“…Hikari?”
Tama muttered in a daze.
But Yo didn’t move.
“Hikari!”
Baka watched blankly as Tama shouted.
It felt unreal. People were dying one after another. It felt unreal. It really felt unreal.
…But, towards Tama, a shadow moved.
It was a knight clad in crimson armor. His face was not visible. His helmet was a full-face type.
But it was clear that the knight was targeting Tama.
And a dagger was thrown.
That’s why Baka moved.
“Uooooooo!”
It was a fierce tackle. A tackle with the sharpness and destructive power that he had been praised for at work. Baka, like a bull or something, charged straight at the knight.
If he charged like that, the dagger would hit Baka instead of Tama. …But, when Baka ran, a wind was stirred up. The dagger, its trajectory deviated by the fierce wind pressure, did not pierce Baka, but was instead knocked down when Baka’s fist struck the center of the blade.
The knight, now flustered, instantly raised his crimson shield. In his other hand, he held a sword.
But that didn’t matter at all.
Because the Cutie Lovely Angel Construction’s specialty, Kabashima Tsuyoshi’s tackle, was the strongest tackle that destroyed everything, shields, swords, and armor!
With a dull thud, the knight was sent flying. The flying knight slammed into the wall, making a sickening crunching sound.
“Tama!”
Baka prioritized Tama over finishing off the knight.
…Tama was safe.
But Yo was…
“…Instant death, huh?”
Tsuchiya, who was kneeling on the opposite side of Tama, looking at Yo, muttered, and gently shook his head with an expression that was tinged with regret and exhaustion.
For a while after that, no one could move.
Mina seemed to be in a daze, and Tsuchiya also seemed completely exhausted.
And Tama remained motionless, next to the fallen Yo.
So Baka also remained unable to move, standing blankly. He didn’t know what to do in these situations. Baka was a Baka, so he couldn’t come up with any clever actions at all.
“…I guess I should take a look.”
The first to move was Tsuchiya.
Tsuchiya slowly stood up and went to the knight that Baka had blown away with his tackle.
…The knight had lost all of his armor, sword, and shield. Judging by the fact that the remains of the armor were burning, it might have burned away like the first spear.
And the face of the knight was…
“…Is it a statue or something?”
Although it was half-broken by Baka’s tackle… it looked like a white marble statue. And its features resembled Venus.
“This is Venus…? No, but… a statue, moved, and attacked, huh…?”
Tsuchiya tried to think about something, but then shook his head and sat back down on the spot.
“Ah, no good! I don’t understand anything anymore! Damn it, why did it turn out like this…!”
Baka felt the same way, and sat down, hanging his head. Mina was sobbing, and Tama was…
…Tama still didn’t move.
Tama was so still that he thought she might have died.
Looking at Tama, Baka’s chest started to hurt.
He wanted to cheer Tama up somehow. He strongly, strongly thought so.
…But, there was nothing Baka could do.
Looking at them, he understood. Probably, Tama and Yo were originally acquaintances… close friends, or perhaps, lovers, Baka thought.
The expression on Yo’s face when he called Tama “Tsugumi,” and the expression on Tama’s face now as she stared at the motionless Yo, were both very gentle, sad, and loving.
…Yo had died. How much suffering this must be for Tama. It was probably an immeasurable amount of pain.
Thinking about that, Baka couldn’t stand it. He wanted to do something about the impossible, and desperately thought about what he could do.
He thought, and thought, so much that he felt like his head would get a hole in it. He thought so much that his brain felt like it was melting.
Baka was a Baka, so his thoughts just spun around in circles. But his feelings were probably stronger than anyone else’s. Stronger than Tama herself, who probably hadn’t caught up with the reality yet, and stronger than Tsuchiya and Mina, who seemed to have given up.
“…I’ve decided.”
That’s why Baka stood up.
“Everyone. Let’s hurry up and do the next game.”
The hands of the watch that Baka saw were just about to reach ‘noon’. In other words, it was the start of the game.
Baka looked at Tsuchiya and Mina, who were still sitting down, and Tama… and raised his clenched fist, declaring.
“And! We’ll have the devil grant our wish! Make everyone come back to life! And if that’s not possible, make us do it again!”
It was at that moment.
Baka glowed, softly.
…Yes. Baka glowed. He glowed.
If only his butt was glowing, it would have been like a firefly. But his whole body was glowing. His whole body was emitting a soft light!
“W-what’s wrong, Kabashima-kun?”
“Huh!? What is it!? We have to be energetic at times like this!”
“Energetic!? Do you glow when you’re energetic!?”
“Glow!? What are you talking about!?”
But Baka was completely unaware that he was glowing. He couldn’t see himself. After all, Baka was straightforward, with his mood and eyes facing forward.
“…Could it be?”
At Baka’s feet, where he was softly glowing, Tama’s face suddenly changed. And, looking at her watch… she seemed to have made up her mind, and reached out her hand towards Baka.
Tama’s hand grabbed Baka’s arm. And then…
“It really is true…!”
Light returned to Tama’s eyes.
There was hope in Tama’s expression, illuminated by the softly glowing Baka.
