained the rules of this world. He took out his phone, where he had jotted them down, and read them over. 
The Ten Covenants—. Apparently they were absolute rules set by the God of this world. The sister had memorized them easily, it seemed, but what the brother had on his phone was this: 
1. In this world, all bodily injury, war, and plunder is forbidden. 
2. All conflicts shall be settled by victory and defeat in games. 
3. Games shall be played for wagers that each agrees are of equal value. 
4. Insofar as it does not conflict with “3,” any game or wager is permitted. 
5. The party challenged shall have the right to determine the game. 
6. Wagers sworn by the Covenants are absolutely binding. 
7. For conflicts between groups, an agent plenipotentiary shall be established. 
8. If cheating is discovered in a game, it shall be counted as a loss. 
9. The above shall be absolute and immutable rules, in the name of the God. 
“And Ten—‘Let’s all have fun together’…” 
—… 
“It sounds like it’s ending with ‘The above’ at Nine, but then there’s Ten…” 
It seemed as if it were saying that having fun together was not mandatory. Or maybe it was something more like: Not that I think you bozos are capable of having fun together. These ironic “rules” recalled the face of the “God” or whatever, who looked like he was having fun, at least. 
“That kid who pulled us into this world—if that’s ‘God,’ He’s not a bad guy.” 
The brother put away his phone and smirked to himself. As he lay on the bed and thought…it seemed that the fatigue finally caught up to him, as his consciousness clouded and his thoughts began to diffuse. 
“…Guess it’s only natural when you think about it. After staying up for five days, suddenly there’s this…” 
Beside the mumbling brother, his sister held on to his arm, her breath already indicating that she was asleep. When she lay down and her bangs fell from her face, it revealed skin white as porcelain, a face composed like a work of art. It seemed like a bad joke that they were siblings. She was like a doll. 
“—I’m always telling you you should at least put on a blanket…You’ll catch a cold.” 
“…Mm.” 
To the brother who spoke to her, the sister asked for a blanket with her vacant response. He hesitated to put the dusty-smelling blanket over his sister, but it was probably better than nothing. Watching the sleeping face of his sister as he heard the sound of her breath, the brother thought: 
—Now, what are we gonna do after this… 
So Sora took out his phone and started fiddling with it. He looked to see if he had any apps that might be of use, and then it occurred to him: 
—In stories about people drifting between worlds, they always worry first about how to get home… 
—His parents were already gone. 
—His sister wasn’t accepted by society. 
—He himself could never accept society. 
—In that world, there was no place for him except in the screen. 
“…Hey. Why is it that, when the main character gets thrown into another world, they always try to go back to their own world?” 
Knowing she was asleep, he went and tossed out the question anyway, but, as expected, there was no answer. After their four nights here, what should they do next? He gave a shot at thinking about it—but, before he could reach a conclusion, sleep shut off his train of thought. 
 
—Knock, knock. The gentle knock at the door was enough to wake him—probably the jumpy nerves from arriving in this unfamiliar land. Shushing his body’s screaming that it needed more sleep, Sora’s brain spun up rapidly. 
“……Mnng…” 
—This did not, however, seem to apply to his sister. She was still clutching her brother’s right arm, deep in sleep, dripping drool. This comforted him like nothing else; every bit the enviable young girl in the midst of her dream. 
“That’s right; come to think of it, in this world, bodily injury and plunder are impossible…” 
In other words—the things they’d normally have to watch out for didn’t matter in this world. Perhaps grasping this—no, obviously he grasped it. Quickly adapting to this world, Sora smiled ruefully at the peaceful face of his sleeping sister. 
“I sure can’t beat you in brains…” 
—Knock, knock, knock. Hearing the gentle sound again, Sora answered. 
“Ah, right, yes, who is it?” 
“My name is Stephanie Dola. Regarding the matter you spoke to me about during the day…” 
…Ste-pha-nie… Oh. He took out his phone and checked the photo he had taken. The classy-looking girl with red hair and blue eyes. That’s right, at the tavern downstairs—the one who had been playing a game to be the new monarch or something. 
“Ahh. Right, I’m coming.” 
“…Mng…” 
“—Sister, your love makes me delighted to be a brother, but let go of my arm; I can’t open the door.” 
“…?…What…?” 
His sister, still looking more than half asleep, finally let go of his arm. Sora peeled his heavy body off the bed, squeaked across the wood floor, and opened the door. The expression he saw on the other side was quite different from the one in the photo on his phone—the Stephanie standing there before him looked crushed. 
“—May I enter?” 
“Uh, sure, c’mon in.” 
Going with the flow, he decided to let Stephanie into the room. He offered her the little table and chair in the corner of the cramped room. Sora then sat on the bed with his sister, who was sitting there swaying to and fro, still not quite awake. Stephanie was the one who spoke first. 
