Editing No Game No Life:Volume 5 Bagian 4 (section)

===Part 7===

At the same time - within the main hall of capital Elkia.

Relying on the building capabilities of the Eastern Federation, Sora and Shiro’s castle was finally complete - which was a small wooden house.

Within the tatami-covered room that Sora and Shiro requested for, were countless games and books scattered everywhere.

On top of it, the siblings were sleeping silently on a mattress within that tiny space.

- At this time a shadow silently approached them.

But that shadow -

“- Hey, Plum, is there something you need at this time?”

“...Disturbing...sleep...”

Their voices sounded as if they were holding back laughter, and Sora and Shiro stared into space, giving up on their act.

“...A-ahaha, s-sorry...um...that...”

How did a normal Imanity manage to see through an invisibility spell of a Dhampir?

Plum dispelled her magic and smiled sheepishly, then bowed to apologize -

“Are you here to reveal to us your true identity?”

As Sora said this - Plum’s smile froze.

Sora and Shiro ignored her reaction, then sat up straight - their smiles were just like that of little kids that had succeeded in pulling off a humongous prank.

“I don’t usually compliment others but I really want to show my utmost respect towards you, your strategy really was pretty amazing, to think you would actually -"

Sora complimented her sincerely, but -

“You actually managed to deceive us to the very end without lying at all, Plum - no...”

Sora’s mouth curled up in a small smile, and he looked at the female Dhampir - no...

“The final male Dhampir - Plum-san, I should be calling you that right?”

- He looked at the young boy.

- ...A sigh was heard.

The beautiful, bishoujo-like boy sat down cross-legged as his identity was revealed, and sighed.

His expression was that of disappointment - but hidden in his eyes were a piercing knowledge sharper than any sword.

“...Ugh...did I mess up somewhere? When did you find out?”

- Ah, so he sounds like that, huh, Sora thought as he replied.

“From the very start - well that’s what I want to say but...”

Sora glanced at Shiro.

“I don’t really want to admit this, but Shiro was the one who noticed it, even before the time we went to the beach.”

“...V...”

Shiro raised a victory sign, appearing very proud of herself.

And Sora seemed rather unhappy at her, so he cupped his cheeks and complained.

“Because of that, I nearly sexually harassed a guy, and let you lick my sister’s feet, I messed up that badly...dammit, I should have realized earlier...(mumbling)”

“Ahaha...thanks a lot for that, I was dying anyway...”

Sora choked slightly, as he saw the bishounen say that without a single hint of remorse.

“- So, let’s continue the questioning regarding that night at the beach - shall we?”

“...~~...「Plum」...”

As she finished her sentence, Shiro immediately continued to recite out that memory just like a tape recorder.

- 「Please let the Empress fall in love with you! I prepared a strategy for that as well!」

Yes, that was the initial request that Plum had raised the first time he encountered Sora and others - but...

“I felt that there was something wrong about that, because you didn’t say: please awaken her. From the very start all you said was - you prepared strategies for her to fall in love...”

So -

“We prepared 「Two」 tests for you with Miko-san’s help.”

“...~~...「Nii」...”

- 「I know about your sure-win plan, but why didn’t you guys just do it yourselves?」

And in contrast, Shiro continued.

“...~~...「Plum」...”

- 「The final male of the Dhampirs is still young.」

- 「We need to at least a male with reproductive abilities.」

“First, we emphasized that it was a plan definite to succeed, but you never said it was so at all.”

“...”

“Which meant - you knew from the very beginning that even if we manage to get her to fall in love we can’t win right?”

Plum merely smiled bitterly, while Sora continued:

“Now for the second point...I asked why 「You guys」 didn’t do it.”

Sora indicated that “this is the part I’m pissed about”, and he continued with his brow furrowed:

“I was talking about you guys! But you didn’t mention yourself as well, instead you only said that it could only be a male, then talked about a young male from an unclear perspective -”

He couldn’t lie before a Werebeast, so he could only make the perspective unclear.

