Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 182, Section 23: "A Glimpse of Miyako Island: The King's Game"

"What is the King's Game?"

Linyin tilted her head slightly to express her confusion.

"Eh? Rinne doesn't know?" Mami asked, sounding surprised.

"It's the King's Game, the King's Game."

"You still haven't explained it," Masumi retorted.

"Does Masumi know?" Rinne asked, looking at him.

"Ah."

Let me explain!

Mami smiled broadly and adjusted her red-framed swimming goggles, which were perched on her nose, with a "clang".

“Sister Mami, those are my swimming goggles.” Chiai pouted.

"Can I borrow it for a moment?"

Clearing her throat meaninglessly, Ma Mei smiled radiantly.

"Listen carefully, the so-called King's Game is a multiplayer game that originated in an island nation, and the rules are very simple—"

"Prepare lots for the corresponding number of people, and mark them with numbers and the king's mark. Each person draws a lot randomly, and the number on the lot is their own number. The person who draws the marked lot is the king. The king can use the number to give orders to the others, and the others must obey the king's orders unconditionally."

"It sounds like a really boring game," Rinne said with a bored expression.

"No way!" Mami shook her finger triumphantly. "In this game, the king's power is supreme; he can order other players around at will."

Asami's explanation made Kurokawa Mio's eyes light up.

“The king’s power is supreme, which means he can order Masumi to do this or that to me.”

“No! No! Ms. Mio.” Asami shook her head.

"The king doesn't directly issue commands to other players; instead, he decides based on their numbers. For example, 'Number 2, turn around and say "I like you" while turning back.'"

"If Masumi is number 2, and I am the king, can I issue an order like 'Number 2 must kiss the king'?"

“That’s right, exactly.” Mami nodded. “No matter what the king says, the other players cannot disobey his orders.”

"Kiss...kiss!" Qian Ai's eyes widened.

"I want to play!" Kurokawa Mio said decisively.

"Mmm, Miss Mio seems quite excited." Mami smiled, her eyes crinkling.

"I want to play too!" Chiai chimed in. "I absolutely won't allow Mio-neechan to get there first!"

"Oh, have a good time."

Masumi had a premonition that unrest was about to occur, so she fled the dining table as if running away.

However, Mami, who had changed seats, held his hand tightly.

"That's not up to you, Masumi-kun."

Asami raised her chin imperiously, "The first round of the game has already started."

"what are you saying?"

"Hmph, everyone, please take a look at the bottom of your chopsticks."

"Chopsticks?"

Masumi looked at the disposable chopsticks in her hand with a puzzled expression. There was a small number "2" engraved on the bottom.

When was this tampering done?
Rinne would never do something so pointless, and the timing of Chiai's crime doesn't match up either.

As for Mio... although she had an excited expression as if she wanted to play a prank on herself, she probably only just found out about this.

That is to say-

"Haiyue."

Masumi looked straight at Haiyue.

"Woo!"

The jellyfish girl trembled slightly in surprise.

"No wonder you got up so early today." Masumi sighed, "So you were bribed by Mami."

"You have to accept your loss, Masumi-kun." Mami said smugly.

“I can’t do anything with you, so I’ll just play this round,” Masumi conceded.

"Yeah!" x2
"So, who is the king?" Rinne asked, tilting her head.

"Hey, I'm the king this round, Lucky!"

Asami smiled and let out a soft giggle from her luscious lips.

"Isn't this some kind of underhanded tactic?" Masumi retorted, but didn't argue with her. It was more important to end this nonsense as soon as possible than to continue arguing with her.

"So, what are your orders?"

"Listen carefully, King Seno's order is—"

"Numbers 1 through 5, we'll play until the very end!" Mami announced.

It was indeed a meticulously planned scheme.

Thus began the King's Game at the Miyakojima training camp.

◇

The tableware was placed in the sink, and the six people sat in a semi-circle on the sofa. Six disposable chopsticks were placed on the coffee table, and the ends of the chopsticks with numbers and markings were hidden in a hard tissue box.

