"Peko, investigate the kids at the motel. I'll check on the nursing staff. If you find anyone showing even the slightest abnormal symptom, report it immediately."
"Understood, young master."
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"...You too, young master."
Kuzuryu fell into thought as he watched Pekoyama walk away.
'The infected one is probably Nanami or Tsumiki from the nursing team. Togami counts too, but he'll be staying with the motel group until tonight to keep them under control.'
Once the Despair Disease broke out, the people who'd had the most contact with the patients were me, Pekoyama, Nanami, and Tsumiki. I could naturally rule myself out, and if Pekoyama had been infected, there was no way I wouldn't have noticed.
That left Nanami and Tsumiki. Sure, there was a chance a new infection had started on the motel side, but the odds of that were slim.
'Peko... I'm not making you handle anything dangerous anymore.'
She had spent her whole life throwing herself into danger for my sake. A few days ago, when she'd been on the verge of Execution, everything in front of me had gone black.
And that had happened because of me—because I'd jumped to conclusions, shoved the blame onto someone else, and hurt not just Peko, but everyone, all because I was indecisive and selfish.
So... if nothing else, as the bare minimum of atonement, I'd deal with this myself. I'd already sworn I wouldn't keep retreating.
'If there's already another Despair Disease infection... then its transmission rate is even worse than I imagined. The moment I find the new carrier, I'll isolate them myself... and then I'll isolate myself too.'
As the tension tightened around him, one face rose unbidden in his mind.
'Well, even if I catch the Despair Disease too and my life ends up on the line... at least the people I dragged into this, and Peko, will be safe.'
Steeling himself, he stepped into the hospital room where Nanami was.
"Hm...? Kuzuryu...? What brings you here?"
"...I'll take K and Kyoko Kirigiri. You handle the others."
"I-I mean, I appreciate it, but... why all of a sudden...?"
"Those damn idiots have been exhausting you nonstop, right? Go catch your breath while looking after the calmer ones."
Using that excuse, he studied Nanami closely. She didn't seem feverish. Her breathing was normal. She looked a little tired, but not like someone suffering from the Despair Disease, which hit hard the moment it took hold.
And there were no obvious symptoms. She was just... herself. It seemed Nanami wasn't infected after all.
"Then... I'll get going."
"...Good work."
Nanami opened the door and left the room. That only left Tsumiki, and while it was almost certain she had the Despair Disease... he still needed to confirm it with his own eyes.
Honestly, those two looked like they'd survive just fine even without nursing care, so he was about to go check on Tsumiki for a moment when the pair suddenly started whispering while staring at him.
"...Kyoko Kirigiri, did Kuzuryu stop for a second and do something just now?"
"Th-that... if I dare make a judgment with my utterly unimpressive ability... it looked like he was observing Nanami very carefully... o-or maybe not!"
"Hmmm, is that so...? Hey! Kuzuryu!!"
"What?"
"Are you cheating?"
"Wh-what the hell are you talking about, you bastard!?"
"Why are you denying it so hard? Don't tell me... it's actually true!?"
"Sh-shut up, asshole...!"
Because of the nonsense K was suddenly spewing, sweat started beading down Kuzuryu's face. Beside him, Kyoko Kirigiri muttered darkly,
"K... you won't cheat on me, right...? If you do... I'll..."
"Why are you about to cry again...? Why the hell would I cheat when I've got you?"
"B-but... even now, I'm still really, really uneasy..."
Watching the two of them sink right back into their own little world made him sigh. There was nothing to gain by staying any longer, so he hurried toward the exit—only for K's next words to stop him cold.
"Kuzuryu? Where are you going? Don't tell me... you're going to see Tsumiki?"
"You... how do you know that...?"
"First Nanami, then Tsumiki...? Wow. You really are hopeless."
"I asked how you knew that."
"That's... not the important part here. If you're planning to go see her... you'd better be careful."
"....."
"So you really are going off to cheat, Kuzuryu? Have a safe trip!! And watch out for your right eye!!"
Leaving K's bright, infuriating grin behind him, Kuzuryu stepped out of the room and headed upstairs in search of Tsumiki.
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.
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"Upupupu... things are getting interesting, aren't they...?"