“- So it would be referring to you who has no reproductive ability right?”

No doubt, the person who realized that was Shiro, so -

“Do you remember the time I saw Shiro’s phone and it said 「Like that even if it’s not Nii it’s OK」?”

“...Yes...but is there a problem with that?”

The young boy didn’t seem to understand, so Sora smiled and continued:

“Actually all that we had said earlier was already recorded by Shiro.”

“...!...”

“I intentionally recited differently from what was displayed on the phone - which was lying to send a signal to Miko-san.”

Yes, Plum - the final male Dhampir - 「Intentionally avoided making a statement」

Every time he was faced with a disadvantageous question, such as 「Is it A or B?」, he would always reply 「It’s not B」, which would not count as a lie because it didn’t mean 「Thus it is A」.

So since he was not lying yet telling the half-truth all the time, even the Werebeasts wouldn’t be able to figure out such complex wordplay.

“But, that instead made things even more interesting.”

“Let’s arrange everything.” Sora clapped and began pacing around the room, then continued cheerfully:

“You wanted to free the Dhampirs, that was the truth, and the fact that your magic could make people fall in love was true as well, but you knew it wouldn’t be sufficient to awaken the Empress. That means you were using us to free the Dhampirs despite all that - hmm, you thought really highly of us, thanks for that.”

Sora smiled, and Shiro smiled as well and replied:

“...~~...「Plum」...”

-「P-please wait! I can only rely on Sora-dono and the rest of you now!」

“Yes, that was true, we were the only ones you could rely on.”

Which means, the people that Plum’s plan required were - which again meant...

The people that could find out the 「Conditions to awaken the Empress」 that even Plum could not.

The people that would acquire all the rights of the Seirenes after awakening the Empress.

If they were to fail, they could also be sent to the Seirenes as 「Food」 by Plum.

- Which left the only race that even the Seirenes could look down upon - the lowest-ranked race, the Imanity.

Additionally there was Jibril - or furthermore, Avant Heim had only Sora and the others as companions.

But Sora had Izuna, or to put it further, Miko - the problem was the presence of the Eastern Federation.

Before the senses of the Werebeasts, any lies would be immediately detected - thus...

“You could only perfectly deceive us without using any lies at all, then commanding us to act according to your will.”

“...”

Sora clapped sincerely.

“Ah, the fact that you thought so highly of us and trusted that we could do so much makes me feel really good, honestly. To be honest the fact that we couldn’t rely on a fixed tactic to conquer Avant Heim forced us to charge in without any plan.”

“...Yeah, about that -”

He then scratched his cheeks, that poor-looking young boy - who was actually a master strategist smiled.

“If not, that sort of game - how could I possibly help?”

He smiled boldly as if to declare: But of course! 

Faced with the final male of the Dhampir who could say that so easily - Sora smiled.

For the sake of his plan, he was willing to put himself on the line.

What a perfect 「Gamer」, Sora could only speak his mind.

“But, even though we were able to see through you this far, we were still played a fool by your strategies - no, we could only act that way, and even though I’m still not too happy about it, I can only commend your efforts - guess we’ll call it a 「Draw」?”

“...Plum, well done...”

Sora then sat down cross-legged, but Sora and Shiro’s faces were all smiles.

- On the other hand...

“Ahaha, you’re wrong - this 「Game」’s only winner is me!”

As he said this, his expression was still pitiful, but he glanced at them condescendingly.

- It was just like - yes, it was like he had his eyes set on a huge feast and was prepared to tuck in, Plum smiled in a twisted fashion.

“...What?”

- Sora felt his life was threatened so he went on full alert at this sudden change.

I see, so my plans were uncovered, but - that’s not enough, and Plum continued mockingly:

“The Queen bet 「Everything she had」! Have you not realized?”

“- What!?”

As he heard this - Sora’s face twisted, and he backed away.