"Games start!"

In sync with Mami's shouts, everyone drew lots together.

Who is the king?

"Sorry, it's me again!"

Mami happily gave her name.

"Asami-nee's luck with the fortune slip is amazing!" Chiai was dumbfounded.

Kurokawa Mio remained expressionless, while Rinne seemed lost in thought.

"What is the order this time?" Masumi asked.

"Let's make it clear first, don't go too far, and don't violate public order and good morals."

"Of course, Masumi-kun."

Asami smiled reassuringly, "As a seasoned otaku and a debut manga artist, I'm best at walking the line between 'best' and 'worst', making people think of 'that kind of thing' without offending censors."

“Your very existence is a challenge to censorship,” Masumi said calmly.

"My second order is—"

The way Masumi deliberately dragged out each word to create suspense had already made her want to overthrow this unreliable and incompetent ruler.

"Numbers 1 through 5, all of you, change into your swimsuits."

Mami put on a teasing smile.

"Huh! Swimsuits!?" Qian Ai was immediately dumbfounded: "What kind of order is that?"

"What's wrong? If it weren't raining, everyone was planning to wear swimsuits anyway, right?"

Asami said, "I still wear that bright red bikini to this day."

"...That's right."

Qian Ai awkwardly changed the way her fingers were intertwined several times.

Looking up, the figures in honey gold, black, and flaxen had already disappeared from sight.

"Huh? Everyone..."

"Wait for me!"

"Isn't Masumi-kun going to change into his swimsuit?"

"My swimsuit isn't very nice, is it?"

"This is the King's order," Mami grinned, revealing her teeth. "Go now, Masumi-kun! Otherwise, I'll sentence you to death!"

Well, he went from being a foolish ruler to a tyrant.

◇

Two minutes later, Masumi, having changed her clothes, came out of the room. Girls change clothes very slowly, and Mami was the only one in the living room.

"Masumi-kun..."

After looking him up and down, Mami narrowed her eyes in displeasure.

"You're so cunning! You actually wore your swimsuit over your clothes."

Dark-colored swim trunks were worn directly over the pants.

Masumi shrugged dismissively, "You only said you'd wear a swimsuit, not just a swimsuit."

"You dare play word games with the king, you audacious commoner!" Mami gritted her teeth. "I'm going to send you to Kai to mine."

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, the order has been fulfilled, and you have now abdicated,” Masumi said fearlessly.

"Hey handsome guy over there, if you don't mind, would you like to go to the beach with me?"

A familiar voice came from behind. Hearing the voice, Masumi turned around and saw Kurokawa Mio, who had changed into her swimsuit, speaking in a tone as if she were chatting someone up on a public beach.

"What kind of sales pitch is that?"

"Is the bold high school girl who flirts with handsome guys on the beach doing a good job of imitating him?"

Masumi nodded. "Considering that Mio has never been to a public beach before, she's quite good at it."

"Masumi really knows how to compliment people." A sweet smile appeared on Kurokawa Mio's lips.

She wore a swimsuit with ruffles at the chest and patterns of tropical plants, which showed off her slender, square shoulders, while the upper arms had light, flowing veil sleeves, which were perfect for her slim figure.

Choosing this swimsuit must be to compensate for any weaknesses in her figure.

Compared to Kurokawa Mio's poised and confident demeanor, Chia's reaction was somewhat shy.

"Ugh, wearing a swimsuit in my room feels kind of weird."

It's unbelievable that I feel a little ashamed in my room when the amount of skin exposed is the same as my underwear, which is fine on the beach or at the pool.

"I don't care."

Rinne, without showing any shyness, spoke frankly and pulled Kaizuki, who was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, over.

"Huh? Rinne didn't buy a new swimsuit." Masumi asked instinctively, looking at the white bikini Rinne was wearing.

This is bad; such statements sound like they're anticipating her new swimsuit.

“This is it,” she replied. “It’s the same style as the previous one, but a size larger.”