“Kabashima-kun’s Unique Ability is the ‘Time Rewind Ability’!”
“Huh…?”
Baka himself was dumbfounded. While shining brightly, he was simply dumbfounded with understanding that he couldn’t catch up with.
“Time… Rewind…?”
“Um, what does that mean…?”
Tsuchiya and Mina were also dumbfounded, but among them, Tama looked desperately into Baka’s face, as if to ignite the flame of hope that had returned.
“Kabashima-kun! Okay? Listen! In about 30 seconds, you’re going to go back to the start of this game… or even before that, back to when you were in your individual room!”
“Eeeeeeeh!? Why!?”
“That’s your Unique Ability. Kabashima-kun’s Unique Ability is the Time Rewind Ability! Time rewinds 90 seconds after you strongly declare a ‘redo’. That’s the explanation. It’s a little different from the others, though…”
Baka, confused, became even more confused by Tama’s explanation.
‘Different from the others’? What does ‘that’s the explanation’ mean? What even is a ‘Time Rewind Ability’? What on earth.
“T-Tama-san! Please explain to us too…”
“I’m sorry, Tsuchiya-san. It doesn’t look like we have time to explain.”
Furthermore, Tsuchiya didn’t seem to be following the conversation, but Tama seemed to have decided to ignore Tsuchiya. Tsuchiya was dumbfounded, but Tama continued to stare at Baka.
“Okay? Kabashima-kun. When the game starts, immediately… as quickly as possible, leave your individual room and head to the Great Hall. I’ll hurry there too.”
“Huh?”
“Got it?”
Looking at Tama’s serious face, Baka… while not understanding, at least understood Tama’s request.
“I-I don’t really get it, but I got it! I just need to hurry and leave the room, right!?”
Baka desperately conveyed that he understood, even though he didn’t. He wanted to reassure Tama somehow.
“Yeah. …Let’s meet there.”
Tama, relieved that Baka seemed to have ‘understood’ for the time being, said that, and then, suddenly, continued with a worried look.
“And… if I don’t remember you, please say ‘I rewound time’.”
“Huh?”
“If that doesn’t work… ah, um, say, ‘It’s a message from Tsugumi and Hikari. Cooperate’.”
Baka tilted his head at Tama’s worried face.
But even during that time, the light emitted from Baka gradually grew stronger.
The soft light grew stronger and stronger, and then, it shone brightly, illuminating the surroundings.
“Well then… Kabashima-kun. ‘Next time’ too, please.”
“Huh? H-hey, Tama, what does that…”
And, just as Baka was about to ask Tama for more details, it was then.
Finally, the light emitted from Baka enveloped the world in a dazzling glow, and then… nothing could be seen.
…And so.
“Mmm…?”
Kabashima Tsuyoshi woke up. He opened his eyes with a snap, and stretched out his body.
“…I feel like I had a dream, but I forgot…”
After yawning, well then.
“…I didn’t!”
Baka, who had jumped up, looked around busily.
“Where is this!? Uwa!? Is this really my original room!?”
It wasn’t his room. Nor was it the break room at the construction office where he’d just started working.
…It was the same private room where Baka had been at the start of this Death Game.
And Baka slowly, gradually, began to remember.
That’s right. Tama… had said.
“Leave the room as quickly as possible and head to the Great Hall.”
“Uooooooooh! Wait for meeeeeee! Tamaaaaaaaa!”
Baka roared.
With the feeling of finally catching up, and with hope in his heart… the first thing Baka should do was.
“It’s this first!”
Crack! He ripped off the collar. Then threw it away.
“And then thissssss!”
Crash! Next, he tore the door off its hinges. Then threw it away.
The loud sound of the door hitting the corridor echoed, followed by the thud thud thud thud thud! of Baka’s footsteps.
“Uoooooooooooooo!”
Baka ran. Because he’s a Baka, he ran. Since there was no one to tell him that rushing so much was pointless, he ran at full speed.
…And so, Baka arrived at the Great Hall.
But, of course, there was no one there!
“T-Tama…? Tama, where are you…”
Baka, having completely forgotten that “Tama wouldn’t rip off her collar or smash down doors, so it would take her a little longer,” wandered around the Great Hall, bewildered.
The Great Hall was just as he had seen it a moment ago. However… the remains of the barricade that Baka had scattered, and the broken handrail of the atrium that had been knocked off by it, were completely restored.
…That’s right. In other words, time was rewinding.
Confirming this, Baka continued to wander around, bewildered…
…And then.
“Tamaaaaaaaaaa!”
Seeing Tama’s figure finally appear there, Baka rejoiced with all his might!
But.
“Huh… who are you?”
Tama looked at Baka with a suspicious expression.
…That’s right.
At this point in time, Tama didn’t know Baka yet.
In other words.
Of all people, only this Kabashima Tsuyoshi, the biggest Baka in this Death Game, was left behind in the corridor of time!
Of all people! The biggest Baka!
Even though he’s a Baka!
…The road ahead is fraught with difficulties!
Number of times the word “Baka” has appeared so far: Approximately 797