“…What is the meaning of this?” 
“—Of…? Oh, just to make it clear, we’re siblings, all right? It’s not like—” 
“…Geh… Brother rejected mee…” 

Correction—His sister wasn’t half asleep, she was 80 percent asleep, and she was leaning into his back. He didn’t know what the manners were like in this world, but he defended himself just in case. 
“Uhh, no I didn’t. Anyway, I’m Sora. I’ve never had a girlfriend in my life, and I’m looking!” 
“…That is of no concern to me!” 
However, seeming to lack the drive to engage the matter, Stephanie continued weakly. 
“What concerns me is what happened during the day.” 
Day—day. What was she talking about? To begin with, what time was it? He didn’t see any sunlight from the window, but—. Glancing at his phone, he saw that four hours had gone by since he’d gone to sleep—no wonder he was tired. 
“During the day, you told me as you passed by, ‘You’re being hoodwinked.’” 
While making sleepy noises, the sister still perhaps had heard them, for she said with her eyes closed: 
“…So…you lost?” 
The sister’s attitude seemed to strike a nerve. 
“Why, yes… Yes, I lost! Now everything is over!” 
As Stephanie stood up and cried out, Sora covered his ears. 
“Uh, I’m sleep-deprived and you’re giving me a headache, so, if you could please not shout so much…” 
Stephanie slammed her bag onto the table in a blind rage, apparently having no ears for Sora’s modest request. Her shriek rose further. 
“If you knew she was cheating, then couldn’t you at least have told me how she did it? If I showed everyone, I could have won!” 
Remembering the notes he was looking through on his phone before sleeping, Sora said: 
“Hmm… The Eighth of the Ten Covenants: ‘If cheating is discovered in a game, it shall be counted as a loss.’ That one.” 
So just knowing that they were cheating wasn’t enough. “Discovered”—it meant you had to prove they were cheating for it to count as a loss. 
“And now I’ve lost! Thanks to you, I’ve been eliminated from the running for the monarch!” 
“…In…other words…” Shiro gurgled out a sleepy comment. “…you lost…so you’re pissed, and you’re taking it out on…us?” 
The words showed no intent to cushion their meaning, and Stephanie ground her teeth at their accuracy. 
“Oh, Sister. If we’re going to throw gas on the fire, let’s not pretend to be asleep while we do it.” 
“…Hmph… What, how’d you know.” 
“Come on, I know you woke up when I said I’m looking for a girlfriend…We already don’t have anyone on our side in this place, you know; we gotta, like, be nice—” 
—But. Sora, having said that much, suddenly got an idea. Sensing something in the change in her brother’s expression, Shiro spoke no more. Meanwhile, as if he’d had a change of personality, Sora’s mouth twisted in a grin: 
“—Well, my sister is right, after all. It’s no wonder the human race is failing.” 
“…What did you say?” 
Stephanie pulled the corners of her mouth taut. But Sora ignored her and intentionally cast his gaze crassly over her body. A frill-covered puff of a dress befitting a princess in a fantasy world was not enough to hide her voluptuous figure as his eyes almost licked over it. Choosing exactly the words best suited to infuriate her—he said: 
“You couldn’t even see through cheating like that, and now you’re taking it out on us…and then showing your anger on your face when a little kid calls you out on it—you’re such a stooge. If this is the old king’s bloodline, no wonder you’re failing.” 
 
Sora looked at her with the kind of eyes used to pity an animal of low intelligence. Stephanie’s eyes opened wide, and then she glared with an expression trembling in anger. 
“………Take it…back.” 
“Take it back? Ha-ha, what for?” 
“Say what you will about me—but I cannot allow you to mock my grandfather!” 
Stephanie looked as if about to eat him alive, but Sora just grinned back, even waving his hand. 
“You couldn’t see her cheating because you were on the defensive—people like you who want to win as safely as they can without taking any risks are too busy protecting themselves to actually see what the other player is doing.” 
Chuckling contemptuously, he let fly. 
“Simpleminded, short fuse, no emotional control, conservative. Honestly speaking, you never had a chance.” 
“—If you’d just shut up and listen to me—!!” 
Stephanie got up from her chair looking as if about to grab him, but Sora interrupted. 
“Then let’s play a game.” 
“…Uh, um, wha?” 
Taken aback. But with unconcealed suspicion, Stephanie listened to Sora’s words. 
“What, you don’t have to think too hard about it. Just rock-paper-scissors. You know it? Rock-paper-scissors.” 
“Rock—? I, uh…well, certainly.” 
“Great, I’m glad to hear you have it in this world, too. So, we’ll play that. But—” 
He lifted a finger. Slowly and carefully, Sora explained: 
“Not ordinary rock-paper-scissors—you ready? I’m only going to throw paper.” 
