The timeline is between chapters 158 and 159.
The perspective is from Katori.
It seems we are playing kick the can seriously.
“This is ‘Minamo’. The enemy is in the 6 o’clock direction!”
Through the “Communication” bracelet, I hear Hariu’s voice.
“This is ‘Ayame’! At the 8 o’clock direction! Salute!”
Similarly, Toriumi’s voice as well.
“This is ‘Sakura’. Let’s all attack at the signal. ‘Minamo’, please come out a bit later than the rest. Please target while the others are being called by name.”
And so, we wait for President’s signal, looking at the enemy… Hagasaki-kun.
Yeah, if we keep going like this, I’ll probably be the first to be spotted and called by name.
Let’s shift our position a bit more.
“Are you ready? Here we go. 3, 2, 1, now!”
At President’s signal, we all leap out at once.
Of course, we move with the intent to confuse as much as possible, making it difficult to be understood.
“Katori, Toriumi, Kadomi.”
Hagasaki-kun calls out our names, but it’s not over yet, not yet.
“Suzumoto, Kariya, Tsuge…!”
While Hagasaki-kun is distracted by the three who emerged from behind him, Hariu kicks the can from its shadow.
There, game set.
Ah, that was a bit nerve-wracking.
“…Hey, I think using ‘Shadow Crossing’ is cheating.”
Well, yeah, it might be a bit unfair for playing kick the can.
It all started when Maito-san asked, “What do you want to eat tonight?”
Usually, everyone just says, “Anything’s fine.”
“Ah, I suddenly really want to eat croquettes.”
That’s what Hariu said.
…Making croquettes is quite a hassle, it seems.
So, our trip that day was paused there. Well, we had plenty of time, so it wasn’t a problem at all. I started craving croquettes too.
But then, everyone else would be left with nothing to do.
…Helping Maito-san, well, if you try to help clumsily… it’s a bit dangerous. Yeah, the kitchen is like a battlefield.
So, while wondering what to do, Toriumi suggested this.
“I want to play seriously!”
That’s how we decided to seriously play kick the can.
The first thing we did was prepare the battlefield.
There need to be hiding spots for it to be kick the can, but too many obstacles would disadvantage the seeker who needs to call out names. Even though our physical abilities have significantly improved, we haven’t gotten better at talking fast…
So, playing kick the can seriously turns out to be very disadvantageous for the seeker. We had to slightly modify the rules for that reason.
But leaving that aside, we first cleared and leveled all trees within a 300m radius.
…For about 100m, if Suzumoto, Kadomi, or Hariu really went all out, they could do it in less than a second.
Centering on that 300m radius circle, our battlefield was a circle with a 500m radius.
The seeker places the can near the center of the 300m radius circle.
Then, if the seeker spots someone, they call out that person’s name. Once your name is called, you’re out of the game.
…Making a rule that you have to step on the can to end the game would make it impossible for the seeker to search for others, or rather, it would be too disadvantageous for the seeker, so we ended up with this arrangement.
As a handicap for those kicking the can, we added a rule: “You must kick the can out of a designated circle.”
The circle has a 200m radius. Yeah, with this distance, you don’t have to kick too hard to be okay.
The game ends either when the seeker has called out everyone’s name, or someone kicks the can out of the 200m boundary.
If the can is kicked out, the seeker goes again, and if the seeker calls out everyone’s name, the first person whose name was called becomes the next seeker.
By the way, only the seeker is allowed to use weapons.
See, without weapons, people like Suzumoto and Kadomi would have a lot less they could do…
…And about the can, I’ve been saying “can” this whole time, but if we actually used just an ordinary can, it wouldn’t stand a chance with the way we play. So, I quickly crafted a metal lump that resembles an empty can.
Yes. It’s lightweight and very durable, so the person who kicks it won’t hurt themselves, and I don’t think the can will explode. After all, it’s made from the same material as the tactical universal space equipment.
…So, well, that’s how we went about it. Now, we’ve gotten into a debate about whether “Shadow Crossing” is cheating, right?
