The Game We Must Play
Ares
Title: They Bullied Her With a Game
What kind of game was it?
What could have made Sera suffer so much?
The three girls who tormented Sera and drove her to death.
I’d felt like even making them suffer wasn’t enough. The answer was the game.
A game.
Yeah. A game.
We have to play a game.
“Hey. Follow me to the rooftop.”
“Huh? R-right now…?”
“All three of you. If you don’t come, should we meet in the dorm at night instead?”
“N-no…! I’ll go….”
After classes ended, I caught the three girls just as they were about to leave school. They’d clearly expected me and were hurrying out.
How pathetic.
— I never let Sera go…
They tormented her until the very end.
And now they’re trying to run?
“……”
“……”
“……”
Creaaak.
Click.
I led them up to the rooftop and locked the door behind us. Then I lined the three girls up against the wall.
“You two.”
“H-huh?”
“Eek….”
“Give me a strand of hair each.”
I took a strand from the wavy-haired girl and the ponytail girl first.
‘Will it work on all of them at once?’
At lunch I’d only wrapped the short-haired girl’s hair around the puppet doll. What if I wrapped all three?
I decided to test it.
Then—
Fssst.
‘As expected, it doesn’t work.’
When I wrapped the ponytail girl’s hair around the doll, the short-haired girl’s strand crumbled and vanished.
The effect only works on one person at a time. Wrapping someone else’s hair removes the previous curse.
It’s a hassle, but I’ll have to swap the hair each time.
Let’s start with the ponytail girl.
“You were already trying to leave earlier, weren’t you?”
“…S-sorry. I didn’t know you’d call us.”
When I stepped closer and looked down at her, the ponytail girl flinched and lowered her head.
“Don’t lie.”
“Hiiik…!”
I clenched my fist.
Lies deserve punishment.
The ponytail girl saw my fist and threw her hands up to shield her face.
Did she think I’d hit her?
Sorry, but I won’t.
‘If I actually hit her, it’ll break too fast.’
Like NightRat said, I should avoid direct violence if possible. Even with the puppet doll, a bad hit could cause internal damage and transfer the pain to me.
So instead—
Swish.
“Eek….”
I pressed my fist against her lower stomach.
And pushed.
“U-ugh…! Hnn…!”
I applied steady pressure.
“Wait…! Don’t…! Ah!”
The ponytail girl started drooling, her face flushing red as she grabbed my arm in panic.
But I wasn’t letting go.
Slowly, gradually, I increased the pressure, twisting my fist to stimulate deeper.
“Ahh…!”
Her eyes flew wide open, her body trembling, and she dropped her head.
“I hate lies.”
“S-stop…! Ah…! Please…!”
“So answer honestly. You guys made Sera play a game, right?”
I asked while glancing at the other two.
The two girls, who’d been watching the ponytail girl with flushed faces, suddenly looked terrified.
“A game…?”
“Why…?”
“……”
It wasn’t simple confusion. They looked genuinely afraid.
I pressed harder on the ponytail girl’s stomach and asked them again.
“You made her play the game, didn’t you?”
“Ugh, aaah…! Stop…!”
I grabbed the ponytail girl’s hands as she tried to collapse and forced her to stay upright. Then I slid my hand under her shirt, unhooked her bra, and squeezed.
“Hiiiiiiik—!!”
She bit her lip hard, her body jerking.
“Not gonna answer?”
“I-it’s….”
“……”
The other two were terrified.
But not of me.
They were terrified of talking about the game.
So I’ll give them a bigger fear.
“You can’t talk because it’s your friend suffering, is that it?”
“That’s not—!”
“Then let’s try you next.”
I released the ponytail girl. She slid to the floor, trembling violently.
I walked over to the short-haired girl, plucked a strand of her hair, and wrapped it around the puppet doll.
“Wait…!”
I grabbed her arm as tears welled in her eyes and lifted it.
“I’m sorry…! I’m sorry! Please don’t—!”
“……”
Just like with the ponytail girl, I pressed my fist into her stomach.
Hard.
“Uuuuugh…!”
Her face turned bright red as she trembled—
Shhhhhhh….
“……”
“…Eek, ah, no, ah.”
Her body shook as liquid streamed down her legs.
“Hic, ugh, I-I was holding it in….”
“……”
She couldn’t endure the pressure and wet herself.
But that didn’t matter to me.
I looked at the wavy-haired girl while continuing to press on the short-haired girl’s stomach.
“Aaah…! Stop…!”
“You’re next. Keep waiting. I’ll make it even worse for you.”
The wavy-haired girl’s face went deathly pale.
“W-we don’t have it! We really don’t! I swear!”
“What…?”
“The people who used to play the game have it! We don’t have it anymore!”
“……”
They don’t have it…?
Ares
Title: This Is Annoying
I thought those bitches would have it, but they don’t.
The victims are the ones holding onto it.
Sera’s dead, so the other one must be that Miel girl?
Maybe I should talk to Claire.
‘Getting Lana involved feels wrong somehow…’
It made sense, but I felt reluctant.
…Was I worried about Lana?
‘No, Lana’s a ghost story. If she gets dragged into this, things could go badly. Yeah, that’s the reason.’
I told myself that excuse.
Of course, every time Lana had gotten involved so far, she’d helped me more than hindered me.
Actually… during the crackdown period, she did cause me to get penalty points a few times.
Right. Lana could definitely be a hindrance too.
That’s why it felt uncomfortable to involve her.
“Maybe I should just ask Claire after all…”
— We need to get the game…
“……”
— We need to get the game…
“…Yeah. The game comes first.”
We need the game.
That’s the priority.
Lana getting involved?
It’s just a request. She won’t get dragged in.
I’m just overthinking it.
Before the sun set, I hurried toward the girls’ dormitory.
