“Hey, hey, heeey! That wouldn’t be Mr. Kamiyaaa there, wooould it?”
On the opposite cliff stood a familiar young man, a beautiful boy with light brown hair, who was in the same class as Kyousuke and the others. It was Shinji Saotome.
“Huuuh? Oh, it really is him! What a surprise! Ha-ha-ha! You’re laaaaate!!”
“Hee, hee-hee…skirts fluttering in the wind…showing panties, showing panties…Hee, hee-hee-hee!” Arata Oonogi, wearing dreadlocks and sunglasses, and Kagerou Usami, the small hunchback, stood beside him.
There was a girl with them as well. Clinging to Shinji’s arm, she pointed a finger at Kyousuke and the others. “Kya-ha-ha! They’re, like, totally screwed now, this is sooo funny! Ah-mazing! For real, though, they’re, like, weirdly cute! Kya-ha-ha! No waaay. Like, seriously no way!”
“What’s with her…? Was she in our class?” Kyousuke asked.
“…I wonder? It seems like someone that dumb would be more memorable, though.”
“Oh dear! Wh-what should we do…? I can’t understand what she’s saying at all!”
It seemed somehow that this cackling girl was a classmate of theirs. With her garish makeup, bleached hair, and impressively poor vocabulary, she was obviously a ditzy airhead.
“Heh-heh. That’s right. I agree. Hee-hee-hee… I can’t understand you too well, though.”
No way, don’t tell me you can’t understand her, either. Seriously, what the hell is her deal…?
Still pointing at Kyousuke and the others, who stood gaping in astonishment, the ditzy girl suddenly spat out some more words: “…Oh! I just got a super-great, totally awesome ideaaa.” And the three boys gathered around her and began whispering about something.
Hugging her back as she snuggled against him, Shinji responded to the girl’s gibberish as if he understood her perfectly. “…Yes… Yes, good… Oh, definitely!” Shinji nodded several times before clearing his throat dramatically, a self-satisfied grin plastered across his face.
“Okay, listen up, everyone! I cannot bring myself to stand silently by and watch as all of you desperately cross this bridge in spite of your fears… That’s my view. As poor as our abilities are, I want us to render whatever ‘assistance’ we can offer, to the best of our abilities!”
* * *
After the four of them had all bowed stiffly in unison, Shinji and his lackeys squatted low to the ground and began to gather something up. “Assistance”? …What are they trying to start here? Before long, Shinji and the others stood spread out in a line, holding piles of pebbles in their arms.
“…Wha?! No way, they’re—”
“Go for it, go for it, go for it, go for iiiiiiiiiiiittt!!”
Aiming at Kyousuke and the others near the middle of the bridge, they began throwing pebbles, which were plentiful underfoot, as quickly as they could get their hands on them. To make things worse, they all had good aim.
Kyousuke let go of the ropes with a shout of alarm and turned, interposing Mohawk between his back and the rain of pebbles.
Maina shrieked and huddled down again.
“Tch… Really, how irritating!” Eiri scolded as she moved gracefully across the logs, dodging the flying rocks. “Didn’t I tell you not to get involved with us again?!”
Shinji made a repugnant face, like he really wanted to hit her. “I’m not laying a hand on yooouu! I’m just throwing stooones! Heh-heh…” He hurled insults alongside his pebbles like a child.
Eiri’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, the vein on her forehead bulging with anger. “Oh, I see… You want me to butcher you after all, is that it?” Glaring at Shinji, who was still roaring with laughter, she pulled into a tight crouch. The nails that decorated the tips of her fingers glittered as they caught the sun’s rays. “…If that’s the case, then I’ll give you just what you wish for.”
As she spit the words, Eiri kicked off the planks, instantly accelerating. Dashing nimbly across the remainder of the rickety bridge, she clearly aimed to attack at the end of her charge.
“You there, cease immediately!”
Behind Shinji and his group, a huge shadow leaped out of the depths of the dense forest, smashing Dreadlocks on the back of the head, hard. “Bwuh?!” Oonogi’s cackling halted with a grunt as his face sunk into the ground, an instant KO.
Usami, who had turned his head at the interruption, let out a yelp. “Gyah!!”
A small shadow sprang at him and pushed him down to the ground. From that position, the shadow bit him. “Nom!”
