“Day Four has ended.”
The white room, now all too familiar.
After the dream had started for a short while, text floated up on the blackboard, just as it always did.
“Here are the details regarding the Start Dash Special Event.”
・Regarding the rules of the Start Dash Special Event:
・After Day Five begins, everyone will wake up at 5:00 AM. You are granted ten minutes of preparation time.
・Once the preparation time ends, all participants will be teleported to random locations, grouped by party.
・Upon completion of the teleportation, light orbs visible to all participants will appear.
・If any participant acquires a light orb before the end of Day Five, that individual will gain the “Right of Return.”
・If no participant acquires a light orb by the end of Day Five, no reward will be given to anyone.”
There was little new information to be gleaned here.
But it was important data.
We were to wake up all at once at 5:00 AM, and we would need to get everything ready within ten minutes of that.
Moreover, since we were being forcibly teleported to some random spot on the island, we should probably store our house away somewhere.
If there’s no acquirer, there’s no reward. That’s understandable logic.
The only thing that really caught my attention was……
“Um, what exactly is a ‘party’?”
Shinhou asked.
Right.
On this island, it was the first time that word had appeared. 『• About Party Functionality
• The minimum composition for a party is one person.
• A leader is required for a party.
• Those wishing to join can enter the specific party by obtaining the leader’s approval.
• Those wishing to leave can exit the specific party by obtaining approval from a majority of members.
• The currently unlocked party functions are limited to “being deployed at the same coordinates during teleportation for events, etc.” and “locating member positions”』
I see. The Black Board with the riddle had already predicted that individuals would form groups; it was only natural they’d anticipated this.
So they were offering those groups a choice: act separately or act together.
“Are we forming a team?”
“Yeah. Being able to teleport together and knowing each other’s locations are good things for us.”
Answering immediately in response to Shousu’s words, everyone nodded with expressions of relief.
Sechi remained the only one without an expression.
・Precautions for attempting to acquire the Light Orbs.
・The Light Orbs are flying entities the size of a soccer ball.
They possess a field of vision and move in an effort to escape from their pursuers.
・Light Orbs are always located within the line of sight of at least one participant.
・Participants who take actions that harm others during the capture of a Light Orb will lose “100” points.”
The loss of points via penalty directly corresponds to one day per point.
If they returned with zero earned points and held “365” negative points, that individual would remain in a coma on Earth for a year after their return.
That could be deduced from the rules previously explained.
“Since participants are competing physically in their natural state, collisions and maneuvering are bound to happen. Where is the line drawn for what constitutes an ‘action that harms’?”
・The definition of “actions that harm others” refers to acts intended to inflict injury.
Using verbal persuasion to make someone give up on actively participating in this event, intentional interference that does not result in injury, and injuries that occur without intent are not subject to penalty.
“However, whether the act was intentional or not is a matter for us to determine.”
“That means you have the ability to understand that…”
Shion murmured.
Since she had been granted the ability to detect lies in the first place, it wasn’t implausible that the mysterious blackboards possessed similar powers, or even superior versions thereof. Nor would it be surprising if they used that ability to read the innermost depths of her heart.
In short, there would be no opportunity for a trial; a single verdict on intent would settle the matter.
The common defense of “I had no malicious intent” would fail unless it was an absolute fact.
A lie, caught by mind-reading, meant immediate disqualification.
—But learning that interference itself wasn’t a violation was a massive relief.
Of course, that also meant they now had to be on guard against the other participants attempting to interfere with them.
On other matters, such as the specific speed of the light orb, the response given was “We cannot answer.”
However, it became clear that regardless of the methods employed by all participants, it would not reach a height unreachable to humans, nor would it dive underwater.
In essence, it seemed they did intend for it to be captured.
Presumably, forcing an impossible game and crushing their motivation would run counter to the blackboard’s objectives.
“I can’t help but be curious about the name of the Light Orb Acquirer, or how the teleporters are handling it.”
Chii asked what had also been on my mind.
‘We will not disclose information regarding the current holder of the Light Orb from our side.
『That said, given the nature of the event, there is a possibility that your moment of acquisition may be witnessed by other participants.』
In that case, there’s nothing we can do about it.
It was preferable that the Mysterious Blackboard did not release any information on its own.
After struggling so hard to secure the ‘Right to Return,’ being hated by all participants would be a nuisance.
‘Question. What is essential for your life from this point on?’
――And here we go again with this question.
[Rice / Wheat]
――It’s coming…!
“It’s nice to hear, but really? Now?”
“H-isn’t that a pretty harsh dilemma…?”
“Does it mean bread or rice? I can choose!”
“If it’s rice, I can make cooked rice, congee, dango, mochi, and senbei.”
“Wheat could be bread, cake, pastries, flour-based dishes, noodles, or breading for fried foods, I suppose.”
Me, Shion, Meko, Chiyu, and Fuhō all reacted in unison.
No matter which one we chose, combining it with our [Craft Ability] and Shion’s culinary skills would allow us to utilize it in a variety of forms.
We should be able to make the items Chiyu and Fuhō mentioned after just a little while.
“At this point, let’s just list what we actually want to eat. To avoid a fight, everyone vote in your head. It should work out that way.”
After agonizing, I settled on wheat.
While I would have loved to shovel down some white rice, considering that we were high schoolers, the versatility of wheat seemed more valuable.
For the guys, it was bread, flour-based dishes like okonomiyaki, noodles like udon, pasta, and yakisoba, and fried foods like karaage, tonkatsu, and tempura.
For the girls, it was baked goods like cookies and cakes, including pancakes and such.
Wheat broadly covered what people of our age liked to eat.
Nah, I’m a huge fan of Japanese confections made with rice flour too.
It’s all about balance.
There would be differing opinions, so the voting time was the longest we’d had yet.
In the end—
“As a majority has been reached, voting is now closed.”
『Wheat will be deployed into the environment starting on Day Five.』
It had been decided that wheat would be added.
And the fact that the voting was over meant that……
“Oh, right. What happens to the participants once the event is over? Do they just disperse on the spot, or are they sent back to their original locations? That makes a huge difference.”
『At the moment the event ends, all surviving participants will be promptly teleported back to their pre-deployment coordinates.』
Opinions might differ depending on the person, but for me, this was welcome news.
Since they were being force-teleported back to where they started, there was no need to worry about being chased.
If they had just been left to disperse locally, the lingering anxiety would have remained even with Mashiro around, so being teleported was a relief.
If there were anyone who seemed like he could become an ally, I could have Mashiro memorize their scent and go look for them later.
Or, if they joined our party during the event, would we be able to return together on the post-event teleport?
I try to ask about that, but my vision is washed out by a blinding white.
“Day Five begins.”
One person among them would gain the right to return to Japan.
An event like that was about to begin.
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