No Game No Life Vol 3 Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Sky

3 steps left

Not even thinking about the whereabouts of the place, or the identity of the

In the absence ofsenses, even one's own definitions would be ambiguous,

It can't speak, it can't question, it doesn't even know what it should ask.

proclaimed that [This was alright].

——Victory? What victory?

Part 2

In front of the King's bedroom, Steph inquired Jibril.

"——I didn't go in, Master refuses to let me in and completely ignored me."

"Yeah.....What about your side?"

"They didn't know who Sora was, and Master is the only King to Elchea——

"Yeah.....What exactly is happening?"

"A reasonable explanation would be the fact that Master's memory has been

"Doesn't that mean——"

——this was very odd.

named [Sora].

confusing position Elchea was facing right now.

As they saw a thin board slid out of the crack underneath the door.

"Master's tablet."

"....Guu, what is written on it?"

is written on it."

"I see, so you are trying to start a conversation with a [Secret language]

The abundance of knowledge that her master brought to this world.

intentions.

Glancing down, Steph still couldn't understand the words so she had to ask.

"Isn't it....Shiro?"

Jibril didn't know how to use the tablet, but then another sound came.

Steph was to fall in love in was?]"

Quickly, another message came.

in love with her?]"

Steph responded while twitching. Nevertheless, another message came again.

Taking into account on Shiro's condition, Steph couldn't reply sloppily.

fingers on her forehead and desperately recalled.

a tie by shocking me with your words. But more importantly was the

ended up with a tie, but as soon as you scammed me, you told me to [Fall in

After Steph's narration was over, a new message immediately surfaced.

me』?]"

pretty disappointed too."

"——[6: Who was the one who debunked the Eastern Union's game?]"

their answers.

"That is currently consistent with my memories."

Jibril and Steph could only wait in silence, helpless in front of the king's

After a few minutes, it wasn't a question, but an affirmation that came.

"Everyone's memory was wiped out."

"...Master, with all due respect, the memory is owned by many, and if this

impossible to erase everyone else's memory."

It wrote :[A bet that gained everyone's approval]

didn't lose any memory."

On the other side of the door was Shiro, head buried in her lap while holding

——she knew this question would come.

——and was it possible for a game to lead to such a serious situation. Even

"Ahh, hmm, yes, you've worked hard....no, it's nothing."

".....Shiro, although this is tough, but the informants have already come back.

the mass demonstrations are continuing. However, among all the complaints

[Sora]."

She bit her lips and started thinking, barely keeping conscious.

There must be some contradictions between everyone's memories, because

——if this wasn't the case, that meant that her own memories were fake.

Shiro kept trying to convince herself by desperately shaking her head.

assumption, this assumption wasn't good.

This should be impossible, this couldn't be done.

very clear——this could be overruled.

the memory was not specifically altered. For example [Split the memory into

——No, strictly speaking, there was no evidence that this brother of hers

There was no one who could prove that Shiro was [Currently sane].

—— but this was something Shiro can't possibly accept. Then, her strong

This possibility was.

(——I....I....I refuse....I refuse to accept this!)

The tablet didn't respond anymore.

mood.

"....We should clear our minds a bit and try thinking about it."

"The game that involves the bet against the Eastern Union with the human

of time where Master is incapacitated, who would gain the maximum benefit

"Even I know this sort of thing——the culprit must be the Eastern Union

——Indeed, the Eastern Union whose game was exposed, challenged Shiro

logically speaking, this would be the most natural way of approach for them.

——[6: Who was the one who debunked the Eastern Union's game?]

should be the contents of the game right."

simply requiring the elimination of the memory pertaining to the game.

also——

[Ten Oaths]—— the challenged party has the right to decide the contents of

This of course included the right to [reject the game].

really no reason to accept....

situation."

From the room came the sound of choking voice, as if vomiting.

forced to take action.

