So, I was all fired up thinking “things are getting interesting,” but the real question is what to do next.
Now that all ten people’s rules were out in the open, the mood in the plaza turned cold fast, and everyone started looking at each other with suspicion.
Especially because of that rule about “the last one standing gets to go home,” everybody was eyeing each other with sharp looks, trying to figure out how to get one over on everyone else.
”The hell are you waitin’ for? Let’s figure out who’s headin’ down which Route,” Gouda demanded, acting like the leader as he kicked things off with an intimidating tone.
”Wait! I never said I was joining this Game! In a crazy situation like this, following instructions written on some mysterious device is insane!”
Surprisingly, it was the gentle-looking Kishi-san who spoke up with an outright objection.
”That’s right! I’m against it too!” Auntie Ando1 chimed in hysterically, like a goldfish following along.
It seemed these two were reluctant to join the Game.
”So what the hell are you gonna do? Sittin’ on your ass ain’t gonna solve a damn thing,” Gouda snorted with a sneer.
This guy, he seems to be enjoying this crazy situation somehow. He kept leering at the women, licking his lips with a grin—he’s definitely thinking something bad.
”That’s… we wait here until the police or rescue teams come! It’s already been a whole day since we disappeared. The police must have launched a big search party by now!”
”That’s right! Waiting here until the police come is the safest thing to do!”
Kishi-san and Auntie Ando were stubbornly running away from reality.
…Let me be clear: even if you wait here your whole life, the police aren’t coming. This is a stage for a Game made by God, so I snarked internally.
”Tch… give it a rest, you old hags!! We don’t even have phones, how the hell are the police gonna find us on this huge rocky mountain, huh!? Then you two can just stay here and dry up and die! But don’t you dare touch a single thing we get from here on out!”
Even though he was exploding with frustration, what Tajima was saying was actually pretty reasonable. He’s an annoying pest, but I’ll give him a little credit for seeing the situation clearly.
”That’s…” Kishi-san started, left completely speechless as he was confronted with reality.
”W-what did you say!? That’s not fair! I want my share of the supplies too! That’s just unfair!” Auntie Ando just kept screaming hysterically, demanding only her rights.
I mean, demanding a share of supplies without taking on any of the risk is beyond unfair…
”I’m joining this Game. Staying here will only make things worse. Even if we wait for the police, if we run out of water and food, we’ll die of weakness in a few days,” Zaizen, the guy in the suit who’d been silent until now, said in a calm voice.
At that point, both Kishi-san and Auntie Ando had nothing to say and went quiet.
”You’re right… I also think we need to move forward to break this situation. So here’s my suggestion…… How about everyone who goes to each Route brings back the supplies from the first Checkpoint, and we all share them equally here?”
”Oh, absolutely! I am entirely in favor of Yuji’s splendid proposal,” Asuka gushed.
”Me too… if Yuji-kun says so, I think that’s the best way,” Akiyama-san added softly.
As expected from Yuji-kun, the tall handsome guy. Positive and cooperative, a great playstyle. The idea of pooling supplies and sharing with everyone is super reasonable for raising everyone’s survival chances, and the blonde gyaru3 Asuka-san and his childhood friend Akiyama-san jumped right on his refreshing leadership.
”F-fine! If you put it that way, I’ll join temporarily until the police come!”
”…I’ll join too. You’re right, just sitting here waiting for rescue does seem tough…”
Yuji-kun’s suggestion broke the ice, and Auntie Ando and Kishi-san joined in, going with the flow.
”Well? What about you two? As your teacher, I strongly advise you get your act together and join.” With a smirking, sleazy face, Gouda asked us while leering at Yuna’s chest.
Who’s your student, you muscle-brained gorilla. So annoying… Well, I guess he talks like that because only me and Yuna are wearing school uniforms here.
”Naturally, we shall participate.”
”Ah, me too.”
With a beautiful voice like ringing bells, Yuna answered immediately with a firm attitude. As expected from my proud Partner, I nodded along right after her. I mean, honestly, I’m the most into this Game and the most motivated out of anyone here–so deal with it!
…Well, if I said that out loud, Yuna would get mad, so I’ll keep quiet. She did tell me “talking makes things complicated, so stay quiet”–what a shame.