“—What?” 
“If I throw anything else, I lose… But, if I throw something else that beats you, you lose, too, so it’s a draw—and, of course, if I throw anything else and you have the same thing, then I lose.” 
“?” 
If he throws anything other than paper, he loses? Not comprehending what this man was saying, Stephanie raised her guard still further. 
“—And what is the wager?” 
Sora grinned as if to say—Glad we could get straight to the point. 
“If you win, I’ll do anything and everything you ask. I can explain to you the reason you lost, the truth about the cheating…and if you tell me to die for having insulted your idiotic gramps, then that’s that.” 
“……You little…!” 
“—And! If I win. You have to do anything and everything I ask.” 
Sora’s face was jovial but colder than ice as it stretched into an unsettling smile. Crudely, repulsively, and—mercilessly, even, he continued: 
“I’m putting my life on the line here—surely you don’t mind staking your chastity and such?” 
Stephanie felt the blood that had boiled up to her head draw back with a chill. This did, however, cool her head, and, carefully—she asked: 
“—What if…we draw?” 
“I’ll just give you a hint about the cheating…and, in return…” 
Sora made a sudden reversal, smiling while scratching his head bashfully. 
“Perhaps you can grant me just one little favor. We should be able to get by for a few days with what we’ve got—but, to tell you the truth, after our four nights here, we won’t have any food or place to stay. We were already worrying about what to do next…” 
“—In other words, you want me to provide you with accommodation?” 
Sora responded to Stephanie’s words with a bubbly smile. 
—Was that all? Apparently this guy just wanted to freeload for a while. 
“What do you saaay? You backing out?” 
“……” 
“Well, it’s true that even if you learn about her cheating now, it’s not like you’ll get to be queen anymore. I can see you love to play defensively, and there’s no real need for you to take such a risk, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” 
An all-too-blatant provocation. It was too easy to see through—but Stephanie decided to go along with it regardless. 
“…Very well, Sir, I shall take you up on your challenge—Aschente!” 
—This word was an oath signifying a game under the Ten Covenants. An oath to the God that one was ready and willing to follow the Ten Covenants—in a gamble that was absolutely binding. 
“Okay, then I’m down…Aschente.” 
Sora made his oath, accompanied by a grin—and a comment that obscured his true purpose. Stephanie, however, was already furiously churning through thoughts in her head. 
—He’s only going to throw paper? Does he think that if he says that I’m just going to obediently throw scissors? Looking at the conditions he proposed—his intention is obvious. He’s playing for a draw—that’s the only way to look at it. This man just wants a place to stay—and he doesn’t even actually know how she cheated. Surely that was the truth. If he loses if he doesn’t throw paper, then the possible outcomes for each of my choices are—Rock: two wins to one loss. Scissors: two wins to one draw. Paper: one win to two draws. After he declared that he’d only throw paper. If I were just going to throw scissors, he’d throw rock. He must be thinking of laughing at me, Yep, just as I planned; props for innocence, moron. That said, if I throw paper—I won’t lose no matter what. It will almost certainly be a draw, which is just what he wants. 
—This cur thinks there’s no way I’ll throw rock—. Because it’s the only way I could lose! 
—Playing me for a fool—! Whether I throw rock or scissors, my odds of winning are two to one. I won’t let him have his way—I won’t let him have his draw!…Stephanie stared daggers through Sora. 
“—!” 
—But after glaring at Sora’s face, she swallowed. Truly he was a base and contemptible fellow—but that wasn’t why. It was his cold, thin smile, that of a man who calmly knew he was going to win. Seeing Sora’s expression—once again her risen blood dropped as if splashed with cold water. 
—No, calm down; think objectively. Stephanie admonished herself and circled her thoughts once more. He’d called her a stooge, emotional, simpleminded—should she allow herself to be provoked by this to prove his point? As she admonished herself thus, Stephanie realized something. 
—Of course. It’s so obvious. This man—this rogue—has no choice but to throw paper as he declared! There is no other way he can win. Which means—no matter what I throw, he can only throw paper as he declared…If he wins, then lucky him, and, if he draws, it’s just as he planned—that’s how it is! Because he can lose—no matter what he throws! 
“Well, you about ready yet?” 
Sora was smiling as if he had already won—but. 
“I only await you. Are you prepared to uphold the Covenants?” 
Stephanie answered with the same surety of victory. I can see your hand already—cry out in defeat! 
“Okay, then let’s go; yeah, rock, paper—” 
—scissors. Was what Stephanie threw. But her eyes. 
“Wha?” 
Opened wide at Sora’s rock. 
“Wha-wha—how could…That wasn’t…” 
“I give you points for not letting yourself be baited and going straight for the rock—but that’s not enough.” 
