My Lie, Your Ring, This Rose| Kamukoma

🥀 Chapter 34 🥀

Deceive or disillusion? Deceive. It's a pond sitting softly in the midst of a grassy field. It's covered by lily pads, making it hard to distinguish. The lily pads floated on the pond silently, as they blended in with the fresh greenness around them. Breezes of fresh air wrapped around the grass, twirling it and making it dance. The wind bounced against the lily pads, yet the lily pads didn't move an inch. They were rooted to the spot, glued to the murky water that sat beneath them. The sounds of subtle footsteps coming closer and closer filled the air, as a miniature deer ran into the scene. It looked as if it were flying in the air like a thin paper airplane would. Although, the deer's footsteps ascended higher in volume and it came nearer and nearer to the pond. The deer had no intuition that there was a pond there, for the pond itself blended into the scene of greenery ever so well. One step was all it took to fall straight into the pond. A hurried and noisy splash filled the air, as small droplets of water sprouted up. The droplets fell into the pond as fast as they had shot up. The deer felt lost and helpless as it struggled to get out of the situation it had come into. It's fur was soaked and it's once bland brown was a darker colour. Luckily, the pond wasn't deep and it was able to get out after struggling. The deer knew that it wasn't its fault that it had fallen in. Another day passed and the deer ran down the familiar path it took. The pond hadn't changed as well, the lily pads covering it like a blanket. The deer remembered that there was a pond, but pretended that it didn't see it. It was a problem and the deer didn't want to deal with problems so it ignored the pond. However, that was the wrong approach and the deer fell into the pond again. The delicate, glassy petals of the flowers on the pond shook as the deer scrambled to get out. The greenery enwrapped itself on the deer as it drained all its energy trying to get out. The deer couldn't believe that it was in the same position again but it knew that it still wasn't its fault. It took the same amount of time to get out of the pond. The next day was the same. The deer saw the pond as it came closer and fell in, the water having the same reaction as always. It was a bad habit the deer had made, it's eyes were open yet it fell in. This time, it was the deer's fault. It got out of the pond immediately, knowing that it was the one to blame. Disillusion. As the hours of the day went by and the brilliant light of the sun rose again, the deer walked down the path once again. The path that led to all its troubles. Yet, this time it was different. The deer walked around the pond. It was hard to spot the pond as the lily pads hid it so well, but it managed. I would like to think that the pond represented our problems. Each one of us would face a problem one way or the other and sometimes we just end up walking right into them. Sometimes it becomes a habit, falling into the water because you're so used to it. Although, at those times it's better to find another route, or as spoken before, walk around the pond. I sat down at the familiar dining table, a slight worry running through my veins. She was eliminated, Sayaka was eliminated. I was not upset about the elimination, though I was not fully joyous on it either. It was a mixed feeling, as if one side of my heart was happy to have gotten rid of such a vile demon but the other side was irritated. The irritation would have most likely come from the fact that she had tried to manipulate the situation of his mother coming here. I sighed and put my head in my hand as other contestants came and sat down. Sayaka wasn't even upset about being eliminated, she just kept quiet and was escorted out. It was strange and truly bizarre, the look on her face. It was as if she knew this would happen and was just silently waiting for someone to confront her. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, feeling uneasy. I just hope that she doesn't come back. After all, she was eliminated for a reason. I felt the vibration of footsteps behind me as someone came to sit next to me. It was Kyoko. Her presence reminded me of the competition, which the palace workers had to cancel midway. This was because of the elimination. It was a shame that we couldn't finish the competition, but Sayaka was kicked out half way though so it wasn't as bad. I tucked some of my hair to the side. At the end of the day this was a competition and people just had to try their best. It didn't matter if they weren't good at competing against others, it only mattered about themselves. That's why Sayaka tried to use other tactics and though I may see her as manipulative, it wouldn't be the same for everyone. Some may even call her smart.
"I'm ever so sorry to have called you all here," a voice spoke up as they quickly walked around the table. I looked behind me, to see Kirumi walking over. Although she seemed slightly irritated by the past commotion in the palace about Sayaka, she had small stars in her eyes.
"Of course, as you all know we have to cancel the current competition. Due to this, points you may have received in the Ultimate Detective's competition will be cancelled. Yet despite the dreariness, I have another one planned," she smiled as she made her movement graceful towards the end of the table. She was so graceful and joyous, despite what had happened just an hour ago.
"We will be doing the Ultimate Gamer's competition," she enthusiastically announced. I hummed, that should be easy. Although if I were to be frank, I've never quite played video games. If I did though, I would probably either lose with zero points or win with a hundred. My eyes glanced around the room. Izuru was standing at the back of the dining hall, saying something to his mother. Kirumi had complied to the request of giving the jelly opal and gave it to her. Despite that, it was a shame that we had to cancel the competition though, all the points we could have earned are lost. How despairing.