That sound, it couldn't be...
The invocation of a Judge Master has been approved.
The Gift Game, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," will be suspended
while we hold deliberations toward a resolution for this matter.
Players and hosts, please cease hostilities
and prepare to move to the negotiation table immediately.
Episode 9
It Seems That the Smell of Death That Brings About Disaster Is Growing Throughout the Town?
Hey,
what have you been studying every night for?
It was for this moment, right?
We finally got this chance handed to us.
Let's make it good, and get our name out there,
leader.
R-Right.
We will now begin to negotiate
as well as draft a resolution
regarding the Gift Game, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin."
I will ask the hosts first.
Regarding the game in question...
There was no misconduct.
May I accept that as your response?
Black Rabbit's ears are connected to the Little Garden's core.
If you are lying, it will become evident very quickly.
Then, allow me to say this.
Our Gift Game has been suspended on suspicion
of misconduct that we did not commit.
You understand what I'm saying, yes?
If there is indeed no illegality,
you wish for the game to resume
under conditions advantageous to yourself?
Let's discuss at a later time
whether any new rules should be added.
Understood.
Black Rabbit...
R-Right.
Hey, what constitutes misconduct or illegality in a game?
Well, if there were any issues in this game,
they'd start with the seal on Shiroyasha.
The rules stated that she would participate, but could not fight.
There must be a stated legal reason for that to take place.
But the only thing written was
"You must shatter the false legend, and make the true legend known."
I have received a response from the Little Garden.
There has been no misconduct or illegality in the current game.
The seal on Shiroyasha was applied
through acceptable means, as well.
Of course that'd be the case.
The rules will stay the same.
The question now is what date the game will resume.
The date?
You want to resume on another day?
Judge Master, what is the maximum amount of time
you can extend the resumption date?
Th-The maximum amount of time?
Uh, in this case, about a month, I believe.
I see.
Then see you in a month.
Please wait! Wait!
I direct this towards the hosts.
I heard that the two individuals
beside you are Ratten and Weser.
And the ceramic giant that appeared on the battlefield was Strom.
In that case, I would imagine your name is Pest.
Pest...
You mean the Black Death?
Yes, the greatest pandemic in human history that started
during the cold period in the 14th century.
That's correct.
And your name is?
Jin Russell of the no-names.
I shall remember that.
But you're too late.
I have already started to incubate my pathogen
in a portion of the participants.
Simply put, I have your lives in my hands.
Judge Master! I believe they have intentionally
made their game ambiguous—
Don't do it, Sandora-sama!
Even if she did infect people with her pathogen
before the game was suspended,
she did not need to inform anyone of that.
You'll just give them another advantage!
Hmm, then how about this?
Everyone here and Shiroyasha...
If all of you join under the command of Grim Grimoire Hamelin,
I will spare the other communities.
The red dress girl that I captured is pretty nice as well, master!
Asuka-san?
In that case, if you include that girl,
we can come to a deal on this game.
Quite a cheap price in exchange for
the lives of all of the participants.
And you'll kill everyone if we don't agree?
There, it's done.
You-sama!
I've finished treating everyone over there.
Thank you.
It seems that there aren't enough people over there.
Could you help them?
Okay!
You!
Ayesha...
I couldn't find the girl in the red dress you mentioned anywhere.
I see... Okay, thanks.
I didn't really do it for you.
Someone's not being honest, Ayesha.
What are you saying, Jack-san?!
But this has gotten pretty out of hand.
A Demon Lord has attacked us...
You!
Sorry.
I'm not sure what...
Come on, get a hold of yourself.
Thank you.
I wonder what's wrong with me.
Asuka...
Asuka! Asuka!
Wake up, Asuka!
Asuka! Asuka!
I would like to ask something.
Would your community, Grim Grimoire Hamelin, be new?
I have no obligation to answer.
I see. It's a new community, so that's why you want members.
And that's why you want us and Shiroyasha to be a part of it.
And what of it?
Black plague symptoms
can start to manifest two days after infection.
If you are planning to resume the game one month from now,
we will all probably die, including the other players.
If we die, you won't be able to get what you want.
Then I'll knock down the one month to twenty days.