“I think it’s better to have a variety of skills in play.”
“Understood. Then it’ll be a half-death match, but we’ll leave that effort to Kariya later. Just to be clear, though, don’t kill anyone. If someone is close to dying, we’ll stop the game there. It’s okay to do something that results in almost killing, but don’t do something with the intent of almost killing, okay?”
…Wow, that’s dangerous. Really dangerous.
Why does a game of kick the can end up in a half-death match? This is definitely not right.
…No, yeah, I’ll still play, though?
We decided to restart the second round, so we chose the seeker by rock-paper-scissors.
…Hm? Yeah, we did it normally. Unusually so.
Though we tied 29 times in a row…
As a result of rock-paper-scissors, President became the seeker.
…I have a bad feeling about this.
“3, 2, 1, Start! ‘Earth Wall’!”
And right at the start, the earth around President swelled up, and one corner of it turned into a tower… I wonder if the can is in there…
“Hey, isn’t that cheating?”
“No, we didn’t decide anything like that. Expecting a gentleman’s agreement from President is the real mistake.”
Well, yeah, it’s President, after all…
“The best thing would be for me to light up the inside of the earthen wall with ‘Light Sphere’, and then Hariu can use ‘Shadow Crossing’ on the shadow of the can created by the light, right?”
Hmm, knowing President, I think he’d have prepared for that much.
“Shall we try it? Then please.”
“Understood. ‘Light Sphere’.”
Kariya seems to have gotten really good at controlling magic. The ‘Light Sphere’ probably generated inside the space within the earthen wall. Amazing.
“Okay, I’m going now.”
And just when I thought I heard Hariu’s voice,
“‘Rock Pole’!”
That moment, right? President uses “Rock Pole.”
Hariu gets propelled up, breaking through the ceiling of the earthen wall and getting ejected outside.
…Wow, no mercy.
“Hariu. This means you’re retired, right?”
President doesn’t forget to call Hariu by name to officially eliminate him from the game. As expected of President.
“…Maybe we should have gone about this the normal way?”
“Right. Okay, then, Hagasaki-kun, freeze President to hold him off. Meanwhile, let’s make our move.”
Wow, what does “normal” even mean anymore?
“Let’s all go at the signal. Ready, 3, 2, 1, 0!”
At Suzumoto’s signal, President is trapped in a cage of ice.
Wow, no mercy.
While running, I also use “Erase Beam” to cut through the earthen wall.
Suzumoto, who was closest to the cut surface, enters the earthen wall.
…He went in.
“It’s not here!?”
“Suzumoto, Kariya, Kadomi, Katori, Hagasaki, Toriumi.”
While Suzumoto was in shock, President rapidly called everyone’s names, ending the game.
Wow, that’s amazing…
“To reveal the trick, the can was here.”
Looking over, the can was simply placed in the shadow of a mound of earth, not inside the tower.
“I knew from the start that you would use the ‘Light Sphere’ and ‘Shadow Crossing’ combo. Inside this tower, there are clumps of earth the same size and shape as the can.”
Wow, that’s so President-like. Very much so.
“So, the next seeker is Hariu.”
Since Hariu’s name was called first. Tough luck.
“Wow! I feel like I can’t win!”
…Yeah, tough luck.
“Okay, let’s go. 3, 2, 1, Start! ‘Curtain’!”
…Wow.
At the start, a curtain of darkness spreads, making everything invisible.
“…Even using ‘Night Vision’ monoculars, the visibility is poor. It’s a very high level, dense darkness.”
Yeah, Hariu isn’t doing ninja stuff for nothing.
Even though he says it’s not his forte, being able to use dark magic like this is amazing.
“So, what do we do?”
“Maybe hitting it with light magic is good? But be careful…!”
“Suzumoto—!”
…Wow, Hariu is amazing.
In other words, he plans to stay away from the can and call out the names of everyone who isn’t the seeker.
“Let’s give up and go on a full attack!”
Hearing President’s voice, we started running.
I didn’t forget to erase part of the curtain of darkness with “Laser Shot” before that.