“Huh…?”
“Oh? Ah, it’s Ares.”
“……”
“What’s up? Did you come to see me?”
When I arrived at the girls’ dorm, Lana came out as if she’d been waiting.
“Where are you going…?”
“For a walk. What about you?”
“……I have something to ask you.”
“Huh? Really? You actually came to see me?”
“……”
When I told her the truth, Lana’s cheeks flushed slightly as she smiled and stepped closer.
She tilted her head and asked softly.
“Why would you have business with me~? …Is it something naughty?”
“No. I just came to ask a favor.”
“What favor?”
“……”
I hesitated for a moment.
Facing Lana directly made me feel reluctant to drag her into this again.
— We need to get the game…
Of course, worrying about a ghost story was a luxury. That unease vanished quickly.
“A game? From that Miel girl?”
“Yeah. Can you do it?”
“Hmm~, should I? Should I do it?”
“…Stop joking around.”
“But she’s holed up in there. It sounds like a pain.”
Lana, who usually granted my requests without much thought, was being unusually difficult today.
She looked at me like she wanted something.
“Hey, Ares. If I bring the game from Miel, will you do me a favor too?”
“……What is it?”
As expected, Lana started making a demand.
I asked warily.
Lana glanced around, then leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“Let’s watch a movie… just the two of us. …In your room.”
“……Huh?”
Her soft voice made my heart skip a beat.
Then I processed what she’d actually asked.
A movie. Just the two of us. …My room?
“……”
“……Is that okay?”
Watching a movie together in my room.
For some reason, the familiar scenario made me recall what happened recently.
Watching a movie with Claire in the cathedral.
‘That… with Lana…?’
The moment the thought reached that point, my body stiffened.
In that gap, Lana had already gone back into the dorm on her own.
“Then it’s a promise, right?”
“Wait?! H-hold on…!”
Before I could stop her, Lana disappeared up the stairs.
“……”
If Lana safely brings the game… then watching a movie in my room with Lana…
Can I choose the movie?
If so, what should I pick…?
— We need revenge…
Maybe the same one I watched with Claire…
No no, will I even be able to hold out? Won’t she try to seduce me hard?
Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad…!
— We need the game…
Yeah. If I don’t want to, I can just not do it.
Even when we spent the night stuck in the cabinet, we didn’t cross the line.
Watching a lewd movie together shouldn’t be a problem.
— The game……
…But what if she asks to kiss?
We’ll be alone in the room… Can I refuse?
No, kissing should be fine…
— The game………
“Ares!”
“Huh?!”
At that moment—
Lana came running down from the dorm holding something.
“Ta-da~, hehe. Guess what this is~?”
“……”
“You’ll keep your promise, right?”
“…That was fast?”
“Yeah? Ah, she just opened the door right away.”
“……”
Lana held out the folded board game to me with a bright smile.
Her eyes seemed to say, ‘You’ll keep your promise, won’t you?’
Meeting that gaze, I nervously accepted the game.
“What kind of game is this?”
“Who knows….”
“If we end up playing it later, you’ll let me join too, right?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Okay, then we’ll talk about it then. See you tomorrow.”
After that, Lana smiled in satisfaction and went back up to the dorm.
“……”
I got the game.
But…
I also made what felt like an even more important promise.
— We need revenge…
— Let’s make them play the game…
— Make those bastards suffer the same…
No no, that’s not what’s important right now.
— The game……
A lewd movie with Lana?
…Would two in a row be okay?
It’s the weekend, so there’s plenty of time. Maybe it’s fine…
I was starting to feel really excited.
Let’s wrap this up quickly and pick a movie first.
Something lewd but full of romance.
“Ah, right… Before that, I should post the game on the gallery…”
On my way back to the dorm, I remembered NightRat’s advice.
Post the game on the gallery once I got it.
If I shared information with the gallery members, they might catch things I missed.
“Hmm… A board game…? Feels like Monopoly or something…”
I unfolded the board slightly and took a photo.
Inside were dice, cards, game pieces, and a rulebook.
“Let’s see…”
I opened the gallery.
Then—
“……Huh?”
Ugh, Bored, so bored
There was a post NightRat had uploaded just a moment ago.
‘What’s with this guy posting random stuff…’
NightRat was usually just a commenter.
When he did post, it was mostly long opinions about incidents that happened to me.
So that random-looking post caught my eye.
“Man… NightRat has this side to him too…”
He always seemed so calm and wise…
I never thought he’d get so bored he’d start splitting personalities.
“Huh…? But… there are two NightRats…”
For a moment, something felt like it was about to click.
— The game
— We need to make them play the game…
“……Something useless like that isn’t important right now. The game comes first.”
I quickly snapped back to focus.
I’d already wasted too much time.
Quickly.
I need to make those girls feel the same pain poor Sera went through.
After that, I uploaded photos of the game and the rules to the gallery.
Fortunately, no one mentioned any particular problems.
The plan had no issues.
The next day.
I headed to school carrying the master key, the puppet doll, and the board game I’d prepared yesterday.
“Huh…?”
But I witnessed a strange sight.
“What are those three doing together…?”
On the way to school, I saw three people walking ahead.
Lana, Ellie, and Claire.
Lana was smiling and talking to the other two, who were listening intently.
‘Did they get closer…?’
Usually, when they were together, the atmosphere was so tense it gave me chills.
But today, the three of them were chatting amicably.
‘If they’ve gotten closer, that’s a good thing.’
It wasn’t a bad thing.
If I butted in for no reason, I might ruin the relationship they’d just improved.
So I quietly followed behind them.
What mattered to me right now wasn’t those three, but the other three girls.
— Make them suffer…
The game.
I need to make those three play the game.
— Make them suffer so much they want to die…
Just like they did to Sera.