Has he finally realized? The cold smile on Plum’s face widened even more, and he continued:

“Yes...not only her 「Power」, but even her 「Responsibilities」 were transferred onto you guys.”

“- Ah - w, wait a second...that means - !!”

Sora finally understood the situation, and he hurriedly shielded Shiro with his own body, and cried out with eyes bulging in fear.

Since he had 「Everything」 that belonged to the representative of the Seirenes - it didn’t just mean power ...

Responsibilities - which means the responsibility to supply the Dhampirs blood - !

Plum - the bishounen with a pair of sharp, even seductive eyes.

That pitiful appearance of his was gone, and now - he was living up to the name of a vampire - a 「King」- the final male of the Dhampirs bared his fangs in an evil smile befitting of a race representative.

“So, no matter how things develop, only the Dhampirs (I) benefit - understand? You inferior species.”

“- ! W-wait, that’s - !!”

[[File:NGNL5 350.jpg|thumb]]

Sora was so shocked he turned pale, and he cried as though pleading for his life.

Instead Plum spread his blood-red wings, then smiled in a beastly manner with his glittering, seductive fangs opened wide.

- As a courtesy before a meal, he spoke softly:

“Thank you for the food - ♪”

Then, he charged straight at the terrified Sora’s neck, and bit -

...

- He couldn’t bite.

“...Huh? Um , what? Er, what’s going on!?”

...His king-like composure disappeared in an instant, and the King of the Night - turned back into Plum.

“...Nii...your acting was rather exaggerated...”

“Huh? Nah, I should be acting more outrageously here, right?”

- His terrified expression had completely disappeared somewhere along the way.

The two smiled thinly as they looked at the flustered Plum.

“Plum, you’re quite something, and that’s something I don’t mind repeating. To think that you could conjure up such an amazing strategy, but you didn’t consider - if we actually awoke the Empress, how were you going to free the Dhampirs?”

“- !?”

“Just like how you thought so highly of us, we - think highly of you as well.”

In an about-turn of expressions, Sora glanced at him sincerely - yet that gaze carried the challenging arrogance of a gamer.

“That’s why I said, this 「Game」- is a draw.”

As he heard this - Plum opened his eyes wide in surprise for the very first time.

But Sora merely spread his arms cheerfully, smiled and continued:

“You’re really good, I mean it. You actually set a trap that would activate automatically if we were to win - a time bomb - this is the first time I’ve been set up so beautifully in my entire career as a gamer!!”

- Once again - Shiro recited accurately:

“~~...「Nii」...”

- 「The Empress bet - 「Everything she had」...am I correct?」

“You merely looked down without saying anything - not a word of confirmation nor denial, so we were able to confirm everything including the presence of the trap.”

Sora said, but as he heard the next sentence...

Plum actually felt sweat dripping from his cheeks, and he felt shock - no, pure horror.

“- So! Let’s reveal the time bomb we set on you as well.”

“...~~...「Plum」...”

-「I heard that Sora-dono and the others are planning to conquer all the races.」

Sitting on Sora’s lap, Shiro happily recreated that sentence, that was one of the very first things Plum had said to Sora -

“I’m sorry, you 「Messed up」 there, we never planned to get anyone’s piece.”

“-----Huh?”

“So, when you weren’t around - I told the Empress.”

Sora narrowed his eyes and smiled as if he was reciting a humorous joke to a friend:

Which was -

“Aside from the responsibilities held in helping us, we return everything, your Race Piece included.”

But Sora then continued weakly: “She said 「My beloved husband, please don’t return the right for you to continue bullying me!」” So that was the only thing she refused.

...Plum collapsed weakly onto the ground and sighed.

“...What does that matter to me...if one messes up the first step in a plan, everything is lost...”

The greater a plan was, the first step would decide even more, Plum couldn’t possibly not know this.

But how could one detect a screw-up in the very first step of a plan - Plum thought.