White is a very pure color, but once it is presented in the form of a bikini, purity is directly transformed into something that can almost be described as violent allure.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Chiai groaned in defeat, “I’m the same age as Rinne.”

"Let's begin the next round of the game," Kurokawa Mio said coldly.

◇

The King's Game has progressed to its third round.

Asami rubbed her hands together, about to reach out, when Rinne suddenly called out to stop her.

"Wait a minute! Asami-nee."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Rinne?"

Mami blinked in confusion.

"You cheated, didn't you?"

"Eh?"

Asami's whole body stiffened, her smile stuck to her face, and she awkwardly turned her neck like a rusty machine trying to keep turning.

"Little Rin! What are you saying?!"

Her tongue trembled so much that she could barely make a fluent sound.

"No way, Mami-nee cheated." Chiai said, covering her mouth.

"Among these six pairs of chopsticks, the one engraved with the king's mark has a small notch in the middle."

Rinne accurately drew the winning chopstick from among the six pairs of chopsticks: "Once you realize this, you've essentially controlled the entire game."

"I see."

Chiai nodded as if suddenly realizing something. "No wonder Mami won again! It's unbelievable! To become queen by cheating is such a despicable act!"

Masumi nodded in agreement: "Cunning, cunning, shameless." She pursued her with words of judgment.

I should have realized it sooner; this wonderful game where you can arbitrarily give orders to others is something this guy definitely won't follow the rules of.

Kurokawa Mio turned her face away: "Tch, I wish I had noticed that."

"I'm so sorry everyone! I know I was wrong!" Mami frantically waved her hands in front of her face. "I'll get a new pair of chopsticks that haven't been tampered with."

"Wait!"

"What's wrong again, Masumi-kun?"

She trembled like a frightened bird. As a result, her rounded breasts swayed softly.

"Let's add another condition to the game."

"condition?"

Not only Mami, but several other girls also tilted their heads with curious expressions.

"The king does not issue orders directly according to his own will. Instead, other players write the orders down on paper beforehand, and the king draws one of the orders from all of them, like drawing lots, to carry them out."

"Hey, doesn't this rule restrict the king's power?" Mami pouted in dissatisfaction. "I don't care, as long as I can draw the order that makes Masumi and I intimate," Kurokawa Mio said without any attempt to hide her feelings.

“I agree. Otherwise, if Mami draws the King again, who knows what kind of outrageous orders she might issue,” Rinne said.

Qian Ai seconded it.

Haiyue, so quiet she was almost invisible, nodded silently.

◇

The third round has officially begun.

"Yay! I'm the king this time!"

Qian Ai excitedly raised the King's Sign in her hand.

"Oh, the Inca king?"

Besides Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga's Ambition, Mami's strategy game empire has recently expanded to Civilization VII.

"Let me see what command I drew."

Chiai reached into the tissue box containing the slips of paper with everyone's orders written on them, unfolded them, and slowly read out the contents.

"Number 2, add a 'meow' to the end of every sentence until the game ends."

"Huh? What a cute command! Who wrote this?"

Rinne: "Me."

"I see. After all, Rinne really likes cats."

"Who is number 2?"

Rinne still said, "Me."

She held a pair of chopsticks with the number "2" written on them.

"Eh, did you draw a command you wrote yourself?" Masumi asked, slightly surprised.

“Then please carry it out, Rinne Neko.” Mami said with a smile.

Rinne nodded. "Okay... meow."

"Wow, so cute." Chiai intertwined her fingers in front of her chest. "I wish my hair could be styled in a cat-ear-like bun like Aimi's."

"Toyama said that hairstyle is star-shaped," Masumi pointed out, oblivious to the romantic implications.

"Let's move on to the next round, meow."

Rinne said calmly, it seems she has already gotten into character.

"I think she was just saying it to herself," Kurokawa Mio remarked.

◇

Round four.

"Oh? Is it my turn to be king?"

It must be said that Kurokawa Mio's domineering aura is indeed very much like that of a king, no! It's more like that of Her Majesty the Queen.

"Thank God I drew an order related to Masumi."