“Gyeeeaaaaaahhh!!”
Usami let out an earsplitting scream. The midnight menace didn’t let go at all. Its jaws were latched on to the nape of his neck, completely pinning him down.
“What?! Who the hell’re these guys? Seriously uncool. You’re totally pissing me off—ooph!!” A sharp uppercut connected with the frantic girl’s chin, sending her sprawling.
Standing over her triumphantly, right arm hoisted in the air, was someone in a black gas mask. And finally—
“Hee-hee-hee…! Bad form, putting on a tough front. I’m sorry to say that from now on the stage is reserved for the main characters. And so we implore you to make your exit. …Hm, no, we’re not going to take your lives. Your insignificant souls cannot possibly gratify the tongue of the One-Winged Angel of Death, so we’ll leave you… You may prostrate yourselves and beg for forgiveness! Hee-hee-hee…ha-ha-ha…haaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Loud laughter echoed off the trees as Shinji turned. “Ah, you’re…” He was surprised. “Aren’t you Michirou from Class B? Are you still doing that act?” Shinji shrugged his shoulders, chiding.
Carried away by the speech of his alter ego, Kuuga Makyouin, Michirou’s face was now tainted with shame and resentment. “…What did you say, you bastard? Are you mocking me? Hee-hee-hee…fine, then. I’ll carve you up before you know what happened. I’ll engrave stigmata by the name of trauma onto your stunted soul!”
“Ah, sure, sure. If there’s anything there to carve up, then carve away. Come on now!”
“……Hey.”
Tapped lightly on the shoulder, Shinji turned around, looking annoyed. “Yes? What is it? Right now I’m busy with Mr. Michirou—”
“Do you really want to die that badly?”
“Bwah!!”
Shinji turned just as a high-powered kick from Eiri collided with his face. Sent flying by the force of the blow, he smashed into one of the bridge posts and crumpled.
“…Hmph. You can just die, you perverted asshole.”
“Striped panties…is it? Hee-hee-hee…I see, not bad—”
“You can die, too!”
“Gwaaaaaahhh!!”
Michirou, sent flying by a follow-up kick, landed on top of Shinji and promptly passed out.
Bob, who had taken down Oonogi, smiled bitterly. “Oh my…” She approached Eiri, who stood looking indignant. “That Michirou was a secret pervert all along, hmmm? Tee-hee-hee.”
“…Yuck. As I thought, Kyousuke’s flesh is…best.” Chihiro, who had been chewing on Usami, wiped her red-stained mouth and joined Bob and Eiri. Usami lay stretched out on the ground, bleeding from the neck.
Leaping over his body with an “oof,” Renko, who had taken down the ditzy girl, approached the bridge, waving her hands energetically. “Heeey, Kyousukeee! Mainaaa! Is everyone okay? Kksshh.”
Recognizing the voice, Kyousuke and Maina felt immediately exhausted. “Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks to you… We’re coming over there now, so wait for us.” Quickening their pace, they hustled across the remaining half of the bridge.
“…Okay! That’s the first checkpoint clear.”
Kyousuke and the others nodded in satisfaction as they checked their card, on which one of the seven stamps—in the shape of a deformed bear—had been crossed out.
According to the Public Morals Committee member on duty at the checkpoint, the bear symbolized the sin of sloth, and its opposing virtue was courage. By courageously crossing the dangerous bridge
, they had purified themselves of sloth, and the Peccati stamp representing the sin had been canceled out. Or so they had been told.
Besides the bear, each card bore the seal of a snake, fox, wolf, goat, and lion, and as the teams reached each checkpoint, each corresponding stamp would be canceled out.
“Are there really six left…? That last one took so long…”
“I know…kksshh. Hey, if we all work together, it’ll be an easy victory!” Renko flashed the rock-and-roll sign at Kyousuke, who was walking next to her.
Following behind them, Bob smiled and said, “Tee-hee-hee, you’re right, an easy victory!”
Maina, who was riding on Bob’s shoulders, clapped her hands together. “Things are looking good, everyone!”
Behind them, Eiri leafed through the red rules booklet. “…Hm. I’ve reviewed the rules printed in the guidebook, and nowhere is it written that we can’t collaborate with other squads. It also doesn’t say that we can’t interfere with other squads.”