Wiping his silly grin off his face with ruthless composure Sora calmly adjusted his position on the bed and spoke for Stephanie’s inner thoughts. 
“You were being baited, about to throw rock, the only way you could lose.” 
“……—” 
“—But then my expression made you calm down and realize that I had no way to win except by throwing paper.” 
“—Wha—…” 
He’d seen through her—wait, so his expression…had been just acting?! 
“So, that much is fine…but, if you wanted to beat me, you should have thrown paper… Then you would have destroyed my one chance to win, and had twice as much chance of beating me.” 
—He’d seen through everything—no, led everything. 
“Ngh—!” 
Stephanie bit her lip, folded her knees, and put her hands on the floor. He’d known how she’d calm down—and that on top of that, she’d go for the win. 
—So this was it. This was the reason Stephanie had lost earlier that day. That seemed to be what he was saying. But he went on. 
“Plus, this whole game is stacked for me to win in the first place.” 
“I know. You wanted to draw. Fine, I’ll give you a place—” 
Downcast, Stephanie threw this answer back at him—but. 
“Yeah, that. That’s the thing.—That’s not what I said, you know?” 
“Excuse me?” 
“Think back good and carefully. This is what I said, yeah?” 
—Perhaps you can grant me just one little favor. We should be able to get by for a few days with what we’ve got—but, to tell you the truth, after our four nights here, we won’t have any food or place to say. We were already worrying about what to do next… 
“Okay, here’s the question! Did I—say what the little favor was?” 
“……………What?!” protested Stephanie fiercely, bolting to her feet in a panic. 
“But—but I asked you, you want a place, right?!” 
“Yeah, that’s the thing…I never said yes.” 
Stephanie revved her brain full throttle to play back what had happened just moments before. No place to stay, food, what to do next…these words were just decoration. Sora—this guy—had just smiled. 
—And the one who had assumed it meant he wanted to freeload was none other than— 
“Aaaghh.” 
“Now you see! So listen to my little favor request good and carefully!” 
With the broadest grin, he pointed at Stephanie with a bang. 
“Fall in love with me!” 
 
………? 
……There was a long silence. The one who broke it was the one who had been silently watching the scene play out: Shiro. 
“Uhh, Brother?” 
“Heh-heh-heh, what is it, my sister? Are you speechless in awe of your brother’s perfect plan?” 
His sister didn’t seem to get it, but Sora went on, drunk on the brilliance of his request. The Sixth of the Ten Covenants—‘Wagers sworn by the Covenants are absolutely binding.’ And, according to the Ninth—they were enforced by the power of the God so as to be impossible to break. Which would mean, of course, that this was regardless of the individual’s will! But—. 
“…Um… What do you mean…? 
Said the sister, still confused. Next it was Sora who looked at her incredulously. 
“Oh, my, how unlike you, my little imouto.” 
(He liked to throw in foreign words for effect.) 
“It’s about the bonds of love, you know? If she’s bound by the natural laws of this world to uphold the Covenants, we can expect her to fall at my feet, right? Which means we’ve got our place, we’ve got money, and even personnel. Three birds with one stone!” 
Sora seemed to be asking: You’re so smart, why can’t you understand that? But Shiro mumbled: 
“…Why not…‘Be my possession’?” 
“?Hm?” 
“…Could’ve got everything.” 
“—Uh, hmm, let’s see.” 
Sora experienced a moment of disorder. And then he sent his thoughts moving at high speed. If, as his sister suggested, he had commanded ‘Be my possession,’ then his possession’s possessions would all be his automatically— 
“Uh, that’s funny? It does sound like that would be…uh.” 
Why hadn’t he thought of it—? She was right. Why was it that when Sora was the one who specialized in this kind of thing, when he was the one who had the ability and the record to back it up, did he—? 
“………Brother, your personal feelings?” 
“?Oh…” 
Sora looked at at his sister’s cold eyes, which were half-shut and probably not just from sleepiness. 
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 
He grabbed his head and shrieked. 
“It—it can’t be…could it be?! Can it be that my contemptible fear that if I miss this chance I’ll never have a girlfriend for the rest of my life clouded my judgment in the moment when it mattered most?! N-no…It can’t—H-how could I make such a—” 
Inconceivable. That he himself, the key strategist of “  ”, could make such a blunder—it made Sora dizzy. With a sulk in her voice, Shiro continued, even colder. 
“…Brother, you said you didn’t need a girlfriend… You said…I…was enough.” 
“I was trying to be cool! I’m sooorrrrrryyyyyyyyy!” 
Sora got down on his hands and knees and bowed his head before his sister, who pouted on the bed. 