”Alright, listen up! Let’s settle who’s headin’ down which Route!” Gouda, thinking he’s completely in charge, loudly got things back on track.
”How are we going to divide it up?” Kishi-san asked, looking confused.
Yuji-kun immediately threw her a lifeline. “How about we ask for Route preferences one at a time and have people raise their hands? If there’s too many for one or it’s uneven, we can settle it with rock-paper-scissors or discussion. That seems fair.”
”No objections,” Zaizen agreed flatly.
”That’s reasonable,” Tajima spat out in response.
The other Players didn’t seem to object either. Since violence at the Starting Point is banned by the rules, settling things by force wouldn’t work anyway.
”Alright, first up is the big one—the Food Route! Anyone lookin’ to take Food, raise your hand!”
Yuji-kun went to all the trouble of suggesting this and you’re the one running it, Gouda!? How much of an attention hog are you?
The ones who raised their hands for the Food Route were Zaizen, Auntie Ando, and Kishi-san. Three people. In a survival situation, securing food should be the top priority, but fewer hands went up than I expected. Well, I guess it’s fine since we’ll share later, since me and Yuna don’t need it anyway…
”Alright, next up’s the Self-Defense Weapons Route. Raise ’em! …Heh, looks like just me and Tajima.”
The ones who chose the Weapons Route were Gouda and Tajima. Two people, the dangerous duo that the women hate and are wary of. It’s obvious what they plan to do with weapons–seriously nothing good. Best to stay away from them.
”Third! The Survival Tools Route! Get those hands up!”
The ones who raised their hands here were Yuji-kun, Akiyama-san, and the gyaru Asuka-san. Three people. This group alone looks like they’re about to start a rom-com4. I mean, Akiyama-san and Asuka-san were clearly watching for when Yuji-kun would raise his hand and jumped in at the same time.
”Tch… still chasing skirts even in a situation like this? You think you’ll survive like that~?” Tajima spat out in disgust, then made a crude and nasty sexual gesture—making a ring with one hand and poking his index finger in and out of it—to provoke them.
This guy is completely missing any sense of decency. His intelligence level must be equal to or lower than a Goblin’s.
”Ahem! Well, last up is the Information Route, but… you two are the only ones left. It’s probably a garbage Route with zero supplies, so you sure about this? Your teacher’s real worried about you… especially you, Shikijo… hehe.”
The only thing you’re worried about is Yuna’s body. Even now he’s shamelessly staring at Yuna’s chest and legs. He’s underestimating us and treating us like fools just because we’re high schoolers, this damn gorilla.
…Should I erase him right here and now, without a trace? Don’t think you can leer at my woman and walk away for free. From deep in my chest, murderous intent and anger came boiling up fast.
”-Compose yourself, Manato. Have you forgotten the rules?” Yuna, sensing my rage, gently squeezed my hand to soothe me.
”Gouda-san. We are entirely satisfied with the Information Route. Furthermore… your unwarranted concern is quite unnecessary.” Yuna pierced Gouda with a cold, icy stare.
”…My bad, Yuna,” I muttered softly. I almost killed that damn gorilla right here. If Yuna hadn’t stopped me, I definitely would’ve snapped his neck.
”Tch… every single one of them is chasing skirts, it’s sickening.” Tajima furrowed his brow in pure irritation and spat on the ground.
And so, the ten Players, each hiding their own motives, split off into the four Routes. The agreement was: “Once you reach the first Checkpoint, come back here once and we’ll split the supplies equally among everyone.” This was to eliminate unfairness between Routes and raise everyone’s survival rate.
Of course… Gouda, Tajima, and a few others were openly dissatisfied. Those guys definitely have no intention of sharing supplies anyway. When it’s time to pool supplies, I’ll just make private deals with Yuji-kun’s group, who seem likeable.
As God Boy was showing us the navigation to the next Checkpoint, the moment we passed through the circular frame set up at the green Route entrance we’d gone through earlier, God Boy’s screen updated automatically. Apparently the first Checkpoint is 5 kilometers ahead from this Starting Point. The usual lack of explanation was, as always, something I gave up on.