“You only made one mistake, and it was a common mistake, but aside from that - everything was perfect.”

“...What?”

“The Dhampirs were weakened due to the 「Ten Pledges」, you realized that, and even raised measures to counter that...but despite that, you weren’t conscious enough of the weaker ones, so at the most crucial stage -”

Sora replied bitterly:

“You called us the inferior races right? ...That was the reason.”

As he heard that - Plum understood, and he sighed.

“- Ahaha...to think I still have that sense of pompous pride even after I got this far...something that shouldn’t have been there, I was wrong all along...you guys actually...”

Reverting to his usual pitiful expression, Plum looked up at the ceiling and said:

“...You guys actually intend to challenge the One True God, who would have thought of that...”

Sora and Shiro smiled in satisfaction as they heard that.

- Yes, that person - Plum, the final male of the Dhampir had noticed.

He had found the way to conquer this world (game).

“This world would be a much better place with more people like you around, and this time you were only one step short.”

“...Let’s play again next time...Plum-san...”

Next time pay more attention - the two had even gave him advice, and as he heard them say this without even the slightest bit of apprehension in their voices...

Plum - ...sighed deeply and collapsed onto the floor.

“Aaaaahhhhh, how disappointing! Everything was perfect from the start...I was wary of the Flügel and the Werebeasts, and I took close attention to you both as well, despite that I began to have a bad feeling at Avant Heim...”

- The thought that briefly flashed across his mind that the both of them were too dangerous was correct.

“...Sigh...how is this a 「Draw」, it’s just things returning to square one.”

- Yes, what had Plum’s plans changed?

The awakening of the Empress saved them from becoming extinct, but they were still the slaves of the Seirenes and had to continue coexisting with them just like before; and if the Seirenes wished to assist Sora, the Dhampirs who were in a mutualistic relationship could not disobey.

- They had perfectly used Plum’s plan against him, reversing the checkmate.

And this was still - a situation where no one actually lost anything.

“Ugh...you achieved an 「Absolute Victory」 but then said it was a draw, are you mocking me?”

Plum glared at them who had manipulated his plan as if he was throwing a tantrum.

“Let me say this first, I won’t let the Seirenes be our masters forever!”

Then he continued: so - I must say this.

“...Do not underestimate the Dhampirs!”

With the eye of the King of the Night that would petrify anyone gazing into it, he looked at Sora and Shiro -

But the two merely dismissed it and raised their thumbs together.

“Of course, how could we possibly win if we underestimate our opponents, let’s play some other time, I’m waiting for you.”

“...I had a lot of fun...Plum-san.”

- They merely replied with smiles praising each others as gamers.

Seeing that he was merely wasting energy, Plum  gave up thinking and collapsed once again.

---...

“...Speaking of which, the matter of the outcome of the game is settled right? I have a request."

Plum looked into Sora’s eyes extremely solemnly, and -

“- Sora-dono...please let me lick your sister’s feet -”

“Good, you up for Round 2 right!? Fine with me, give me your best shot, Dhampir!!”

Sora yelled at the perverted boy who had become a slave to nothing but mere drops of sweat.

“Ah, even yours is fine!”

“You don’t even care about the gender!? You cross-dress, you’re addicted to sweat and you’re bisexual in terms of feeding, you’re a humongous pervert, you know!?”

Goosebumps began surfacing on Sora’s entire body, and he unconsciously grabbed Shiro and backed away slightly.

“After having the taste of you both, the taste of Seirenes blood isn’t enough for me anymore, so please, I beg of you!”

“You just said don’t underestimate the Dhampir, but look what you’re doing kneeling in front of me without hesitation!”

“Huh? No, because I’m the one that’s licking...” <ref>TL note: The Japanese word for underestimating and licking is the same thing, which is why Plum said that</ref>

“I’m not referring to that - hmm?”

- At that point Sora appeared to recall something, and he spoke in response to Plum slowly.