“Be-because, you know, I can’t fool around with my sister! And, anyway, you’re eleven years old! The police would come take me away! Your brother’s in that time of his life, you know! I’m a young man and I’ve got…” 
The brother filled the air with a barrage of excuses. The sister looked at him unmoved. Meanwhile… 
“?” 
Stephanie herself—the one of whom the demand had been made—now ignored, looked down and trembled. 
Indeed, just as Sora had foreseen, the Covenants could not be refused. They were the absolute law of the world. So—her face became hot and her heartbeat wouldn’t stop. Her chest was constricted by Sora as he now ignored her and bantered with his sister. 
—Even if it was the law of this world. It couldn’t be. Not for this guy. Not for this asshole. 
—She couldn’t be—“jealous”! 
“You really think I’m going along with this?” 
“Whoa! Holy shit!” 
From her enraged trembling, Stephanie finally burst out and stood up. Glaring keenly at Sora from the stance of resolutely rejecting the feeling that had been planted in her against her will—yet. 
“—Ng, nghh!” 
As soon as they made eye contact, her heart skipped a beat, and her face got even hotter. 
“Wh-wh-whawhawhat part of that is a ‘little favor’? Wh-what do you think it means to play with a young girl’s heart?!” 
While shouting with her eyes averted in a desperate attempt to cover it up. As energetically as she had gotten up, her momentum was flagging. 
“Oh, uh… You see, it’s…like…” 
Sora scratched his cheek, his gaze floating around awkwardly. Though this was just what he’d originally planned, his tremendous oversight had spoiled the mood, and so he contemplated his options. 
“Uh, hey, Shiro, what should we do?” 
“…Don’t ask me…” 
“Ngg, ghh…” 
He piteously begged his sister for help and was coldly dismissed. 
“Ahh!—Ahem!” 
Well then—Sora resigned himself to the situation and cleared his throat. 
He’d decided to pretend he hadn’t made a mistake. 
The defiance made Sora feel more comfortable. He smiled frivolously. 
“Everyone has their own standards for what’s little. You have a snack and someone says, can I have a bite of that? and then they eat the whole thing and say it was one bite.” 
Falling back into his groove, Sora returned to spewing such lines. 
“That’s…that’s fraud!” 
However, it was of little interest to Stephanie as she argued back. 
—Just hearing Sora’s voice tickled her. It was a struggle. She’d really have liked him to stop talking, yet she couldn’t get enough of hearing his voice. She held it back with the excuse of getting an explanation and continued arguing. Oblivious to Stephanie’s girlish dilemma, Sora (eighteen years old, virgin) was calm. He pointed as if to show a student her error. 
“Yes, that’s just it. You got distracted by the rules of the game and forgot about the premises. That’s no good, you know, overlooking overly vague statements like that… Even considering that I intentionally made them hard to see by intimidatingly emphasizing the conditions of victory and defeat, still, you know?” 
—In short, what he was aiming for in this game was a draw. That much Stephanie was right about all along. But that wouldn’t get her there. The thing was that, whether it was a draw or a victory—the risk to Stephanie was the same. That was the true essence of this game—in other words— 
“You, you—swindler!” 
That’s right. It was a swindle. It was quite reasonable that Stephanie would want to yell this at him—but. 
“Whaat, how could you say such a thing? It’s your fault for falling for it.” 
“Th-that’s exactly what a swindler would say!” 
Hearing Stephanie’s argument as it dragged on, Shiro came out from her sulking to finally butt in. 
“…Third of the…Ten Covenants… Games…are played for wagers…that each agrees are of equal…value.” 
Glad to find Shiro finally back on his side, Sora continued. 
“That’s right! The key word is ‘agrees.’ Likewise, look at the Fourth: ‘Insofar as it does not conflict with Three, any game or wager is permitted.’ Which means?” 
Squirming and lifting a finger, Shiro answered. 
“…Life, rights—these, too, can be bet…” 
“Indubitably, ’tis so! So by the time you’re making the wagers, the game’s already started.” 
They made it out to be an explanation to Stephanie, but really it was just more sibling banter. But then, Shiro: 
“…But, you didn’t have to bet…feelings.” 
“As a matter of fact! This was unavoidable as a way of testing that personal volition does not play a part—” 
“………Brother.” 
“I’m sorry.” It seemed that pretending he hadn’t made a mistake didn’t work on his sister. 
“B-but! How dare you—” 
How dare he become her first love by such fraud? It was probably cruel to blame Stephanie, who was still trying to argue with tears in her eyes. But: 
“…The Sixth of the Ten Covenants… ‘Wagers sworn by the Covenants are absolutely binding’…” 
The eleven-year-old girl—with pity in her eyes, quietly but accurately hit the mark. 
“…Forgetting…the meaning and weight of that, and taking his bait…was your mistake.” 
