I don't need friends.

I don't need cozy relations.h.i.+ps.

But yet, in a confined room.

"Love you, love you, I love you ~ ♪"

My cla.s.smate, Kiryuu Kiri, sang a popular song pa.s.sionately.

What a pretense she was putting on.

The skirt of her sailor uniform fluttered, and danced.

Before me, Endou Yousuke chose his song earnestly, and Yuuyami Himi happily clapped her hands to the beat.

We were in a karaoke box.

I always thought of karaoke boxes as peaceful places, as where untroubled idiots sang their idiotic songs in an idiotic manner; but at that moment, I was there, forcibly brought there against my will ———

"Hey! s.h.i.+nnosuke-kun, are you hyped?"

With a mic in one hand, Kiri winked at me.

Himi and Yousuke shouted

""Yay!!""

I had absolutely no idea what that 'yay' was about. To begin with, have I ever in my life uttered that idiotic exclamation, 'yay'? No, never. Absolutely never. In the first place, I have no idea what kind of enthusiasm a person must have to make that utterance.

I averted my half-opened eyes in exasperation.

Upon doing that, immediately to my right; a guy in the same grade as me ——— His.h.i.+ro s.h.i.+ro, who had been eating from a pile of potato chips ——— grinned and said,

"Hey s.h.i.+nnosuke. You should try to have more fun."

"It's because I'm not having fun."

"Even though you say that, you're actually enjoying......"

"I'm not enjoying myself. Rather, it's horrible."

"Don't be shy. Since your personality is so horrible and you seem to have no friends at all, you might not know this, but......"

With a mic in one hand, Kiri winked at me.

"I still don't have any friends."

"You have us, right?"

"Your joke isn't funny."

"It was us, your good friends, who were the first to come rus.h.i.+ng to save you when you were in a bind earlier......"

"Huh... what, you're trying to make me feel indebted to you guys...... don't you feel embarra.s.sed saying that?"

"No, the one who's embarra.s.sed is you, right? In a karaoke box, the one who's trying to embarra.s.s others is, on the contrary, the one who's embarra.s.sed."

"s.h.i.+ro, it's okay to feel embarra.s.sed."

"Embarra.s.sing ~"

"......"

"Embarra.s.sing ~"

This time, Yousuke who was right before me said it in unison with s.h.i.+ro. The two of them were enjoying themselves like little children, and as I gave them a hard look...... "I'll kill them," I thought to myself. "I'll kill them the next time we enter a labyrinth."

But it was impossible right then, so with a look of disgust,

"Jeez...... isn't this bullying?"

As I said that, the big-breasted, beautiful, high school idol-like girl who had been singing and dancing, Kiryuu Kiri, reached the hook of her song and as it entered the break, she beckoned to me and said,

"C'mon s.h.i.+nnosuke-kun! Let's sing together!"

"Absolutely no way."

I expressed my resolution.

However, the cruel enemy who knew no mercy continued his attack.

s.h.i.+ro said,

"All right, it's your turn next. As your good friend, I've already entered a song that you should be able to sing."

"Huuh!?"

With a jerk, he pa.s.sed me the mic. I tried to push the mic back, but with my right leg injured during the last labyrinth raid I couldn't use any real strength. The mic was pressed on me.

"T-This is a joke right!? Hey Gunjou, you should also say something to these fools."

Seeking help, I turned my eyes to the only girl in this karaoke box who should feel embarra.s.sed at singing.

Next to me on my left, Mizuiro Gunjou.

She should feel the same way I do.

Reason being: She is an elite magician who's successfully raided several Eternal Labyrinths and already has more than 20 corporate sponsors.

And in this world, one who wants to obtain such strength shouldn't have even a second to spare for cozy relations.h.i.+ps.

Because in this broken, insane world that cannot be saved at all, obtaining overwhelming strength requires you to pay an unbelievably large price and make huge sacrifices.

"......"

That's why Gunjou should feel the same kind of exasperation as me. My comrade in exasperation. Of course I don't believe in things like comrades or friends, but at that moment I looked to Gunjou for help as a fellow exasperated comrade.

I looked at her, thinking: You should also say something.

However, her strong-willed, almond-shaped eyes, were looking intently in the direction of the dancing Kiri with envy and a temptation.

"What, you want to sing as well!?"

"Ehh?"

Gunjou looked at me in surprise. It's easy to see that her cheeks were flushed.