I see. That was how Kyousuke and his group had been allowed to join forces with Renko’s team.
At Eiri’s words, Michirou nodded assent and smiled wickedly. “Hee-hee-hee… Be that as it may, that was an amusing blunder. Showing contempt for their opponents, they were planning to obstruct our way…but they met the opposite fate! Certainly that never occurred to them. Already now, our triumph is as good as assured! We can win this, we can! Hee-hee-hee…mua-ha-ha…haaa-ha—!”
“Shut up.”
“……S-sorry.”
“Well, it certainly would be good if we won. I mean, it would be good if we didn’t lose. Since only the lowest-ranked group is knocked out…if we can completely crush one squad, then we should have plenty of leeway without worrying about the time.” Returning the closed guidebook to her rucksack, Eiri let out a yawn.
Meanwhile Michirou, dispirited, shrank under Eiri’s glare. He had been talking about Shinji’s group…
When Kyousuke and the others had crossed back over the bridge on their way out from the checkpoint, the four of them had just started regaining consciousness, so Renko had taken it upon herself to beat them down again.
Her relentless attacks had been cold-blooded and demonically brutal. Shinji’s group were getting their just desserts for what they had done, so Kyousuke and the others turned a blind eye to the carnage.
We don’t want to come in last and get condemned, after all.
“But be on your guard… If even one of us dies, we’re out—that’s how it goes… Oh, but if you die, Kyousuke, I’ll eat you up! I won’t leave even one bone behind…completely gone!” Chihiro, who had moved underfoot without anyone noticing, snickered and bared her canine teeth.
“…O-oh.” Kyousuke shuddered, to which Renko quickly interceded:
“Don’t worry, Kyousuke’s not going to die! Because I will absolutely not allow him to be killed! I promised you, didn’t I, Kyousuke? That I would get your heart and your life… I won’t let anyone or anything else snatch it away!” She crossed her arms tight. Through the cardigan that she wore over her blouse, soft things were perceptible…
“O-oh…thank you. That’s reassuring. Ha-ha-ha…” Kyousuke had begun to sweat profusely.
Eiri spoke loudly enough to reach Kyousuke through his grinning haze. “…Tch. Though it might be better if you died.”
“Huh?! P-please don’t kill me!”
“Not you.”
Michirou dived for cover, and Eiri let out a sigh, disgusted with him.
A large hand came down on her shoulder. “You’re having a hard time, too, huh, Eiri dear…?” Bob offered. “I understand your feelings, though, because long ago I also had those same thoughts. Now I am cheering on my friend—acting as number one supporter of Renko’s love—but I’d like to support you, too. If you have anything you want to talk about, you can tell me anytime, okay?”
“……Wha? Ah-hah…what are you saying? I don’t understand you at all.”
“Tee-hee-hee. It’s all right, I understand everything.”
“That’s right! Do your best, Eiri! Even though you don’t have boobs!”
“……”
Bob chuckled suggestively, and Maina cheered enthusiastically. Eiri, whose expression was sullen, clenched her fists and kept silent. Michirou scooted away again…keeping his distance.
“…What are they all talking about?”
“Hm, I wonder? Kksshh. It looks like everybody’s having fun together, so let’s have our own conversation, shall we? …Kyousuke, how many children do you want?”
“What the hell’re you on about all of a sudden?!” He had involuntarily imagined Renko holding a baby. The baby, wrapped in a clean towel, was—wearing a black gas mask. “Oh nooo, you shouldn’t have a gas mask when you’re just born!”
“…What’re you on about?”
Chatting and laughing, the group headed for the next checkpoint.
Even Mohawk, still asleep on Kyousuke’s back, muttered dreamily:
“Hyea-haa…hit me harder, Kurumiya sweetieee…”
“Myyy, that was interesting wasn’t it? The Seven Deadly Sins Atonement Orienteering, I mean. It was really thrilling! Isn’t it great that we were able to clear it safely? Kksshh.” Stretching, Renko cheerfully waved her Deadly Sins Card. The seven stamps on the white piece of paper had each been crossed out with an X.
About three hours had passed since the expedition had begun—Kyousuke’s and Renko’s two squads together had conquered each checkpoint admirably. Now, they were heading toward the goal point summit.