—That’s right: to begin with, according to the Ten Covenants…Five. “The party challenged shall have the right to determine the game.” Stephanie had the right to reject the game or change the rules. Those rights had been disregarded to start the game by one person and one person alone— 
“?Ngghh…” 
—Stephanie herself. 
As if she had run out of things to say, Stephanie dropped down and sat on the floor. In fact, the covenant had been made—Stephanie was feeling its effects already. This was proof that the world recognized the validity of the contest. No matter what Stephanie said, she had lost, and the wager would be upheld. 
“So, uh, I’ll take it that you’ve understood, Stephanie?” 
“—Rgh … You—!” 
You bastard! was what she wanted to scream. 
—Her feelings wouldn’t let her. What was more, hearing her name called sent a rush of sweet emotion— 
“…Nnnmggh, what iiiiiis this?” 
—She bubbled into anger, which caused her to sink down to her knees and elbows and pound her head against the floor. 
“Whoa—are—are you okay?!” 
“Do I look okay?!” 
As Stephanie swung a glare at Sora with her red and swollen forehead, he faltered, but pressed on. 
“No, not really. B-but it was me who won the wager, so—I’ll proceed to what I want, okay?” 
What he wanted?. Right, his goal wasn’t to have her fall in love with him per se. Now she remembered: It was to have her fall at his feet. 
But—wait, thought Stephanie. His request was for her to fall in love with him. Not to follow his orders. That meant Stephanie had no obligation to accept any further demands from him. 
“Heh…heh-heh-heh, and you thought you’d trapped me…” 
That made things simpler. No matter what he asked, all she had to do was shoot back, No. That took care of everything! 
“Okay, first of all, ‘Stephanie’ is too long, so can I call you ‘Steph’ for short?” 
“Huh? Uh, sure, I don’t mind!? Hh!” 
—“Steph” nodded happily at having her name shortened. Her decision made seconds earlier that she wouldn’t accept any more demands was nowhere to be found. There was only a maiden, her cheeks flushing in joy at being given a nickname by her beloved— 
“No, it’s not—I-I don’t care what you c-call me! Yes, that’s right, certainly! I still don’t have to accept any requests you make after that.” 
Choosing to force an explanation to herself, Steph still didn’t realize that all she had to do was run out of this room immediately. Which meant—unconsciously, she’d decided she wanted to be here by Sora’s side… 
“Right, then you can call me Sora. So, Steph. You’re part of the royal family, right?” 
—There it was. Indeed, if his goal was for her to fall at his feet: money, housing, food. He’d ask for things like that. However, there was nothing forcing Steph to answer these demands. Steph snickered inwardly. Sora would come asking, and she’d just say straight out, “I refuse!” That swindler would realize his blunder—what a sight his face would be. Holding that line ready, Steph waited for Sora’s demand. 
“Then you must have a big house. Can we live there together for a while?” 
“?Oh, yes, of course. ?” 
… 
What? 
“Uh, what? I, what?” 
Steph entered a state of confusion at her own remarks. But she considered her face, which was heating up enough to give her a nosebleed. Sora’s words: 
“Can we live there together?”— 
In short, he meant, well, living together. He meant sharing a roof…cohabitating. Which meant always being together. Which meant…sharing a bed, a bath— 
“Ah, ah, aaaaaaaaah, no, no, it’s not like that!” 
As Steph bashed her head against the wooden wall, Sora inquired sheepishly, his face pale. “Uh, um, you’re, like, wow, I don’t… It’s not okay, then?” 
“Of course it’s okay!—Aahhh… There’s no use…” Steph looked at the ceiling with a humorless smile. 
—Indeed, Sora had made a spectacular mistake. A request with no contractual force. But Sora (who had never had a girlfriend in his life) and Steph (who had just been forced to experience her first love)… 
…had treated the fact that history had seen nations fall over a single love much too lightly. 
 
“Heh, heh-heh… I…don’t care anymore; you can do whatever you want with me…” 
Steph groveled, weeping, on the floor. Sora’s request may not have had any contractual force, but it was too late for her to do anything about it. Finally realizing this, Steph could only say this with empty eyes, with half a smile. 
“—Do you have any other requests? Heh-heh, just tell me your damned wish.” 
But having come this far, it must be said that Steph’s forethought was insufficient. She had not contemplated the most logical request to follow “Fall in love with me.” 
“Uh, well, I guess…” 
Sora glanced at Shiro. Steph had no way of knowing what that glance meant. But Shiro nodded. 
“…It’s okay… I would feel sorry for you…if you had to wait, until I was…eighteen.” 
“Can you not talk about feeling sorry for me? Also, you know your brother’s not going to mess around with his sister.” 
“…That’s why.” 
Shiro stuck her thumb between her index and middle fingers without expression. 
“…Brother, grats on losing your virginity.” 
