M thought, I'm so annoyed.

M thought, is it time to put an end to his boredom once and for all?

——Survival is much harder than death, much harder.

-54-

However, when the idea of ​​"ending myself completely" popped up, the feeling of "I owe someone a lot" also came in strongly.

...Why does she always have this terrible feeling of indebtedness? She is obviously a good witch who never owes anyone anything.

M looked up at the ceiling of the terrifying maintenance department, feeling irritated and distressed.

At that moment, she realized with great intensity:

If you want to end your life happily and openly, you must pay back what you owe.

-55-

So she looked through the employee background of the system world and entered the room filled with countless memories.

——In the end, all he got was the lonely ID name [Prisoner], which was attached below the terrifying maintenance department.

Every time M glanced at that ID, a strange buzzing sound would sound in his ears and heart——

And this time, in order to end her own life, she finally took the most careful and serious attitude to review this ID.

……【prisoner】.

M looked at the name, put his hand on his chest, and felt the fresh and powerful beating.

...My intuition and my body reacted together, so either this guy is my first love, or I am desperately looking for the creditor I owe a lot of money to?

Of course it can’t be first love, are you kidding? It must be a creditor.

-56-

Then, M realized that there was no way out.

She really, really wanted to kill herself completely, she really had to find this [prisoner].

Only after paying off what you owe and getting rid of that sticky strange feeling in your heart can you close your eyes and rest.

"...So, um, after much inquiries and a lot of incredibly tedious and annoying intelligence work... I learned that the [Prisoner] was in this prison, so I just barged in."

M retracted his fist and hit the stone wall with the back of his head.

However, unexpectedly, the Eternal Life Prison is such a special prison that every prisoner in the prison cannot see each other and calls each other by alphanumeric numbers.

If this goes on, how long will it take to find that guy?

...If this goes on, when will she be able to completely kill herself and end her boring life?

-57-

She couldn't help but raise her voice and complain loudly, "If only the prisoner could just push his head out! As a creditor, why can't he take the initiative to appear in front of me when he comes to collect the debt?"

Suddenly, a "bang" sound was heard from the cell next door.

It looked like the cellmate also had his head against the wall.

-58-

"I can't get out."

The cellmate's tone of voice was always so calm, even through the crackling sound obfuscation, one could tell it was a tone that was definitely suitable for being scratched:

"The prisoner just tried, but couldn't push it out with his head."

-59-

M: “…”

M blinked once, then sat up suddenly.

"Are you the [Prisoner]? Tell me clearly what I owe you?!"

"I didn't have any doubt at all. I believed it immediately."

"Don't you have a weird principle of not lying?! With your personality, you're still joking with me about something like this—No, the point is, quickly tell me what I owe you!! I want to pay it back quickly and then commit suicide—"

"You're not finished yet."

The cellmate next door still sounded very calm: "You promised to give me all your flesh, blood, bones and soul, and the right to 'complete death' probably included in that. You don't own yourself. So, if I don't agree, you can't commit suicide."

“…”

-60-

M fell back dejectedly, exhausted.

"I once... owed you... these... why?"

"That's complicated. The Eternal Prison isn't a good place to explain everything."

The cellmate paused, then added, "In fact, in addition to what you just said, you also took the initiative to promise to fulfill my wish. I'm sure you haven't fulfilled it yet."

"How come—"

"Have you ever been in love?"

"……without."

“Have you ever recorded your dating experiences?”

"without."

"Have you ever thought about how to write a love song?"

"N-what on earth does it have to do with-"

"[Help me write a love song] is my wish. You haven't fulfilled it at all. Or is there any emotional experience you can share with me now?"

“…”

-61-

M arched his back indifferently, and then arched his back again, and finally fell face down on the cell floor in his straitjacket.

She had completely given up on pounding Bulkhead with her fists or head.

"Prisoner, you are a very annoying creditor." M, who was facing down, was silent for a long time before saying, "I want to eat your dinner pudding."