If her master said that crows were white, then dyeing the three thousand

Therefore, if her master said that the person called [Sora] exists, then he

Then another sound came from the other side of the door——

This was enough to force Steph to shout impatiently while slamming the door.

huge Elemental Gallery——a magic combatant race.

complex magic at all.

changes in the human species.

——even without the use of magic, it was clear that her master was on the

It was a crime to even suspect her master, but——

".....Eh?"

door had a reaction.

but could you lose to me?"

But feeling that her intentions have gotten through——Jibrilreplied:

Steph widened her eyes in amazement after hearing the proclamation from

Jibril understood the meaning behind her eyes.

That feeling told her to not abandon Shiro, but——

Even ifshe were to die, she wouldn't ignore this dilemma.

to counteract it.

completed.

down, before finding the culprit and——

With a gentle smile that was nostalgic, Jibril let out [Killing intent]. This sent

appease the uneasy Jibril.

However, the atmosphere that Jibril was exuding out didn't allow her to

——forbid the usage of force in the [Ten Oaths]....so what?

kill the person after getting the [Approval].

master for suspecting that Sora didn't exist.

The application that opened was———chess.

information-based zero-sum game of limited decisions.

A timid and small voice that had sobs in between, came out of the door.

Bowing deeply, Jibrilreplied:

4 steps left

——No memories, even she herself didn't know who she was.

Who she was, why she was here, why was she playing a game.

She won't lose even ifshe forgot about everything else, for this was the only

She used her mouth in replacement of her numbing hands.

She won't think, she didn't need to think, because there was no such thing as

Yes——....Losing was not an option.

.....No, don't think, that sort of thing is not important!

small hand.

In the process of becoming insane, she shook frantically to rid away her

Part 3

If it was Shiro, winning was easy....Similarly, losing was also easy for her.

Just by doing that, everything would be sealed.

The first time she met him, she actually felt alive as a person.

After returning from school with the intention of never going back , she

dragged herself down.

time spent with him——

(——....!)

to her flashed past Shiro's mind.

Jibril closed her eyes, and quietly mumbled:

Yes—— it was laughable, a move in chess to reverse one's position from

Jibril questioned her mentality, and the response was an extremely weak

However, the voice had courage, enough to force Jibril and Steph to take a

".....Because....[ ].....Does....NOT ACCEPT DEFEAT!"

Pulling back the blanket, Shiro with tears flowing down her cheeks started to

Remembering about that day, after she came home crying after the first day of

——Shiro, is it real ifsomeone says that changing is possible?

What you change isn't yourself, you just have to find the means to fly isn't it?

You might want to say, why am I babbling about things even though I can't fly

But we should take this slowly, and think of a way to allow Shiro to soar with

Although I'm a useless brother, I will think with you.

The memories about her brother was her [Reason for existence], what could

If these were really implanted memories, then she must have really lost a

Because such a thing——

".....Nii.....No.......To forget about my brother——I'd be better off dead!!"

....This was a proposalfrom Jibril to prevent her from collapsing.

Jibrilsilently lowered her head, while Steph who was trembling opened her

"Th, that....Although I'm not so sure..."

She just wanted to comfort Shiro——and blurted out her idea.

he isn't here, doesn't that mean that——he indeed exists."

"Then there must be a reason for him to create such a situation right?"

Only Steph was unaware of this.

"Fo, for example, if the situation couldn't be explained and it was the Oaths

"Ah, no, its not like that——what I mean is~"

"——what if the game is still ongoing?"

Perhaps she didn't understand the meaning behind Shiro's stare, Steph

"So, soooo——the possibility of the memories being tampered with were not

said, if only our memories were tampered with, then......The person called

ended yet....this...."

face after hearing her speculations.

After listening to the hypothesis that she overlooked, Jibril barely squeezed

"Evi, evidence...bu, but——I just feel that something is [odd]."

Steph was the type of person to say something without any prior thoughts.

Regarding that person——it was not specified whether it was Shiro or Sora,

——Steph's speculation was filled with loopholes.

happen.....