Even if it’s dense darkness, knowing that the caster isn’t inside, I didn’t think it would be maintained without much effort.
…Well, yeah, part of it disappeared, but the darkness filled back in almost immediately, returning it to almost how it was before.
“Tsuge! Katori!”
Wow, but I still got called out. Prioritizing President because he can use “Night Vision,” I guess.
President and I stop in our tracks and raise both hands, watching the situation.
Watching, Hagasaki-kun holds off Hariu while Kadomi charges straight into the curtain of darkness… but then.
Silence. The can didn’t come out at all.
No way, what’s happening inside? Scary.
Afterward, Toriumi’s name is called, and Kariya and Hagasaki-kun enter the “Curtain,” but still, no can comes out.
When Hariu lifts the “Curtain,” three people are found unconscious inside, and Hariu calls their names to end the game.
…Never expected it to turn out like this…
“So, what was that?”
After waking up the three unconscious ones, we ask Hariu to explain.
“Yeah. I just set up ‘Reaper’s Blade’.”
Inside the curtain of darkness, it was pitch black, and except for President who could use “Night Vision,” everyone was guaranteed to see nothing. So, he placed “Reaper’s Blade” with stun effects inside.
“Reaper’s Blade” is a blade made of dark magic that usually requires the caster to maintain it actively, but with “Curtain” creating a solid field of dark magic, it can remain on its own.
“Yay, that feels good. Ahahaha. Next is Suzumoto.”
Contrary to the cheerful Hariu, Suzumoto seems a bit apprehensive. Yeah, Suzumoto doesn’t really have any magic to use…
“Then, let’s start. 3, 2, 1, Start. …Come at me from anywhere.”
…He’s drawn his sword…
Suzumoto’s fighting spirit is intense. Yeah, it makes you not want to go out. I’m really glad Suzumoto isn’t an enemy. …Well, he is now, but you know?
“For now, President and I will hold him off, so please go all out at the same time.”
Hearing Hagasaki-kun’s voice, ice and earth magic are immediately launched at Suzumoto… but then.
“Naive.”
Both the ice and the rocks are dodged and slashed through.
“What’s wrong? Is that all you’ve got?”
And he even taunts…
“Hariu, could you do ‘Curtain’ one more time, please?”
“Sure. ‘Curtain’!”
So, Hariu tried to cover Suzumoto with “Curtain,” but then?
“‘Shadow Slash’!”
…Turns out, Suzumoto had a slash technique specifically against dark magic, after all…
“Should I try enclosing him with my ‘Rampart’? It might hold for a moment.”
“Oh, then I’ll combine it with my ‘Ark.'”
So, the idea was to protect Suzumoto in reverse, but that didn’t work out either.
…Yeah, Suzumoto activated “Oni God” to break through the “Ark”…
It seems to have terrible fuel efficiency, but it’s a technique that temporarily boosts his abilities significantly.
And with that, his fighting spirit became intense.
In that state, Suzumoto took to the sky, switching to a strategy of finding and calling out names from above.
…At that point, we all just went for a full-on attack.
And we were either struck with the back of the sword or had our names called out, leading to our defeat.
“I guess I can manage somehow after all.”
“Let’s revise the rules a bit, shall we?”
Yeah, the seeker is really strong, truly.
After playing a few more games, Maito-san came out from the lab, clanging a frying pan with a ladle, calling us for dinner, and that marked the end of the game.
Ah, it was tiring and scary at times, but it was fun. Every once in a while, this isn’t too bad.
When we got back to the lab, Maito-san was frozen at the entrance, staring outside.
“Maito-san, what’s wrong?”
Turning to me with a creaking stiffness that seemed to scream reluctance, she looked at me and said,
“…Dinner is ready, but, um, you guys, what on earth happened to this wasteland…?”
…Yeah, playing with all our might tends to turn the surroundings into a wasteland, doesn’t it?
Maybe I should level the ground again later and ask Maito-san to plant some trees…
But, for now, we’re hungry, so dinner first is okay, right?
Looking forward to the croquettes.