-62-

The cellmate next door rustled and pushed the pudding over with a few small indigo dots of light.

"Even if you eat my pudding, I still have the right to end your own life."

“…”

"Don't commit suicide yet. Eat your pudding."

“…”

"And don't call me a prisoner anymore. I'm now P, the cellmate next to M."

“…”

-63-

After that, M didn't speak to P for a whole week.

She was wondering why the creditor she had been looking for for so long was such an annoying guy, and she was also wondering what she had done in the past to deserve so many outrageous things.

In fact, when she met this cellmate in the Eternal Life Prison, she had already put aside the idea of ​​"ending herself" - M wanted to end herself because she was extremely bored. However, this cellmate who was super compatible with her in every aspect was not boring at all. She was fully motivated to "tease him and break his defense" every moment of every day.

Otherwise, he would not have confessed the real purpose of going to jail in just one week and asked him to help find the prisoner.

I said it because I thought it was very interesting to invite him to "find a mysterious prisoner and escape from prison together."

...and the results were hilarious! The responses after the invitations were hilarious!

-64-

The depressed M pierced the plate in front of him with a spoon, and then pierced a guard who wanted to reach out and touch his back.

Use the handle of the spoon to poke through your entire arm from the palm of your hand.

The killing skills she had honed since she was weak were not something related to inhuman strength.

...It's so annoying.

M knocked on the blood-spattered plate impatiently:

"Hey, I have something serious to think about. Could you please stop screaming?"

-65-

So, of course, he was sent to the confinement room.

As expected, the warden, who was personally escorting this exceptional mentally ill patient, took off his mask.

-66-

M naturally didn't recognize the other person. Her mind was full of her overly annoying and overly interesting cellmate next door.

"Don't look at me like that. Don't you want the eyeballs too?"

-67-

That night, the warden rushed to the place that had long been the place where he vented, confessed, and kept his secrets, and which seemed to be his only refuge.

He rushed to P's cell.

Why doesn't she remember me?!

【Why did she forget me?!】

「Why, why is she──」

Dark cell, bright corridor.

The administrator was standing in front of the cage, yelling and screaming, completely losing his mind. He looked more like a trapped animal than the thing in the cage.

[I'm clearly already here—why did she show up again? Why won't she let me go?!]

-68-

P listened to those roars full of resentment in a daze, even more confused and shocked than when he heard the invitation to escape from M that day.

To ask why...

That's an incredibly beautiful black witch, right?

If you admire her, if you like her, if you are attracted to her and cannot help yourself——

Why did the idea of ​​"killing the Banshee" come to mind?

-69-

He slowly recalled, matching the obsession, entanglement, hatred, and □ he had heard from this toy in the past with [M]. When the warden confided in him in the past, he refused to tell him his name and appearance. He always emphasized over and over again that this was a man's love for a woman, a story between a man and a woman.

The calm, empty, and ever-tolerant prisoner even listened in the darkness to every dream the warden had about him, and his futile efforts to find his shadow in every woman.

He had listened so calmly, without any disturbance.

……Well.

hiss.

P's stomach also began to churn slowly. It had never churned like this before, even when he swallowed black bread that was harder than stone on an empty stomach.

How... could it be... so... disgusting?

-70-

That wasn't some human woman who had nothing to do with him.

That was the dark banshee, his only friend, the silly M.

-71-

At that moment, P even felt a little desperate.

If human love is this kind of thing, he thought, then what is my longing for love songs?

So dirty.

So disgusting.

good……

Well.

-72-

M must leave here immediately.

Listening to those distorted roars that spoke without restraint and confessed everything, P tried hard to maintain his facial expression, holding his stomach with one hand and his throat with the other.

He did this simply to avoid making a retching sound. He had never felt so nauseous before.

Even if it was once—even if it was the most distant past, when the gray witch playfully pinched my cheeks, and when those adults looked at my body under the white skirt—

It's never been so disgusting.