Shiro could've refused the game. This was all incomprehensible.

surface, an indisputable fact.

subjugated The Flügel, and will even partake in the upcoming annexation of

of from her.

caused by the enemy.

"In that case——there is a way to confirm it."

"Indeed, the [Oaths] can't entirely eliminate the memories pertaining to the

——this was something that could only be accomplished with the harshest

"Supposedly this Sora is master's brother, then if he used the status of

memories to [Disappear], including everything related to him."

"So, he can't disappear from another representative's memories——and as

"Yes, I'll immediately use space shift into the Eastern Union embassy to

Kneeling in front of the door, she bowed.

simply unforgivable. I'm willing to accept any punishment, however——I

Concluding her sentence, Jibrilsuddenly disappeared.....

Steph who was left alone didn't know how to react, but she stillfaced the

"Ah, guu.....Shiro, Shiro.....Are you okay?"

else.

With that possibility present, her formerly frozen thoughts re-activated to start

Sora——her brother's existence, in order to turn that into definitive proof,

Erecting her heavy body on the bed, she staggered to the center of the room.

However, this time they were wide open, surveying the entire room.

letting even a speck of dust go unnoticed.

If the hypothesis was true, then this situation was what her brother had

The reason for his actions——it was possible ifshe could read her brother's

——her brother's thinking process, has a style that couldn't be read; easily

Shiro felt that she could never reach that kind of level, yet she has to interpret

......Impossible, Shiro knew she couldn't do it.

"....Nii....Can't——lose..."

Then——she accepted this situation, her brother believed in her, she believed

Why——for her to not have noticed it, Shiro couldn't help but pull her hair.

Panicking so easily, how could she live up to the expectation as her [Brother's

——Only a fragment ofsome memories disappeared.

But she repressed her emotions, as this wasn't the time to blame herself.

the job.

out, Shiro's mind responded.

responded quickly to the rapid intake.

body temperature.

into a movie.

definitely be present.

understand.

"....Indispensable, no.....Nii won't.....Leave Shiro alone...."

Why didn't she suspect? Why didn't she notice!

her brother.

(....Started from——right here!)

tears.

...I am .....Sora, for my age......I forgot.

hair and ruby-red eyes.

"Shiro, are you there?"

disrepair, I can stillrecognize, though barely, that the nod came from Shiro.

Once again I felt that nod. This became my pillar ofsupport.

It also far exceeded my expectations.

I could hear a countless number of voices——but whose voice did all these

I couldn't fathom how losing everything could be this horrible.

I felt three nods this time, however, it was tolerant this time.

Hearing that sentence, Sora smiled bitterly, before pleading to her.

I continued with my laughter that was filled with strong self-esteem.

My shoulders were firmly held, making me feel assured as I take a breath.

Part 4

——Organize all the information.

Then he himself partook in that game——no, since the game has yet to end,

Her brother said——[We always win before the game starts].

Her brother said——[We are not the main characters like in a Shounen

If this situation was in a Shounen manga, then the flag for Shiro's growth was

She will become independent without Sora——but her brother clearly

Her brother said——[We are bound together by a promise].

product.

Shiro ignored the pain that her head was issuing and continued to order it.

The need to come up with this situation.

Her brother promised everyone that he would obtain the necessary puzzle

(....Then——who is....The enemy?)

words.

matter how much she re-examined, the person was——[Invisible]. Why was

brother——in that case Jibrilshould——have——something——in——her

(...Think.....Think, think!!)

clock on the wallseemed to have stopped.

Her brother's actions always contained two to three——sometimes even ten

He would use unorthodox methods, deceiving tactics that were unrivaled.

cutting of corners was impossible.

Sweating profusely, her temperature continued to rise while her head felt as if

——This wasn't inefficient, but more of a violent action.

answer.

simulating those kind of possibilities would result in millions and millions of

——to screen all the situations one by one, was arguably similar to a

Forcing all these on a small head such as Shiro's resulted in a pain so intense

Then——when the second tick from the second-hand clock resounded.

emerged.

remember the person, whether the looks, figure or voice.

