The Cycle Continues: Alice in Borderland Novel

66) Queen of Diamonds [2]

"I vouched for the fact that we shouldn't interject so deeply with the players; let them play the games themselves, and survive based on their skills alone. But it was him who wanted to create the false utopia, dedicate hours of time planning each meticulous detail, all to create what he thought was the perfect game. To me, it was unnatural. It was so forced."

===Chihaya Korinsu===

"No way..." Hanako murmured. "Quit playing games, lady."

Koharu's eyes moved from Rafferty, then to Kazetani, then to Chihaya. "I'm telling the truth; what more do you need? Since we've met, I've already mentioned the answer. Wanna run everything I've said back through your head? Even though the full answer is not fully explicitly mentioned, it's still there."

"She's right, you know." Shirai said. "Again, at this point into the Borderlands, they have no reason to lie. To these citizens, these aren't a matter of life or death, but just games. Literally–just games."

She smiled. "I like the way you think–Shirai, was it?"

Shirai hesitated, turning around. "Uh..."

"No need to be anxious! I meant it."

"Um, yes, my name is Shirai." She confirmed, flashing a nervous smile.

Koharu looked at one of the buildings, then to Shirai, then to Hanako, then to Tori. "Yes, this batch has many... Interesting players. You too." She nodded to Hanako. "You both have approached this game with a certain level-headedness, and been pragmatically considering my viewpoints too. If you two keep at it... Well, this game could be quite radically altered. I'll leave it at that."

"So... We're doing good." I said. "I think we're on the right path."

"Let's take a look at another one of the buildings, then." Kazetani said, walking to the one beside the one we just entered. The building was a lot darker in color, larger and taller. He pushed the sliding door open, the interior full, but large enough for us all to fit inside, except Tori, who still sat alone, and Raiya, who was watching koi fish in the river.

It was a memorial for her family. The interior was dark, the windows draped with ash gray curtains, letting little light through. Each wall was lined with a table containing numerous family photographs, as well as individual portraits of her husband or her kids. In the center was a statue of the four of them together, the base surrounded in white lilies.

At the center of the backmost table were their three most stunning portraits, a bouquet of orange and white chrysanthemums behind each of them. On an elevated podium in front of the table was a bowl for incense offerings.

"This... This is sad." Hanako said.

"Yeah..." I said. "Even though she's a citizen, I wouldn't say anyone deserves to undergo this type of grief. The type that haunts you for the rest of your life."

Rafferty walked around, pulling his hands out of his pockets when he approached their portraits. Kazetani joined him, peering at the photographs. Her daughter was an older teenager, while her son looked to be around twelve. The son wore a sharp gray suit, while the daughter had a salmon pink dress, her hair in an elegant bun. Her husband had a light smile with dimples, his hair parted to the side, strands of gray running across.

"I think this emphasizes her love for her family." Kazetani said. "I think she really did love them."

"Th-They seem so perfect, like a doll family." Rafferty observed. "She r-really didn't deserve for that to happen t-to her."

In the bowl, there was a single incense, burnt long ago. On the table were five plates of fruit.

"Who... Who put the food offerings and incense?" I asked.