The organ can always maintain eternal peace, but P cannot.

M’s good friend P next door, absolutely not.

-73-

She had to leave here immediately.

His only friend must stay away from here - she can't stay here, how can she stay in a place like the Eternal Life Prison? He must have been crazy to feel happy before -

Three days later, M, who had just returned from the solitary confinement room yawning, stepped into his cell and heard his cellmate next door banging on the wall.

The distorted sound blocker concealed the tiny bit of panic: "M, you must leave immediately."

M is very sleepy. He has been doing okay in the confinement room these days, but his sleep quality is really bad.

Without a second thought, she said, "Oh, then make a plan to escape from prison right away? When should we leave together?"

“…”

-74-

Only when the other party fell silent did the sleepy Miss M shake her head, startled by the invitation she had just made.

...Why did she suddenly invite him to escape from prison? Escape together, but where would they go afterward? This guy's sentence was so long, I wonder if he has any criminal record. Will his qualifications be verified and he can be successfully brought into the system world? I wonder if her credit record is good enough to rent him a temporary dormitory in the system world. Besides, she doesn't have a penny in her salary card, and she owes a lot, so she can't even support him with food and clothing.

“M, you…”

"No, wait!"

Miss M was extremely nervous: "Not now! Give me another 5...50 years, and I'll save up some money first. Only when I have enough can I support you!"

“…”

-75-

…There was silence in both cells for a long time.

Miss M was embarrassed: she had never found it embarrassing that her negative savings were a thing - it was so damn embarrassing, she had never met such an interesting, annoying and compatible creditor before!

Mr. P was confused. Very confused.

...Prison break? Was it really more than just a casual joke, a nice lie?

He just wanted to persuade his friend to leave this dirty and disgusting place, but he never expected that his friend had already planned to save money to support himself after he was released from prison.

Her plan was so detailed, her tone so certain, just like when they first met, that powerful banshee who remained steadfast even after facing a thousand world reversals.

Even though she couldn't even hammer down the stone wall at this moment, Mr. P still subconsciously held his breath, as if the banshee was squeezing his heart.

prison Break?

It's okay that she was imprisoned for a minor crime, but with his sentence, his crime, and the collar around his neck, how could he possibly escape from prison?

If a guy like him were to succeed in escaping prison—unless—

etc.

-76-

etc.

-77-

The warden. Eternal Life Prison. The management rights are specially divided into three parts.

The [collar] around my throat. The three things that keep me here serving my sentence.

All the stories I'd heard. All the details I'd known. What I knew now about that man—his complete disdain and trust in me—all the bets and gambles I'd made before, wanting him to be a disposable toy—

【flaw】

【Toy】

【Bewitched】

[Bet]

...No way?

-78-

Mr. P put one hand on his throat and the other hand on his heart.

This time, he was afraid of vomiting out his heart.

Beating like never before—an unprecedented temperature—too scorching—too miraculous—impossible—no, it was absolutely possible. If the story continued as he had planned, every foreshadowing would unfold in the right place—the ending he predicted would be—

【prison Break】

No.

The body and soul were scorching, but the thoughts were icy cold and fell on the top: [This plan has an absolute prerequisite.]

To execute successfully, you have to... you have to...

-79-

Miss M heard her cellmate cough hoarsely.

"I'm sorry," he asked bluntly, "but if this is for a prison break, can I use you?"

Ms. M's mind was suddenly confused as she was struggling to count the debt on her payroll card.

"You're asking me directly what else I call 'utilization'?"

"No, I..."

"Okay, it's not that complicated. What do you want me to do? I can do anything. Helping you escape prison is nothing compared to what I owe you."

“…”

Not worth mentioning?

How could it be not worth mentioning?

Do you know what kind of place this is—what source I am guarding—how long I have spent alone and hopelessly—

-80-

Mr. P bit the tip of his tongue.

This has never been a better time, and emotions don't matter.