“...If you’re looking for an exchange, Shiro’s out of the question, but my sweat is all yours since you’ve licked it back in Avant Heim anyway.”

“Really~!?”

“...Nii...?”

The perverted young boy looked at him with overjoyed eyes, but Shiro tilted her head in confusion.

“No, it’s just that I still don’t understand what love is at all, and Shiro and everyone else seems to understand what is, so I didn’t get a chance to play a part....s-so!”

Sora who was originally about to fall into depression violently shook his head and made a suggestion to Plum.

“How about you cast that 「Love magic」 on me, then let Shiro put her hands on my chest?”

“That’s nothing! Here, I’m all set! Let’s go!”

A complex pattern surfaced within Plum’s eyes as he prepared to cast the spell.

But Shiro appeared to be considering something, and placed her hands underneath her chin -

She appeared to have come to a decision...and she continued uneasily:

“...I understand...alright...”

“Yes, Sora-dono, since Shiro-dono has approved of it, let’s begin! So give me sweat...hehe -”

“Alright, I get it, calm down a little -”

After that, just like the time he cast it on Miko - Plum’s black wings suddenly turned blood-red.

The red spell that corroded into his arms shrouded Sora -

At the same time - after the sound of an explosion was heard, a red light began emanating around Sora.

“Phew - phew - right, n-now all that’s left is for Shiro-dono to place her hands on Sora-dono’s chest! Let’s go! And then...b-before I die of exhaustion, g-give me some bodily fluids...”

- It appeared to be a spell that drained quite a lot of energy.

But he appeared to be willing to do anything for the sake of Sora’s bodily fluids, and he hurriedly pestered Shiro.

Shiro merely placed her hands over Sora’s chest, and simply - spoke.

“...I like...Nii.”

- ...

----......

“...Nii...h-how was that...?”

Shiro asked nervously, while Sora merely tilted his head.

“...No, don’t ask me...”

Sora looked at Shiro - yep...still Shiro.

She was still unbelievably beautiful with pure-white hair and gemstone-like eyes, she was still his pride and joy, his cute little sister.

“Hey, Plum, nothing seems to have changed, what’s going on?”

Sora asked somewhat unhappily, while Plum attempted to fight off his exhaustion and replied -

“Huh? H-how is that possible - ah, ah~...so it’s like that...”

After that - he seemed to have noticed something, and he giggled:

“I see...that’s why you allowed me to use magic right? Oh~ oh~ ♪”

“...What are you talking about...I don’t get it...”

Shiro averted her gaze coldly - only Sora didn’t seem to understand what was going on, and he couldn’t keep up with the conversation.

But Plum - had a look of utter revelation on his face, as though he had just solved the greatest rule of the universe.

“I see, so that’s why the seduction of the Empress didn’t work...hmm~”

As long as he was in this world it would be impossible for him to not be affected by spirits, but Sora wasn’t affected by the Empress at all.

Plum’s magic had the effect of changing the definition of the feeling to love someone into an actual emotion, but after the magic was cast there was no effect.

Which meant -

“Shiro, what’s going on?”

[[File:NGNL5 365.jpg|thumb]]

Sora still didn’t seem to understand, but Shiro simply turned away.

“R-right, I kept my end of the deal, now g-give me sweat ♪”

“...U-um, fine, no use avoiding it.”

Sora stretched out his arm, at which Plum immediately cried out and leaped onto it.

- The magic had appeared to have been used, so he had no reason to lie, but there was no effect.

“...What does this mean? Does that mean I can’t fall in love even with magic, is that what this world is trying to tell me?”

Sora mumbled in disappointment, but Shiro didn’t reply.

“Aha ♥ that’s it! Ah it’s so delicious, I wonder why ♥”

Looking down at the noisy pervert who was busy licking the back of his hand, Sora rolled his eyes and asked:

“...Shiro...what is love?”

“...No idea...♪”

She turned away - Shiro replied softly with her face crimson red.




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