“Yeah, that’s right…it turned out well. We almost died several times, but…” Kyousuke wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The path leading to each checkpoint had been incredibly challenging. They had fumbled their way through a pitch-black limestone cave, scaled a sheer cliff with no lifelines, been hunted by a sixty-five-foot anaconda, and swum across a bottomless swamp inhabited by countless leeches—all in all, it had been an extremely dangerous journey.
That not one of them had fallen victim to the perils was nearly a miracle. Kyousuke and the others hiking up the mountain path were thoroughly worn out—the only one of them with any energy left was Renko. Mohawk, who had played an important dual role as both shield and human sacrifice, was on the verge of death, his body covered in cuts and bruises. He hung limply from Kyousuke’s back, eyes rolled back in his head.
“Phew, I’m tired…I’m ridiculously tired. I want to get back and rest soon…”
“Whatever happened to character building?”
“…Hee-hee-hee. My name is Kuuga Makyouin. Lucifer, who, along with the One-Winged Angel of Death, was cast out from heaven into hell by the gods who fear excessively mighty magical powers…” The haggard Michirou, apparently taking up the flag of Kuuga once again, had recovered enough energy to strike a dramatic pose.
Maina had come down from her shoulder ride, and was now walking on her own two feet. “Oh dearie me…! W-we’re gonna make it!” she announced as she rewound Michirou’s bandages where they had come undone.
Bob smiled underneath her flour sack. “…Goodness gracious.”
“Kyousuke! I can see it! Look, there’s some meat standing over there.”
“It’s not meat, it’s a person—oh, right. Is that Mr. Busujima?”
Chihiro pointed ahead, to a hanging placard with “GOAL” written on it. Underneath it, an unappealing man in a shabby suit—Kirito Busujima, the homeroom teacher for first-year Class B—stood idle.
When he realized that Kyousuke and the others were approaching, Busujima forced a smile onto his bored-looking face. “Ah, you finally made it! You are the last two squads!”
“What…did you say?”
He had said something that they couldn’t ignore. Everyone stopped in their tracks.
…The last squads? He couldn’t mean…us? No, that’s impossible. Sure, we took our time a little bit along the way, but the lowest-ranked group has to be Shinji’s. We made sure of i
t…
“…Hm? Could I be mistaken? Let’s see… In total there were eight squads, two squads from Class B were disqualified due to injuries to a squad member—one squad from Class A lost their Deadly Sins Card and was disqualified… No, it all adds up. Your two squads are the only ones left. Hurry!” Busujima spoke casually, but it was the student lurking behind him who caught their eyes.
Shinji, looking completely drained of all life, leered at them bitterly. “You really did a number on us, huh… When we were beat down by you all, we unfortunately lost our Deadly Sins Card. Thanks to you, we were forcibly disqualified… See what you’ve done!”
That moment, the rules of the Seven Deadly Sins Atonement Orienteering exercise floated up in the minds of Kyousuke and the others: Should you lose your Deadly Sins Card along the way—or if even one squad member goes missing—your squad will be immediately disqualified and subject to compulsory condemnation. And—
The squad with the worst completion time excepting those squads who are disqualified will also receive the same condemnation.
“……!”
Suddenly, an enormous figure moved at the edge of Kyousuke’s vision. The ground shook as the figure stepped forward—
Wham!
The figure slammed downward with a meaty fist.
“Gah?!” Kyousuke, with the unconscious Mohawk still tied to his back, took a sudden blow to his human shield and was thrown forward. After flying through the air for several yards, he landed on Mohawak. “Ugh!!”
Kyousuke rolled to minimize the impact of the landing and rose back up in the next breath—
“…Wha?!”
“Arrgghhh!!”
Again, he took the full force of a heavy blow, this time to the front. Fresh blood danced through the air, and his bones were crushed.
“……Please don’t think poorly of me!” the enormous figure’s gravelly voice pleaded as she followed through with her right fist. Underneath the flour sack, round, deep-set eyes stared at Kyousuke.
“Bob… Y-you…?!” Kyousuke opened his eyes wide in surprise. Mohawk, still unconscious and acting as a human shield, had caught the third impact of Bob’s manly fist, and was foaming at the mouth.
Murder Princess and the Summer Death Camp Page 5
