𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕆𝕗 𝕃𝕚𝕗𝕖 [Sora X fem!Reader] (No Game No Life)

Chapter 25

[The Fool King stays a Fool]

(Y/N) Pov:

Sora sighed, saying: "To think that neither the Flügel nor the Elves could win... Just what kind of game did they make you play?" Jibril shook her head, saying: "The Eastern Confederation makes the challenger include all their memories of the game in the wager. Would that provide a clue, by any chance?" "Now I see. No wonder they're unbeatable." said Sora, pulling me closer into his chest. I smiled lightly, biting down on, yet another, donut. "What do you mean?" asked Steph. I answered: "Easy. If your memories get erased, you can't remember at all which game was played. No strategies for another time, get it?" Sora asked: "How is anyone expected to beat them when they can supposedly read minds too?" "We just told you how important information is. That's a Steph for you." added Shiro. Steph was taken aback by that. "No wait. That can't be right." said Sora, putting his head on mine, thinking. "Why not?" asked Shiro. He answered: "If they were really dominating the field like that, nobody would ever challenge them." "Not having to deal with challengers is better." said Shiro. "Sister, that attitude of yours is why you suck at strategy games despite being smarter than me. They've got a surefire way to win against both Elves and Flügel. Wouldn't it be in their best interest to act weak and trick people into attacking them so they can gain more territory? But instead-" "Your play style is so obnoxious." said Shiro, cutting Sora off. "Bro's shocked!" I said: "You got a point, though. They shouldn't have been able to expand this much in 50 years." We looked at the map in front of us. "Right?! It's weird, right?!" asked Sora, yelling. Jibril smiled brightly, saying: "I believe I can explain that conundrum, Master." "Explain it? How'd they do it?" Shiro pointed to the books next to us, saying: "One of the books had something about that. There was only one country that challenged the Eastern Confederation in the past decade." "And just who was dumb enough to do that?" Steph shrunk as I sighed heavily, answering: "I've heard about that, too. But I don't remember who it was." "Then I think it would be faster to see for yourself. Of course, Dora-chan will accompany us." stated Jibril, as if it was the most natural thing. She then smiled, saying: "Come now, Masters. Please hold onto me." We did so without any questions. "Well then, excuse me." After Jibril's words, my eyes widened. That feeling... "Holy... Th-That's a lot of magic..." I managed to stutter out. She activated her magic, and I quickly pulled Shiro closer, hugging her tightly.

In the blink of an eye, we were suddenly in the air, flying. "Wh-What the...?!" yelled Steph. Jibril casually said: "The sky's nice and clear today." "W-Wait, what'd you just do?!" asked Sora, clutching onto my waist. "Teleported us." "This is a genuine fantasy world, isn't it?" Shiro asked: "How far can it take you?" "Anywhere within my field of vision. And all the places I've been to before." "You're kidding me." said both Sora and Shiro at the same time. I giggled a little. For some reason, this felt... familiar. The feeling of being teleported. "How in the world did Imanity survive the war with monsters like you around?" asked Sora. Steph said: "That's one of the greatest mysteries in Imanitian history." "Oh, I have such fond memories of the war!" said Jibril, stars in her eyes. "Dragonians, Gigants, and Old Dei marching across the battlefield... Once, fifty Flügel banded together and somehow managed to behead a Dragonian, though even two hundred of us couldn't defeat a Deus! Not to speak of the (L/N) clan. It was so fun fighting them~ They actually managed to bring down several Flügel. I managed to kill only a hand full of them, but it was so fun! Oh, the nostalgia!" We all stared at her in disgust. "But never mind that. Please look there." She pointed down to a tower. "Let's see... What's that skyscraper doing ruining the Elkian scenery?" asked Sora. "It's huge." added Shiro. "It's the Eastern Confederation embassy in Elkia. That's quite the building they've sprung on us." noted Sora. "Well, it's more like the Eastern Confederation's remodel of our country's former palace." explaiend Steph. "Oh? Hey, wait! Did you just say 'former palace'?! Are you telling me... I nodded, then remembered it. "Ah, I know. The one who challenged the Eastern Confederation..." I trailed off, looking at Steph. "Do you recall, Masters?" asked Jibril. "A single country challenged the Eastern Confederation in the past ten years." "Hey, don't tell me..." Sora trailed off. I sighed, putting a hand on Sora's head. "Elkia..." Shiro nodded her head, saying: "Yeah, it was Elkia."

Back in the library, Sora sat, looking REALLY disappointed. "Nii, you okay?" asked Shiro after a long time of silence. "Yeah, sorry to worry you, Shiro. I'm just despairing a bit here." Steph took a step back, clearly afraid. I just sighed as Sora said: "So even though these guys beat the Elves four times in a row, we challenged them twice that often and lost half our territory? Maybe the previous king really was a fool." "Probably." I said, once again, nodding. "What did you say?! You said so yourself that Grandfather was right, remember?!" yelled Steph. Sora sighed, asking: "How am I supposed to say anything nice about gambling away half the country out of recklessness? Do you realize how much better off our agriculture and industry would be if we hadn't lost that land to the Eastern Confederation? You two really are alike. Did he think he'd win eventually if he kept trying over and over again?" Steph gasped, saying: "True, my grandfather may have been bad at games. But at least he wasn't insane enough to make light of his responsibility for the three million Imanitian lives. Unlike you three, he was a sensible man of character!" I asked: "Sensible man of character? You bet. If betting half your territory on a game without any information or strategy is even a tiny bit sensible, I'd rather be crazy." Steph's eyes widened. Shiro munched on a donut next to us. "Well, he may have been just the king for citizens who can do nothing but complain instead of actually trying to change things for the better. Humanity is a lost cause, every last one of them. Damn it." said Sora, pulling me towards him. "Seriously, how were you able to live like this?" he asked me. I shrugged, answering: "I somehow made it by winning games." Suddenly, I heard weeping. I turned my head, looking at Steph. She cried, saying: "I don't care if you insult me, but Grandfather and the things he believed in are..." Then, she ran away, still crying. "Wait! Steph!" called Sora. My eyes widened. That's not... what I wanted. "Nii, (N/N), you went too far." I looked down at Shiro's words. "Do you seriously expect me to be positive about all this?" asked Sora

"What did you do?!" "What do you mean?" "Are you out of your mind?! I trusted you, (Y/N)!" "B-But-" "I'll go search her. You better stay here or I will get mad, understood?" With that, he left. "But ~~~... Wh-What did I do wrong...? P-Please, answer me..."

I... My eyes widened. I felt something wet on my cheeks, then quickly wiped the tears away. However, they wouldn't stop flowing. "No. Stop. I don't want that. Please..." I said out loud, hoping it would help. But of course it didn't do anything. "(Y/N)...?" I heard Sora's voice. I looked at him through tears, saying: "B-But what did I do wrong...?" I continued to wipe the tears that were still flowing down my face. "Answer me... What did I do wrong? I only... Please, I don't-" I was cut off by someone's arms that were wrapped around me. "Don't cry, (Y/N). I know you didn't mean it like that. Steph knows that, too." reassured Sora. "But I-" "Shh. It's fine." I closed my eyes, waiting for the tears to stop.