He said calmly, even a little stiffly—

"If you want to help me, M, you have to delete our shared memories at the right times. And you have to set them up so we can remember them together at the right times. You're good at handling memories, aren't you?"

Like completely deleting the plan I'm frantically perfecting in my head right now.

For example, completely deleting our discussions and arrangements at this moment.

Completely delete our conversations... anything about escaping the prison... your purpose for entering the Eternal Life Prison... my understanding and observations of the warden... and even, before this, any memory I have of you.

And, and, if the predicted route rolls back, if it goes according to my ideal design, I must also forget—

Forget, we are friends who conspired to break out of prison.

Forget it, this is all in my design.

forget……

-81-

M is a little confused.

"That's it? It's a small matter. If you have no problem with erasing your memory, of course you can. Just tell me those specific dates."

She didn't really care about memory. Besides, she could set it up to recall it, so the risk was basically zero.

"...No, M, this is not a trivial matter."

He said, "I will definitely use you in my plan to escape from prison."

M raised an eyebrow. "You're confessing to me that you're in collusion with me. Do you have absolutely no idea what 'help' is, kid?"

"You don't understand..."

-82-

The existence that has always been extremely intelligent, meticulous, and able to predict the complex future trajectory at a glance, took a deep breath.

Even through the muffled sound barrier, M could clearly hear his uneasiness and anxiety.

"According to my plan, after erasing my memories at the appropriate time, we must perform a... very absurd, unpredictable, and tangled story..."

-83-

"Love Game."

-84-

There will be countless abandonments, countless pursuits, and countless times of wasting all previous efforts.

There must be casual perfunctory responses, unintentional betrayal, false feelings, and indifference.

There has to be a one-sided lover who has completely lost all hope, and a puppy who has been bullied so many times that he will not be suspected even if he turns evil.

To have...

"Wow."

M couldn't help but let out a long whistle. "What you mean by 'using me' is that you want me to pretend to be infatuated with you, deceive and treat you perfunctorily countless times, and then abandon you, and finally bully you into a pitiful little thing that everyone would think of as a stray dog?"

"Yes, isn't it..."

"You really have a problem with your brain, kid."

-85-

M's usually sweet and frivolous tone was now powerful and resounding. Even through the cell and the barrier, one could sense the "light of justice" in her words:

"How could I not participate in such an incredibly fun and interesting thing? I will carry out every abandonment you envision to the end!! This is the most fun—the most interesting—ahem, the most worthwhile thing I've encountered in the past thousand years!!"

“…”

"Can we start now? Can we start now? I'm going to experience the ruthless bullying of a love cheater right now..."

“…”

-86-

"You don't understand me, M."

My friend sounded very helpless: "What we are going to perform is an absurd and tangled love game. This is 'love', and none of us have really experienced it. If we are not careful, we will really deceive each other. The risk is huge.

It will be far greater than originally estimated, and it will be hard to tell whether it will be helpful or useful..."

"Oh, I'm totally fine."

M waved his hand nonchalantly. "I'm not interested in either men or women. It's impossible for me to develop any interest or feelings for you either. You can rest assured."

"Can……"

"Didn't you say before that you have no emotions? Are you still afraid that my ruthless bullying and abandonment will make you develop 'emotions'? If I really start playing with you, I won't be able to control it at all. I will bully you in any way I can, no matter how miserable or fun it is, hehehe——"

“…”

-87-

All hesitation was blocked by her, and all risks seemed to be reduced to zero with her reply.

Mr. P said no more: he really could not find any extra reasons to refuse his unprecedented and miraculous opportunity to escape from prison.

...Why did he find such unnecessary reasons, and why was he so concerned about the word "utilization"?

He is an eternal prisoner. If he can truly be free, he would sacrifice everything...

Obviously, that's the case.

-88-

"Okay. Since you have no objection at all... then... let's get started."

"Great! What's the first step? Play quickly, play quickly - uh, I mean, speak quickly!"