So before everyone dies—
We will kill anyone who shows symptoms.
Even if it's Sandora or myself,
anyone who shows symptoms will be killed on the spot.
There will be no exceptions.
Hey, Black Rabbit.
Can the rules still be altered?
Huh? Oh... Yes!
Then let us negotiate, Black Percher.
We'll amend the rules that prevent suicide and the killing of allies,
but the game takes place in three days.
Not acceptable. Two weeks.
Five days.
In exchange, we add Black Rabbit to the list.
Huh?
Black Rabbit is the Judge Master,
so she is unable to participate in the game.
But if you permit her to participate,
you may be able to have her join you.
How about it?
It's a chance for you to get your hands on a Little Garden aristocrat.
Ten days. I won't lower it any further than that.
We'll add a time limit to the game!
We will resume in a week,
and the game will terminate twenty-four hours after that.
If we cannot end the game within that time,
when the game ends, the hosts will automatically win.
Jin?
Are you serious?
Are you prepared for the possibility that we'll end up with everything?
One week is the maximum amount of time before casualties start to occur.
Any longer than that and we won't
be able to hold up, mentally and physically.
Given that, we the players
would be willing to accept unconditional surrender.
Hey, Jin...
Y-Yes?
Even if you are able to remain alive for another week,
do you really think you can win against me?
I do.
I see.
Understood.
Then here I proclaim:
I shall turn you all into my toys.
Asuka!
That woman!
Asuka, are you okay?
Sorry.
Where am I?
This
was in the display hall.
Asuka...
This is...
...something we give to you.
We would like you to accept it.
And the false fairy tale...
Rattenfänger... Put an end to it...
Flocking faeries...
We...
...were sacrificed at Hamelin.
One hundred and thirty spirits of the dead.
We lost our lives due to a natural disaster.
Allow us to tell you everything.
We shall tell you the truth
of what happened in Hamelin on June 26, 1284.
We shall offer you...
...the greatest work we have ever created.
Forged from the stone that we received from Seikairyuuou,
our last gift.
You brought our one hundred and thirty-first member back.
Will you, the woman who can become the creator of miracles,
accept our Gift Game?
You want me to bring this Dean
under my submission with my gift?
Allow me to confirm one last thing.
If I have this gift that you all have created,
can I beat them?
If you use it...
If you master it...
It shall surely bring you victory.
Very well.
Kudou Asuka of the no-names accepts your challenge!
Use your Authority to ignite the steel soul!
It's been four days.
It seems that more and more of the infected are starting to show symptoms.
I see.
Everything is going well,
but we still can't find the young lady who disappeared.
I don't mind. We'll get her soon.
If only we had someone like Snow White or Cinderella right now.
I would have them act out a comical opera
using the people we have under our control.
Cinderella, huh?
That one had a depressing tone to it,
but it had a pretty good sense of humor.
And Snow White had a pretty bad personality. Really made me laugh.
Oh? What's wrong, master?
You're acting all cute, it's unusual.
And you're annoying me just like usual, Ratten.
Oh, you're praising me!
No. No, she's not.
Master, I need to talk to you about something important.
You started a gift game as a Demon Lord.
You will start to be targeted by a large number of communities,
you'll fight and fight, and eventually,
without a doubt, you will die.
Without a doubt, huh?
This is the system Demon Lords exist within
in this Little Garden of the gods. Please understand that.
However, right now, we will only follow you
with all of our hearts.
You're a Demon Lord that carries the name of Grim Grimoire.
Without you, there would be no one else left.
Thus I pledge my loyalty to you until then end.
I see.
Izayoi...
Oh, you up?
Why are you here?
I thought you'd be bored just lying there.
How you feeling?
Yeah, I'm fine.
Sorry to be like this, especially now.
Don't worry about it.
How's it going?
You think we can clear the game?
I've got a general idea,
but I've yet to figure it out exactly.
Ratten means rat in German.
Strom is storm.
Weser is the Weser River.
Pest is the Black Plague.
Kasukabe, do you remember the Parallel World
Intersection Theory that Black Rabbit once talked about?
Yeah.
Basically, although different events are happening on parallel timelines,
there's a point where they all converge to a single result.