She prayed earnestly, was this what they called the divine right of kings?
Conversely, Masumi desperately prayed in her heart that she wouldn't be drawn, while simultaneously conjuring up images in her mind.

—On the throne, Mio crossed her legs, her posture noble and awe-inspiring, while he knelt on one knee before her like a knight. Queen Mio suddenly extended her beautiful foot, her delicate white toes lifting his chin, and with supreme authority commanded:

"Loyal knight, as a reward, I will grant you the privilege of impregnating me."

Stop!

Masumi, pulling herself out of her reverie, glanced nervously at Kurokawa Mio, who was drawing up a slip of paper. Mio unfolded the paper and immediately gave a bored look.

"Tsk, there's clearly a 1 in 6 probability."

Command: Number 4 shoots Number 3 in the forehead.

“I wrote the order.” Masumi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ugh, Masumi-kun's orders are so boring."

"This is a perfectly normal order," Masumi said calmly. "Number 3 is me."

"Where's the 4th?"

"It's me, meow."

The heir seems to be getting more used to adding "meow" to the end of her sentences. Could she be turning into a character with a verbal tic? Masumi wondered.

That might not be bad either.

"You'd better go easy on my Masumi."

Kurokawa Mio gripped the chopsticks in her hand tightly. As a king, she couldn't protect the one she loved. There was nothing more powerless than this.

"Okay, you can leave Mio to me, meow."

Rinne's tone was indifferent, sounding somewhat like a defiant cat.

Masumi then brushed aside her bangs, leaned forward slightly, and moved closer to Rinne.

She flicked Masumi's forehead with her finger. It seemed she didn't know much about flicking foreheads; it sounded loud but didn't hurt much.

"Are you alright, meow?" Rinne frowned cautiously. "This is my first time doing something like this, I don't have much experience, I don't know if I hurt you, meow."

"I'm fine," Masumi shook her head.

This dialogue feels a bit off. Is this what catgirls in real life are like?
"Hey, Chia, they seem to be getting along really well," Mami chimed in, never one to miss a chance for a good show.

Kurokawa Mio looked over with an icy gaze, and the sound of wood breaking came from her hand.

"Oh no, the chopsticks broke."

◇

The King's Game was played round after round.

The gameplay of drawing commands seems to have made the whole game more tense and exciting, at least for Masumi.

Although we don't know exactly what orders Mio wrote, that's what makes it so chilling.

The oldest and strongest human emotion is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown.

In the fifth round, the king is Haiyue, and his orders are commonplace.

In the sixth round, the king is Rinne.

"Number 2, sing a song."

“I wrote this too,” Masumi said, acknowledging the order.

"Masumi-kun, all your orders are so trivial and ineffective," Mami said lazily.

Qian Ai spoke up for her: "Sister Mami, this is normal, isn't it?"

“I am… number 2…” Haiyue murmured.

"Little Moon's singing voice? I can't wait."

"I...I'm not very good at it..."

"It's okay, it's just to liven things up," Qian'ai said, trying to reassure her.

"Well……"

Kaigetsu glanced at Masumi.

Noticing the jellyfish girl's gaze, Masumi smiled and mouthed "Good luck."

"Alright, please begin, meow."

Haiyue's eyes were expressionless, and her lips were slightly parted.

◇

"Wow, Little Sea Moon sings so well!" Mami exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, the singing is so moving, it almost made me cry." Qian'ai nodded excitedly, "Right? Masumi-nii."

"Ah, I see." Masumi snapped out of her reverie. "Kaizuki, you sang wonderfully."

"I never knew this jellyfish had this trick up its sleeve."

Kurokawa Mio nodded slightly, then looked at Rinne, whose expression seemed quite emotional, and retorted, "Are you a mother attending your daughter's graduation ceremony?"

"I just think Haiyue sang very well, meow."

Faced with everyone's praise, Haiyue slightly widened her eyes.

"It's...nothing..."

She seemed genuinely happy, a faint smile playing on her lips, but for some reason, her smile looked more like a cry.

◇

In the seventh round, the king is Mami.