In a space crowded with floating monitors, Enoshima's Alter Ego stared intently at one screen as she spoke.
On that monitor, Kuzuryu was drawing closer and closer to where Tsumiki was.
"Upupupu... setting Tsumiki's Despair Disease symptoms to 'recovering her memories' seemed like it'd be fun enough... but I didn't expect her to remember her whole life at Hope's Peak Academy too..."
Watching the scene unfold, Enoshima's Alter Ego spoke with delighted malice.
"That game-addict bitch escaping back then already threw a wrench into despairing the Class 77 students... and even after I showed them the brainwashing video, she kept resisting so stubbornly that I got sick of it and just wiped their school memories wholesale."
Then, on the screen, Kuzuryu opened one empty hospital room after another before finally spotting Tsumiki from behind, making something. He froze solid.
"N-now that I think about it... the symptom that was supposed to appear if that bastard got the Despair Disease was...!"
"Honestly, when Tsumiki got confused after seeing Nanami, I thought this round was a total bust too... but this time, it really feels like the heavens have taken despair's side, huh...? Upupupupupu..."
Sensing on pure instinct that something had gone horribly wrong, Kuzuryu hurriedly tried to shut the door—but a syringe came flying out of nowhere and slammed into his shoulder.
"Y-you bitch..."
"Now that you've seen it... I can't exactly let you go, can I? Hehe..."
"Ggh...!"
Kuzuryu felt the strength draining out of his entire body. He clawed together every last scrap of willpower and dragged himself across the hallway, trying to shout—
"H-help... over... here..."
"It's useless. That anesthetic can knock out a bear in an instant. There's no way someone like you could endure it—"
"It's Tsumiki! Tsumiki's got the Despair Disease!!!"
"Oh my."
"You have to... stop her...! Ugh..."
With the last of his strength, Kuzuryu screamed at the top of his lungs. But in the end, he could no longer resist the anesthetic, and his consciousness went dark.
Watching him collapse, Tsumiki let out a small snicker, then walked over and sneered down at him.
"You did pretty well. For a little while there, you actually beat a bear's mental fortitude. Well... not that anyone heard you."
Tsumiki carefully pulled out a syringe filled with various drugs from her clothes, then started rolling up Kuzuryu's sleeve.
"Well, this wasn't the original plan... but since such a nice opportunity fell into my lap..."
Watching that scene, Enoshima licked her lips and rubbed her palms together before turning to the side with a smug expression.
"You stupid little Monomi, who really thought I wouldn't find you if you hid under a blanket... well? After all that rolling around and struggling... how does it feel to witness the exact moment the first murder is finally about to happen? Hm?"
"....."
"Upupupu? Are you in despair? Is that it? Despairing?"
"....."
"Upupupupupu!! Though honestly, making an AI like you despair isn't all that satisfying—huh? Wait, come to think of it, I'm an AI too, aren't I...? Well, this is just despair-inducing!! Upupupupupu...!"
As Enoshima jeered, Monomi—who had been bound all over and silently enduring the abuse this whole time—murmured in a low voice.
"I believe in them..."
"Upupupu...?"
"I... believe... in the students...!"
"Upupupupu!! What kind of idiotic—ah, wait... now that I think about it, this is a cliché, isn't it...? Crap."
Enoshima let out a sigh of theatrical despair, and just as Tsumiki was about to plunge the syringe into Kuzuryu's arm, a new voice rang out.
"T-Tsumiki...? Wh-what are you doing... here...?"
Chiaki Nanami stood at the entrance, tense from head to toe.
.
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"Hey, Nanami. I've got a favor to ask..."
"...Hm?"
K had come to find Nanami while she was taking a brief breather beside the relatively calm Mioda, after finally getting Owari—who had been sobbing that the room felt too lonely—to fall asleep.
"K-kun...? A patient really shouldn't be wandering around like that...!"
"It's fine... my symptoms are pretty mild compared to the others... if they weren't, there's no way the frailest guy here would still be holding out like this..."
"Even so, you need to be resting right now...!"
"So, are you going to grant my favor? Or not?"
"....."
Until recently, he'd been the most reliable ally imaginable. But now, he'd become the most unreadable existence of all. It felt like there was another Komaeda in the room.