“?Wha—” 
—Yes. Perhaps she’d been raised too well, or perhaps her imagination just wasn’t powerful enough, but the obvious idea that he would seek her body once more lit the eyes of Steph, who had surrendered entirely. 
“Wha-whawha-what? Y-y-you never said anything about…! Y-y-you’ve got to set up the mood for these things, do it in the right place at—uh? Huh?” 
But where the light returned was not the fear of her chastity being threatened—but the anticipation of it—and as soon as Steph realized as much, she went back to trying to dig a hole in the wall with her head. Sora, showing no signs of recognizing the subtleties of Steph’s heart in these distressing matters, spoke plainly. 
“No. We can’t have any R-18 scenes until you’re eighteen, Shiro.” 
“—Eh?” 
Steph mumbled. But, of course, no one paid attention to her. 
“…I don’t mind.” 
“Well, your brother does! Pornography is bad for kids. It’s absolutely unacceptable!” 
“…I thought you just told her to fall in love…because you don’t like the sick and twisted genre…” 
“Um, excuse me, why is it you know all about your brother’s sexual proclivities?” 
“…You’ve got…all your game boxes in the room…they’re everywhere…” 
Steph had no idea what they were talking about, but she could certainly recognize when she was being ignored. 
—And that, for some reason, they were assuming that the sister would have to be there. 
“—Um, couldn’t you just have your sister leave the room?” 
“Hm? I’m glad to hear you’re looking forward to it, but there are certain reasons that’s not going to work.” 
“—That’s not—! That’s not what I meant, stupid! Don’t be crazy!” 
Disregarding the red-faced Steph, like scholars who had hit upon a major problem and were searching for a solution, the pair folded their arms and pondered, which finally sparked an apparent realization. 
“…In that case,” Shiro explicated the merciless solution. “…You can…push the envelope.” 
“Ohh, that’s it! That’s my sister, the genius girl!” 
“……Huh?” 
Sora was doting on his sister, and the sister seemed to be enjoying it. And—somehow. They seemed to have “found a way for things to go there” with the sister present. Steph tensed. 
“—But how far can we go, I wonder?” 
“…Brother, you’re the expert on that…” 
“That—if that’s a reference to manga and games, I should point out that things don’t work the same way in real life, my dearest little sister.” 
“You don’t…know what to do…because you’re a virgin?” 
As Sora showed his appreciation for her appropriate but unnecessary translation, Shiro waved her smartphone. 
“I’ll record it with my camera…and tell you what to do.” 
“Hm. Setting the idea of telling me what to do aside for a moment, why do you need to record it, my little sister?” 
“…Brother, you don’t want…pr0n?” 
“Hmm. I am puzzled by my sister’s unusual consideration but shall gratefully accept it.” 
With complex feelings, Sora turned back to Steph. Steph, meanwhile, just stared, not knowing what the smartphone was. Shiro started recording video and gave her first direction. 
“Take one. He trips, and he falls down…like…?” 
“Oh—that scene. But…how am I supposed to fall down in this—” 
As Sora looked around for something to “trip” on, Shiro crept up—“…Hmp.”—And kicked him lightly. 
“Whoa—I get it! (Monotone) Ooops, I’m faalliing.” 
“?Eh?” 
With acting that wouldn’t even qualify as third-rate, Sora fell unnaturally onto Steph. When they landed, his hands were placed— 
—of course, right on her breasts. He could have ordered Steph to interpret the situation as a mere “cliché”—but that would have been abusive, obviously. 
“…Take two…Breast fondling due to an act of God…” 
“Uh…How is it an act of God if I’m…” 
“…Okay, never mind…” 
“No, let’s do it, Director. I’ll do my best!? Hi-yah!” 
Squish, squish. Squoosh, squoosh. Squish, squish. Squoosh, squoosh. Foomp, foomp. Boink, boink, boink, boink. Foomp, foomp. Boink, boink, boink, boink. Jiggle, jiggle. Bounce, bounce. Bwwwwooooing. 
“Whoa…” 
Sora could only think of an interjection to describe the feeling that was just as rich as he expected. Meanwhile, Steph was dumbfounded, with her eyes open wide. Her comprehension could not keep up with the situation—at least, that was certainly a factor. More importantly, the sensation of his hands on her gave her a feeling that somehow melted her thoughts. 

“—O…h!” 
A moan escaped Steph’s lips, but, fortunately, perhaps because she covered it, the two didn’t hear it. 
“—Hm-hmmgh… Th-three-D girls are actually not bad…Uh—excuse me, Director. Is this still going to be rated All Ages?” 
“Sure…but, Brother…you’re overdoing it.” 
Shiro knit her brows slightly, looking down at her own flat chest. 