"Hmph, I was indeed born to rule humanity."

Perhaps it was a matter of luck canceling each other out; although Masumi avoided Kurokawa Mio's dangerous orders, she never got to be king.

"Don't be discouraged, Masumi-kun," Mami comforted him earnestly. "You're probably the kind of person like Motonari Mori or Yoshimoto Imagawa."

(Note: Both were powerful figures in their respective regions during the Warring States period, but none achieved widespread fame.)
"What was that? And Imagawa Yoshimoto's fate wasn't exactly good either."

Including the two times she cheated, Mami has now cheated three times.

Round eight, round nine.

After playing for a while, everyone has gradually lost interest.

"Isn't it almost over? The rain outside is gradually letting up," Masumi said.

Mami: "Hey, let's play a little longer, I haven't drawn my command yet."

"That's right, you can play until the rain stops."

Kurokawa Mio stared blankly at the tissue box containing the orders. As each order was executed, the probability of drawing an order she had written herself was getting higher and higher.

"Alright, so who's the king this time?"

Masumi said this—

"Huh? I'm the king."

"Oh, so Masumi-kun is Tokugawa Ieyasu," Mami said with a hint of sarcasm.

(Note: Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder of the Edo Shogunate, the last military government in Japan, and the third person after Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi to rule the country and end the Warring States period.)
"It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu had fifteen wives and concubines in history, and the harem lived in harmony and contributed a lot to his conquest of the country."

"Fifteen!?" Kurokawa Mio's eyes widened in disbelief. "Masumi wants that many!?"

"Please don't go off-topic, and besides, I'm a citizen of Kobe, not Aichi Prefecture," Masumi said helplessly.

"Enough with the nonsense, Masumi-kun, draw the order quickly."

The girls, who had initially lost interest, perked up again when Masumi drew the Queen of China.

Command: Number 1, stomp on the King.

"I got the order I wrote!" Mami cheered.

"Mami-nee, this order is insane!" Chiai exclaimed, dumbfounded. "What if you were the one who drew it?"

"Isn't it the person who should have been chosen the most?"

Mami seemed quite indifferent; her mindset is truly healthy.

"Unfortunately, I'm not number 1."

"To trample on the king is going too far!" Masumi protested. "I should be the one giving the order!"

"Overthrowing one's superior is the main theme of the Warring States period, and besides, this is a rule you set yourself, Masumi-kun. You have to accept the consequences of your bet."

Mami revealed a mischievous smile.

"Who is No. 1?"

"Yes, it's me."

Kurokawa Mio picked up her chopsticks, her feelings complicated.

It would be a lie to say I'm unhappy about being connected with Masumi in this way, but to have to trample on Masumi myself is just too much...

"It's alright, Ms. Mio," Mami reassured her.

"Wheat grows better the more it is trampled, and the same is true for men; the more they are trampled, the bigger they grow."

"What kind of twisted logic is this?" Masumi couldn't help but complain.

"Don't underestimate me just because I grew up in the countryside near Biwa Lake." She blinked one of her eyes.

"You're clearly growing rice, aren't you? And how does a man grow up after being trampled on?"

"Ugh, Masumi-kun is really hard to deal with." Mami sighed. "Anyway, these are the rules of the game. The king's orders must be carried out, even if they are orders given to oneself."

"That's what I said..."

Oh no, am I really going to be trampled underfoot by a beautiful woman in a bikini...?

Seeing Kurokawa Mio hesitantly stand up, Masumi swallowed hard. "Wait, Mio—"

The swimsuit-clad beauty deftly lifted her foot, like a dragonfly skimming the water, her round, adorable toes barely touching Masumi's knee through the fabric.

The gentle movement was like a butterfly landing on a flower's heart in an instant. Before Masumi could even judge this action, Kurokawa Mio had already tiptoed away.

"...Is this alright?"

Masumi looked up and saw the smooth, white curves of her legs and Kurokawa Mio's flushed face.

The atmosphere became very subtle.

The rain stopped.

(End of this chapter)