For humanity——used by Elven Gard.....

the human piece?

——the watcher.

Blurting out the name that fought with her brother, and feeling that all the clues

Her mind overexerted——Shiro lost consciousness.

Let's confirm this...I'm Sora.

I came from a different world——————wait...

happened next?

been [Taken away].

If that memory is [Taken away]——then everything is over.

——No problem, I remember...[It still belongs to me].

"....What do you mean?"

I've already lost my vision, so I can't see her, but——I heard her voice.

She was the Elven country's——Elven Gard's puppet, and also the opponent

"Un, what?"

"Stop pretending, are you——deliberately losing?"

At least there isn't any mistake.....everything is going smoothly.

....That's about right.

have any basis for it.

eh."

What you lose would be transferred to the opponent.

has it.

Although I didn't know what was happening, it appears that she understood.

"——you'll lose at this rate, your existence taken away, even the fact that you

happens?"

Because that is the real purpose of this game.

Yes——because this is that kind of game.

Hearing a cough, Kurami made a move on the gameboard.

quietly smiled.

Kuramishouted, no, screamed out, her whole body froze.

The one who screamed out——who was it?

I'm......Sora, Shiro's brother, then.......then what?

An indescribable cold struck me, the feeling as if my whole body was

Who am I?

Slowly becoming someone I'm not——this feeling was akin to [Horror].

senses are slowly being eroded one by one.

[This was as expected, this is going according to plan.]

Are you kidding? If this horror is supposedly a plan, then isn't this arrogance!

"....Nii...."

"...Shiro is here....."

"——Yes....Indeed."

Right now——yes, I'm losing in a game, but this is for the sake for victory.

I grit my teeth while steeling my heart, stopping the chattering.

Part 4

"Master!?"

Hearing Steph and Jibril's worried cries, Shiro's consciousness resurfaced.

the situation——

When she didn't see her brother, Shiro almost shoved Steph away, but she

——Her brother was in this room.

"....I.....am fine....."

"How are you fine! You suddenly fell without saying anything——you know

Steph shouted out.

Realizing that Steph's eyes were red, Shiro apologized softly.

Shiro, had a somewhat nervous tone.

Jibril was able to report her findings at the Eastern Union Embassy——

Shiro's words cut her off.

"——yes, just as you said. I'm willing to accept any punishment——"

confirmed [Sora]'s existence.

"...Then....I command you."

Ifshe was ordered to die, Jibril would unhesitatingly do it.

"...Help me....Find Nii..."

Finally, to confirm that she was fine, Shiro gently separated from Steph and

Although her pacing was unstable, Shiro's eyes returned to normal and asked

"——[Yesterday]....What were....you two doing?"

question.

"Yesterday——I was suppressing the masses, then watched as Shiro played

"Yes, I was there too."

"...That was.....[The day before yesterday].....19th...."

".....Changing the question....Yesterday night....Where....Were you?"

"——————........"

"Does Master have.....no, the day before yesterday's memories?"

——This confirmed that there was time period where the memories

Which meant that——

yesterday to yesterday right?"

asked. Shiro nodded in response.

However, Steph tilted her head and needed Jibril to explain to her.

Shiro-sama doesn't, thus causing some contradiction——however, if

Steph looked confused, but, yeah, it meant that——

influence the whole human species——meaning that he was a representative

——yeah, and also——

"Ye, yes, please do."

seen before.

swallowed her saliva and responded to her.

"...............Th, that.....What are you doing?"

expression was extremely serious. However, Shiro's pair of hands.

".....Rubbing....Steph's....Chest...."

"——...Erm, errr, how should I react to this?"

Nodding her head, Shiro tilted it and asked:

"Ho...How can I be excited about this!!! If I'm excited, it'll be problematic for

Shiro let go of her hands, fully expecting that answer.

"————ahhh..."

reaction.

figured it out.

"Master, that....This doesn't need that kind of confirmation right."