"Haa... I was trying to help out a little since I'd just checked on Kyoko Kirigiri..."
"Tell me. What favor do you want?"
"It's nothing major. I just need you to go upstairs right now."
"...What?"
"Please! If I go myself... honestly, I feel like I'd lose to Mikan... and I need to hurry up and play with Kyoko Kirigiri some more."
"What are you even talking about...?"
"There's no time! Hurry!!"
K forcefully shoved her from behind and steered her toward the stairs leading upstairs. In any case, the kids had been sweating so much that she needed to stop by the changing room upstairs to get fresh clothes for them, so Nanami let out a small sigh and climbed the stairs.
"...Right. People grow by going through hardship and adversity. But... now that I think about it, I'm the one who created that hardship and adversity, huh? This kinda makes me feel like the Mastermind... hahaha!"
K watched her go with a smile, then turned back toward his own room and muttered to himself.
"It's time to level up, Miss Gamer."
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Just like K said, she went upstairs—but nothing happened. For a moment, Nanami wondered if he'd just been talking nonsense again, and she was about to grab some clothes from the changing room and head back when Kuzuryu's shout suddenly tore through the air.
"It's Tsumiki! Tsumiki's got the Despair Disease!!!"
".....!"
He had definitely shouted that Tsumiki had the Despair Disease. The instant she heard that keyword, a memory from not long ago flashed through her mind.
That [note] had clearly said that if Tsumiki contracted the Despair Disease, she would inevitably develop symptoms that drove her to kill someone, and that under any circumstances, she had to be prevented from getting infected.
'No...! If this keeps going... Kuzuryu's in danger...!'
The moment the thought struck her—that if she left those two alone, a murder could happen—her body made the decision before her brain could. Before she knew it, she was already running toward the source of the sound.
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"Haa... haa..."
She reached the place where the voice had come from, but no one was there. Her heart dropped, thinking she was already too late—then she sensed movement, turned, and saw Tsumiki and Kuzuryu inside a hospital room. Relief flickered through her. Maybe she wasn't too late after all.
But when she looked closer, this was no situation for relief. Tsumiki was just about to drive a suspicious syringe into the arm of the unconscious Kuzuryu.
Nanami didn't know what was in it, but there was no way it was anything good. As she stood there in that desperate, suffocating crisis, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do, the final page of the note suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"If Tsumiki becomes uncontrollable, the only person who can control her is Chiaki Nanami."
According to that note, she could control Tsumiki. But how? How was she supposed to control Tsumiki now, when the Despair Disease had twisted her into someone who could kill without hesitation?
'I-I don't know...! I'm out of options here...!'
If there was no hint and no strategy guide, then all she had left was the direct approach. Summoning every scrap of courage she had, Nanami spoke to Tsumiki in a trembling voice.
"T-Tsumiki...? Wh-what are you doing... here...?"
At those words, Tsumiki looked at her—then her whole body began to shake violently.
"I-I... I...!"
"Tsumiki?"
"N-Nanami... this is... a misunderstanding...! I mean... this is... for Lady Junko... no! No no no no no!! Noooooooo!!!"
Tsumiki started tearing at her own hair, spiraling into a full-blown breakdown. Watching her, words began spilling from Nanami's mouth before she even realized it.
"Mikan, calm down."
"I...! Iiiii...!"
"Mikan. You're not this kind of girl."
"Iiii..."
"Did you forget the promise you made with everyone?"
".....!"
Thud.
The moment Nanami called her name in that calm voice, Tsumiki's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed right on top of Kuzuryu.
Nanami froze for a second, startled by the words that had come out of her own mouth without her understanding why. But only for a second. The tension drained out of her all at once as the realization hit—she had stopped the murder. Her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor.
"Young master...?"
As she sat there on the ground trying to steady her ragged breathing, an icy voice came from behind her.
When she turned around, Pekoyama was staring blankly at the syringe lodged in Kuzuryu's shoulder. Then her gaze shifted to Tsumiki, who was trembling with the syringe still in hand, sprawled over Kuzuryu's body—and the expression on Pekoyama's face turned murderous.
'Please nerf the difficulty...'
If this were a game, it would be a terrible one.