A few dozen minutes had passed since we split from the other groups at the Starting Point. Under the blazing heat, surrounded by reddish-brown rock as far as the eye could see, the only ones around were me and Yuna. And… as expected, or rather unfortunately, no monsters seem to appear in this field. I was kinda hoping for a chance to test my Skills–tch, what a letdown.
”…Phew. At long last, we are finally alone, Manato.” Yuna, who’d been walking ahead, stopped and turned around, letting out a sigh of relief.
”Yeah, finally! Now that the annoying bunch is gone, it really feels like the third Game is starting for real!”
”I suppose…” she replied, but Yuna’s expression was somehow clouded, her face looking gloomy.
”What’s wrong, Yuna? You look so down… did something bad happen? Or are you getting heatstroke from this heat?”
”…No, it is not heatstroke.” Yuna shook her head, dropped her gaze a little, and quietly spoke.
”Yesterday, when we were separated… it impressed upon me once more just how indispensable you truly are to my life. To be truthful… I felt so frightened and lonely that I scarcely slept a wink.”
When we met up again in the morning, Akiyama-san was with us, so I guess she was putting on a brave face. But the girl standing in front of me now had thrown off all that pretending and let me—and only me—see her weakness. She was my darling young lady.
I walked over without a word and pulled Yuna’s slim body into a tight hug, her warmth coming through her school uniform, and even the faint, slightly salty smell of her sweat felt precious to me right then. Yuna wrapped her arms around my back too and clung to me tight.
”It’s okay, Yuna. No matter what happens, I’ll always be right by your side. And even if we get separated again, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and find you—I promise!” I stroked her head as she showed me a weakness she never lets anyone else see, and I said it with everything I had. Right now, the love filling my chest is worth more than anything in the world.
”…Thank you, Manato. Forgive me for relying on you so constantly.”
”No, no! You should lean on me and spoil yourself with me even more! You’re my proud fiancée, after all!”
”Hehe, I suppose that is true. …There, I have composed myself now. Please release me—we are both rather sweaty…”
”Whaaat!? Come on, Yuna-san5! This is the part where the flow of things leads to a hot kiss and she says ‘Manato, I love you…’! It’s supposed to be a romantic scene!”
When I complained as Yuna tried to pull away from the hug, she gave a tired little smile and looped both arms around my neck. “My goodness… You truly are a hopeless husband. …I love you, Manato. …Mmph… mwah…”
Our lips met as a sweet, deep, melting kiss shared in the middle of those burning hot rocky mountains unfolded. No matter how many times we do it, it’s the greatest moment.
”Phew… Mm, are you satisfied now?” She pulled her lips away with a little smack, and in an instant her face turned serious. She fired off her next question fast. “Now then… how much have you deduced regarding this Game, Manato?”
She switches gears way too fast! I want to bask in the afterglow and be all lovey-dovey more! But I guess we can’t afford that right now, so I switch gears too.
”How much, you ask… Other than what’s written in the God Boy rules, I’ve got no clue!”
”I see… Allow me to share what I discerned from the rules earlier.”
”Yeah, please do!”
”First, regarding the clear conditions for this Game.”
Clear conditions…… That means finding the four secret treasures. The God Boy rules said there’s a secret treasure at the fifth Checkpoint of each Route.
”As you likely realize, Manato, one cannot clear the Game without gathering all four treasures. My deduction is that a single treasure resides in each of the four Routes. Otherwise, Rule ⑩6—’After clearing the Game, survivors move on to the next Game’—would hardly make sense, as it presumes multiple survivors.”
Rule ⑩: “After clearing the Game, survivors move on to the next Game”……. She’s right—if all the treasures were in one Route and only one person could clear it, they wouldn’t use the word “survivors.”
”Therefore, we shall inevitably be forced to either cooperate with other groups to combine the treasures or contend with them.”
”Yeah. It’d be great if we could cooperate, but…” The reason Yuna’s brow furrowed with worry was obvious—it was guys like Gouda and Tajima, the dangerous ones with zero ability to cooperate.
”Another vital point is that this Game specifies no time limit in days, unlike our previous Partner Game. In other words, we cannot depart this realm until we satisfy the conditions and clear it.”