Shiro didn't particularly mind and answered in recognition unhesitatingly.

"..Because I know.....Nii exists...."
"...Then can I ask why is my chest getting forcefully rubbed?"

Causing her to get so worried.....Steph asked with a frustrated expression.

".....Thanks."

However, Shiro interrupted Steph with her next words.

Then——Shiro's next sentence....

her brother?

Shiro who was unaccustomed to this awkwardly averted her gaze and

"...Thank, you......Steph...."

However, Shiro didn't realized that——for the next few days, Steph would

Steph's internalstrife:[Seduced by an eleven-year-old girl, shouldn't be

Not paying heed to the troubled Steph, Jibril quietly inquired:

situation?"

Her brother guessed that after he bet the [Human species' piece], Kurami

method to lure out Kurami, wanting her to become his companion.

This question was the last one and was key to finding them, which was the

Shiro had thought of a few possibilities in her mind.

Even better, he knew that the opponent was Kurami, or perhaps the Elven

But, for memories to get snatched away, it was undoubtedly the work of

Did the Elves prepare the game?——No.

brother to not expect that there would be magic intervention.

If that was the case, then he could challenge the elves without getting cheated

The only people who could do that on Imanity's side——was one person.

Yes, The Flügelfrom the sixth place, with the capabilities to create a virtual

This should be what her brother said towards Jibril:

Being asked like this, Jibrilstarted thinking.

"It is possible if it was the virtual world used for the Word Connector....but

"...And if there was cooperation with the Elves?"

Expressing disgust from the bottom of her heart, Jibril would've never thought

However, seeing Shiro's eyes closely watching her, Jibril had to reply

"——Although I'm not clear about the technique user of the elves.....but it

manipulating power, as for using complex magical techniques.....the Elf from

For Jibril to praise another race, was something absolutely impossible.

heinous crime on.

by the elves....then, there should be a magic that could possibly change reality

But, it still wasn't enough. A key factor was missing.

"Can."

"For this technique that can bring about such huge changes, the elemental

game would come from me. Ifsomething happened to the game, I would've

".....Absolutely?"

notice it.

"To be honest——that power is similar to the [Heaven's strike] I used against

Jibril continued, with a casual look:

consecutively connected to the Elemental gallery with three thousand elves to

By now Shiro was completely unfazed by Jibril's actions in the past, and kept

However, Steph couldn't help but make a comment out of the war weapon in

"Wh....What were you doing!?"

control over it remained the same. If this situation was caused by magic, and it

Cheating will never escape from my eyes."

——Which means, the source of all this came from this room.

[gameboard].

However, no matter how much they searched, they couldn't find it, so——

Her brother was in this room——but there was no way to prove his

So this gameboard must definitely be [outside of Shiro's knowledge].

game....Can't be found...."

there should be the usage of magic——

Jibril couldn't detect any magic in the air.

wings, Jibril widened her amber eyes.

The pressure generated caused Steph who was unable to detect magic to fall

Because Jibril was currently manipulating unparalleled numbers of Elemental

The halo on her head started spinning; giving a misconception that the room

"——found it."

However, Jibril pointed to the corner of the room——

just like what Master speculated, if that elf technique was used in my

"....Guu."

——One more step, the answer was right in front of her——

Steph looked at the ground and headed to the direction Jibril pointed——but

something.

negative characteristics."

"....Eh? Tripped? Me?"

".....!"

coming into contact?"

Even though detecting it was impossible, it was [still there]——coming into

The gameboard was here, invisible and cannot be perceived upon touching.

There were a few pieces ofstone with both black and white sides, stored in a

There were numerals carved on the stones in the box.

"...Black and white...Reversi."

Why was it possible to see the pieces, but not the game board? Shiro

"....Because....It's not used."

Forcefully taken memories, a game outside of common knowledge——a

It all added up in Shiro's head.

".....Using memories....or existence....to divide into two.....A mutual

Jibril had a reaction to Shiro's monologue, while Steph still couldn't catch up

"In, in my humble opinion, Master...."