“Oh—that’s true. The breast fondling is purely an accident, so it would be better to limit it to three panels or so—so, uh, what shall we do next, Director?” 
“…Take three. The ensuing breast slip.” 
“Wait, is that okay?” 
Sora objected without thinking, but Director Shiro answered seriously and decisively. 
“…By J*mp standards, even full frontal nudity…is nothing.” 
“Wait, no, she can’t be naked! In real life, there are nipples, you know?” 
“…Well, that’s…added in the trade paperbacks…” 
“Director, this is real life. This is happening in real life. We can’t white them out or redraw them.” 
“…Then…underwear?” 
“Well, sure—but I’m not sure how her clothes could come off in this situation.” 
Sora and Shiro felt the pain of the disparity between the real world and fiction. 
“…Brother, what if…we were talking, about the bottom.” 
“Oh, I see, a flash from a skirt flip! You’re right, Director, that’s totally okay for all ages!” 
Then, as Sora reached to flip Steph’s skirt, a spark lit up Steph’s melted brain. 
—Skirt…flip? Underwear—Are they talking about seeing my panties? 
—No, that’s not okay. My top is okay. Well, not really, but. Steph was warned not by her barely remaining reason, but by her instincts: The bottom is not okay. Not okay. Definitely not okay. At the very least, not okay right now. It was—Well, how best to put it? 
—It might have been a planted emotion. But, being pushed down and breast-fondled by the one she loved, there were certain physiological changes that inevitably happened. 
“—Eep—Aaaaaaah?!” 
This instinct thrust Steph’s frazzled brain into action. Quickly, she swept away the arm Sora was touching her with and pushed him away. 
“Whoa!” 
Since Sora had crouched to flip her skirt, one push from a woman was enough to throw him off balance. He stood up in a struggle not to fall over, but it only made things worse. The distance he was falling lengthened, and he was forced to take a few steps back. 
—Which brought him to the door. The single light push from Steph carried him until—. Gonk. A dull noise. 
“Oww!” 
Sora raised his voice upon hitting his head. 
—But that wasn’t the end of it. 
—Ah, low-cost lodging. The impact flicked open the cheap door fitting, and Sora fell straight into the hall. 
“…Brother!” 
“—Huh—hey, what—!” 
And, so as to close off the voices of the two concerned about Sora. Creeeee…went the cheap metal—Wham. From the recoil of its opening the door swung quietly closed. 
 
…… 
For a moment, Steph was stunned, not understanding what had just happened. But then, realizing that her one push had thrust Sora out into to the hall of the inn. 
“—Hh! So-Sora?!” 
She called his name for the first time as she hurried to her feet. 
There was a sensation of tightness in her chest, and a powerful feeling of unease. She decided to assume it was just concern that she might have hurt someone with her actions. As for the possibility that it was worry that he might not like her anymore—that, she flatly refused to accept. While thus reassuring herself, she rushed to open the door and flew out into the hall. 
There, in the corner of the hall, Sora was clutching his head and shaking. 
“Wha?!” 
She didn’t think she had pushed him hard enough that he’d fall all the way over there. But there he was, in the corner of the hall. 
“So-Sora?! A-are you okay?” 
He was clutching his head. He had hit his head hard against the door, but it couldn’t be—Steph paled. But— 
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry forgive me forgive me please forgive me—” 
—It seemed it wasn’t because he’d hit his head. Still, Sora was just crouching and apologizing over and over. 
“?Pardon?” 
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I mean I thought if I missed this chance I’d never have a chance to touch a boob my whole life I mean I’m a guy and I do want a girlfriend and I do have dirty thoughts and no really I get it so please don’t look at me with those disdainful eyes yes I’m awful yes I’m a pervert yes I know I’m sorry I’m so sorry—” 
—After cheating her and sexually harassing her, standing unashamed throughout, now Sora shook like a newborn lamb as he apologized. 
“…Wh-what’s this about?” 
Steph had no idea what was going on. She peeked back into the room, thinking she could ask his sister, Shiro, for an explanation. 
“………Brother…Brooother… Where arrre you… Don’t, leave me, a…looone…” 
—Shiro, on the bed, was just like her brother: crouching with her knees in her arms, trembling visibly, dropping tears without expression. 
“?Wh-what’s going on with these two?” 
By now, Steph had forgotten all about having had her breasts grabbed, and all she could do was stare. 
… 
Yes, this was “  ”: Sora and Shiro. The “two-in-one” player. It wasn’t just about having different skills. If they were separated too far—in other words. It was because one was so socially phobic she couldn’t even communicate ?and the other was so socially maladjusted that he was beyond hope. 
“…Brother…Brother, where arrre you…” 
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry…” 
Are things making sense now? A loser. A shut-in. The two siblings, separated by seven years, could only be in the same place at home—. This—explained everything.