”Ah… now that you mention it, there really was no time limit listed. So players without food and water are basically doomed the longer this drags on. Hey, Yuna. Something crossed my mind… We picked a Route at the start, right? Can we switch to a different Route from a Checkpoint along the way? If that’s possible, we could just tour all four Routes ourselves, grab the treasures, and be done with it.”
”Who can say… Were it possible, that would indeed be the most reliable and direct path, yet at present it poses far too great a risk. Until new rules or information present themselves at the first Checkpoint, it would be far wiser to refrain from changing Routes.”
”Well, that’s the safe play. Looks like the Route choice is registered in God Boy too.” When I opened the God Boy screen, it said [Info (Green) Route: Kageyama].
”Still… the heat is dreadfully intense. I do hope the other players have not collapsed under such conditions…” As Yuna wiped her sweat and gazed into the distance, I felt a little surprised and spoke up.
”That’s rare, Yuna—you worrying about other people.”
”How terribly rude. I am certainly not devoid of empathy. Besides… owing to your ability, Manato, we possess an unlimited supply of food and water, do we not? Naturally, I feel somewhat guilty regarding those suffering from hunger and thirst.”
”…Yeah. But even so, if we revealed the ability and handed out food everywhere, we’d get swarmed by freeloaders like parasites, and it could hold us back in clearing the Game. So even if we help, doing it only when someone’s truly in danger is enough. I do want Yuji-kun’s group to survive too.”
We’d talked a bit before we set out, and Yuji-kun was a sensible guy you could actually reason with. More than anything, the big thing was that he never once looked at Yuna that way.
”Indeed. I harbor concern for Akiyama-san’s survival tools group as well. If we are to form an alliance with anyone, those three are surely the most trustworthy.”
”Yeah! Put it the other way, and every other group is out. We’ll keep contact with the food group and the weapon group to a bare minimum.”
”Agreed. You are quite right, Manato. Entangling ourselves with those two groups would be exceedingly dangerous,” Yuna affirmed, and I nodded in full agreement.
And so, the two of us kept walking through the vast, scorching “sea of rocky mountains,” putting together a solid strategy to clear the Game.
Trivia:
- Gouda calling himself “teacher” to Manato and Yuna is a power play – he’s weaponizing the only detail he knows about them, their school uniforms, to act like he has authority over them.
- The agreement to share supplies equally is built on an assumption that everyone will actually honor it, but Manato already plans to cut private deals with Yuji’s group, showing he never trusted the group rule in the first place.
- The Information Route being called a “loser Route” with no supplies sets up a contrast – Manato and Yuna are the only ones who chose it, yet Manato says he is the most motivated player in the Game, hinting information may be the real prize.
- Yuna’s instant shift from affectionate to analytical right after the kiss shows how deeply the Game’s stakes weigh on her, even when she lets herself be vulnerable.
- Manato’s comment about Yuji never looking at Yuna “that way” reveals a quiet jealousy and protective instinct that colors his trust in potential allies.
- The absence of a time limit in this Game is a deliberate contrast to the Partner Game, hinting that survival pressure here comes from resources and rival players rather than a countdown.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ Japanese term for “auntie” or “middle-aged woman,” often used informally or rudely when referring to an older woman one does not know well. Here it is attached to Ando’s name as a nickname the narrator uses, carrying a dismissive tone.
2 ↩ Japanese slang for “bed-wetting,” used here as a mocking nickname aimed at Yuna, implying she is childish or sexually inexperienced. The insult only works in Japanese, where it sounds like a childish taunt.
3 ↩ Japanese subculture of fashion-forward young women known for dyed hair, flashy makeup, and trendy speech. Not just “blonde girl” – it signals a specific fashion and social identity that Asuka embodies.
4 ↩ Short for “romantic comedy,” a genre where characters bicker and fall in love. Manato uses it to mock Yuji’s group for acting like they are in a lighthearted teen drama during a death game.
5 ↩ Manato adds -san to Yuna’s name here for comedic mock-formality when complaining about the ruined romantic moment, whereas he normally calls her simply Yuna. The sudden politeness highlights his exaggerated sulking.
6 ↩ The circled number ⑩ is used in the God Boy rules to reference specific numbered rules. The circled format is preserved from the source to match the in-world rulebook’s notation style.