This time, that result was the one hundred and thirty individuals
who perished as mentioned in the inscription at Hamelin.
And the main players involved are Weser, Ratten, Strom, and Pest.
The one among them that isn't connected to the death of the
one hundred and thirty individuals must be the "false legend."
Then which one do you think is the fake, Izayoi?
Pest.
The Black Plague is a long term illness that kills you over time.
The Piper of Hamelin had one hundred and thirty individuals
die within the limited time of June 26, 1284.
So all we have to do is take out Pest?
But then it overlaps with another of the victory conditions:
taking out the game master.
I've managed to break down the sentence a little bit.
"You must shatter the false legend, and make the true legend known."
That means it's something you can "shatter" and "make known."
The only thing I can think of is the stained glass at Hamelin.
Stained glass?
Kasukabe, did you see them?
There were decorations with them all around the battlefield.
Yeah, I know.
But there's over a hundred stained glass panels there.
Shattering them and going around
showing everyone would be a pain.
What?
I came here to see how you were doing.
Sorry, you don't often sulk like that.
If it comes down to it, I'll bring back the head
of the worst Demon Lord there is.
Speaking of which, how is Shiroyasha?
She's still sealed up on that balcony.
I wonder how she was sealed there.
Is there something like that written in the Hamelin inscription?
Couldn't be.
Yasha's a Buddhist god.
Supposedly, to seal her own power of the spirit of the midnight sun,
she became a servant of Buddha and stripped herself of her divine status.
Her own power?
Yeah.
It seems Shiroyasha holds authority over the sun in the Little Garden.
She commands things with the sun attribute,
as well as the sun's operation.
Yes, the greatest pandemic in human history that started
during the cold period in the 14th century.
And the reason why the Black Plague was so widespread
was because the sun entered an ice age period,
and the earth entered a cold period...
Izayoi?
I see...
This is the truth behind the rule that sealed Shiroyasha.
In that case, they're...
Even if they are the Piper of Hamelin from Grimms' Fairy Tales,
they aren't the real Piper of Hamelin.
Nice job, Kasukabe!
Leave the rest to me!
Raise your pillow and get some rest!
Yeah, do your best.
Game resumed.
The stained glass panels that portray the joker controlling rats
is the false legend!
Break them once you find them!
Hm? It seems that they've solved the riddle about us.
Damn.
I don't mind.
We just have to kill them if it comes down to it.
I've given divinity to Weser for that purpose.
Why to Weser?
Boo.
Now that they've figured out our riddle,
there's no reason for us to hold back.
I will activate the grimoire of Hamelin!
What's going on?
Wh-What's going on?
They summoned the city of Hamelin?
What?
Now we won't know the locations of the stained glass panels.
Calm down!
First, we find the church.
If this really is the city of Hamelin,
then stained glass should be hidden in any place related to it.
All right.
The church! Find the church!
Movement in the earth?
Now things are getting interesting!
Let me get in on some of that!
Damn you!
This is payback for last time!
That had some impact, Weser.
What's this now? Aren't you fancy?
Of course. I've received divinity.
And my power has doubled now that I'm back in my hometown.
You won't be able to pick me off that easily!
Same goes for you!
Sandora-sama,
both of us will go in from the sides.
Got it!
Are you two the type of people who just don't learn?
I think you need to figure out this is pointless.
I found it.
There's stained glass here without the rats!
Secure it!
While Izayoi-san and the rest pull in the Demon Lord,
we'll put in the real stained glass!
Okay, that's as far as you go.
So you've shown yourself, rat-user!
It's not just me.
There are so many Stroms...
Go, Jin.
But...
Hurry and go!
Everyone, let's go.
I won't let you do that.
If I kill these guys, everyone will end up in the crossfire.
There were still more of them?
Jin!
That's...
Oh, Jin-kun! Look!
Asuka-san?
That was an interesting turn of events!
So much that it'd be a shame to let it end.
It's the deciding battle with the Demon Lord.
Let's wrap this—
Wait.
Wouldn't it be an interesting twist if someone switched sides?
Next Time
It Seems That the Problem Children Prove Who's On Top?
Hey, you problem child!
Next time, the shocking final episode! Sleep well and wait!
Art by Shirabi