Indeed——if Shiro's speculation was correct, it was undoubtedly a crazy

However, if the rules of the game was just as Shiro suspected, then——

Shedding a cold sweat, Shiro finally——understood her brother's intentions.

"——okay, I'llrepeat the rules."

He said to Shiro, Steph, Jibril, Kurami and the elf girl behind her:

[Reversi]."

speak while holding the engraved pieces in his hand.

you'll get, like memories, flesh, personality so on and so forth. Aside from

for [Existence].

Although Sora explained it very easily, but since this was an extraordinary

"In addition, the degree of importance complies with magic. Prioritizing your

concept each piece holds."

"......Not knowing what you'll lose if your piece gets eaten up——Isn't it

Facing against Sora who had a maniacalsmile——Kurami calmly replied.

expose me and Elven Gard's methods. Which means, this is a mutually

"That is a good answer, the winner gets all——while the loser loses all."

spine.

"Ah, this is different from the usualReversi. You can't skip a turn even if you

understand....What would happen right?"

"Then——how do we go ahead with the [Unable to continue] rule?"

disappeared.

therefore everyone here is a participant——everyone must [Swear to the

But even so, there will be problems, that is——

that the companions [Forgot], then the game is over. Once the game is over,

"Victory determines the need of objectivity, so the board itself would judge, is

"Indeed, that is how I've fabricated it to be."

Kurami's partner, the Elven girl, nodded with Jibril.

[Cheating].

"——But, if we regain everything after the game...It would be boring right?"

But even with Jibril's gargantuan strength, the results cannot last forever.

completely disappear.

Firstly, Sora put up one finger and said:

exchange and the existence of the other party except their presence. The

Speculating Sora's intentions, Kurami continued:

"Yes, because if it isn't done, then after extinguishing my existence you can't

This sentence indicated Kurami's motive——of being the sole representative

"Similarly, I also can't do anything to the elf, so the second request is——"

This meant that if Kurami won, she would gain Sora's memories of Shiro——

And if Sora won, he would obtain Elven Gard's top magic user.

Hearing that, Kurami laughed:

"Haha, what a funny joke, how could I ever think of that."

"Even if I'm gone, with the Oath's constraints, Shiro would definitely be

in order not to have a glance——which means [Death] or the [change of

In addition to Sora and Shiro, everyone had a chill down their spines in the

"Simply put——this is a bet and battle on one's existence and life ."

Crazy——Steph probably wasn't the only one who thought of that.

brother might lose, understood the contents, or knew what her brother was

"Until the last step can't be taken, which means until everything is taken away

game."

alone.

Against this kind of man, Kurami kept quietly and began to think.

The rules itselfseem to be fair——because of this, Kuramistarted to suspect

Because this game was by the opposition, she did not have an advantage.

partner.

Meaning——she couldn't detect anything, couldn't grasp the meaning,

This hinted that the elf girl couldn't cheat the game when fabricating it;

"....Okay."

She didn't care about Sora's intentions, there were Elven forces here backing

In that case, Sora, Shiro, Steph and Jibril.

"——【Acciente】!!"

Shiro placed the Reversi piece engraved with [Three] in her hands.

gameboard——

concept.

very important.

it.

brother.

meaningful.

——Why would her brother leave her alone? She was puzzled.

The first ofseveral very simple reasons.

placing him on the side of the losing——

Shiro made this conclusion with a sad smile after thinking for a moment.

unable to remain sane.

brother's existence.

——Forgetting about her brother——Shiro believed that her spirit wouldn't

Shiro stared at the invisible, untouchable gameboard.

Her brother hated sunlight, so she could discern that he wouldn't sit by the

Her brother, whether he was sleeping or sitting, would always give Shiro the

Because Shiro would feel lonely if there was a wide space, her brother would

Although she couldn't see the gameboard, Everything was exposed to her.

her brother's sitting position, and even the space left for Shiro could be seen.
(......Here.....Nii is....Here...)<

Chapter end