"There's no way that would happen, right!? Erhm... I didn't intend to hang out with these brats, just so you know! Erhm... but if you really want me to sing that badly, then I have no choice but to sing...... but-but, if you don't tell me that you really want me to sing that badly, then I definitely won't sing. Get it!?"

Upon hearing that, wearing a gentle smile, Himi handed over the song selection remote and said,

"Erhm, Gunjou-san, I really-really want to hear your singing voice very badly."

Gunjou immediately took the remote.

"...... I don't have a choice, huh~...... It's because you really want to hear me that badly that I'm going to choose a song, get it? I really don't want to sing, just so you know!"

"............"

What the f**k was wrong with her?

I didn't feel the need to listen to her words any longer. d.a.m.n traitor. Trash. My foe. I knew it, "comrades" are an illusion. There's no meaning to cozy relations.h.i.+ps. Even if it was for an instant, I was a fool for believing there was someone who was like me.

Kiri's song ended.

"Aah, feels good! Oh! s.h.i.+nnosuke-kun is holding a mic!? s.h.i.+nnosuke-kun, are you singing next? What are you going to sing!?"

"Eh? N-No, this isn't......"

Speaking over my protests, s.h.i.+ro said,

"All right, I've been waiting for this!"

"I'll kill......"

But,

""Yaay!""

Cried both Yousuke and Himi.

As I thought, what kind of emotion does one feel when one says 'yay'?

Claps resounded.

Gunjou looked at me happily, with eyes that seemed to be expecting something.

The music started.

It was Enka. Indeed, it was a famous song often heard at the end of the year, and one that even I could sing.

"Erhm...... Just for the record, I'm not going to sing, you know?"

But, everyone remained silent and looked at me with eyes filled with antic.i.p.ation.

"I'm not joking...... I really won't sing, you know?"

Everyone just grinned and looked at me. They were looking at me with faces that said, If you really don't sing, you'll look really lame.

"............"

For some reason, my heart started pumping furiously. My entire body filled with a nervousness that was even worse than what I feel each time just before entering a labyrinth, a place where I can die in an instant if I make a mistake in judgment.

On the TV screen where the lyrics display, appeared the amount of time left before the intro ends ——— 6 seconds.

Only 6 seconds left.

If this were a labyrinth, it would no longer be possible to clear it. There would be too little time left. There would be a need to activate Escape magic and bail.

However, there is no escape. With my leg injured, I couldn't get out of this karaoke box.

This must be a joke, right? Does this mean that I really have to sing?

My body stiffened.

How did things turn out like this? Why do I have to go through this? Even though this is not a labyrinth, it feels like h.e.l.l.

I gripped the mic in my right hand tightly. I could feel my palm covered in sweat.

3 seconds remaining.

It started.

The song started.

Driven to the wall,

"Aaah, jeez, d.a.m.n! I just have to sing, right!? Only one song!"

""""Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy!""""

Except for Gunjou, the rest gave a chorus of 'yay's with unbelievable delight.

Amid the peak in tension, I had no choice, really no choice but to sing the Enka ———

"Here's your Oolong tea."

A female server entered. The server glanced at me, smiled and nodded with a grin, making a face that must be undoubtedly thinking, "You seem to be enjoying yourself. That's great, really great."

"Ah......"

I thought.

"Aaah!?"

I thought.

But, I couldn't stop singing at that point. While it's embarra.s.sing and disconcerting, if I were to stop, I think my embarra.s.sment would become even more obvious.

So I continued to sing.

Even as the Oolong tea is handed to me, I couldn't stop singing.

If I sing, it's like h.e.l.l.

If I don't sing, it's like purgatory.

The server left.

I sang the Enka sadly.

Maybe because they've noticed that, s.h.i.+ro and Yousuke seemed to stifle their laughs.

"Cute", I could hear Kiri say softly.

I'll definitely kill them later.

No doubt about it.

Or... Can someone please kill me now?

"............"

Putting that aside, this is a story about songs.

A story about using Headphone Fuzz《 Intra-Cerebral Magic Activator 》s[1], filling our neural matter with cursed songs, risking our lives in desperation, hollering magic.

And then killing girls.

Killing girls who contract an illness.

And about this world where we kill girls ———

"s.h.i.+nnosuke, your Enka singing is really good. Why don't you enter another song? How about Tsugaru Kaikyou......

"Hey, stop fooling around!"

"Eh? You prefer J-Pop?"

"No!"

"How should I put this to you, when the server came in, you were pretty high......"

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

I shouted through my Enka.