The Hatter

"I'll handle the negotiations; you all just stay out of it," Jacob said as he walked towards the mansion on the beach.

There were many people around, most of them in swimsuits, and a few had weapons, though only a handful were walking in from the outside.

As they approached a closer area, several armed men approached, and one of them, in particular, asked, "Who are you?"

Jacob raised his right hand and said, "Look for Aguni; this is important."

"Who the hell are you?" the same man asked in a threatening tone.

Seeing this, Thaddeus stepped up to the man and locked eyes with him. "Listen, buddy, find Aguni and stop asking stupid questions, or you might lose that tongue."

"Are you threatening me?"

Just as Jacob was about to make a move, a whimsical voice came from behind and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Suguru, this man with a bracelet wants to meet Aguni, but the others don't have it, so we haven't done anything until we know who they are," the man who had detained Jacob and the others explained.

"Are you that man?" Suguru Nigari, who had multiple piercings on his face and long black hair, slung a rifle over his right shoulder and walked towards Jacob with a smile.

"What man are you talking about?" Jacob looked at this individual, who seemed to be a headache for whoever his targets were.

Suguru Nigari smiled, raised his radio, and said, "If you're not that man, I'll kill you, and the ones behind you."

"My name is Jacob. Aguni should be in this place since he's the one who invited me." Jacob didn't want to get caught up in this back-and-forth game; it was a problem he wasn't seeking at the moment.

"Hahaha, you have a look I don't like..." Suguru Nigari pressed the radio button, emitting a sound. "Zz... Aguni, some guy named Jacob arrived at the beach with a group of strangers. What should we do?"

"Zz... Let them in, take them to the special room." Aguni's voice came through the intercom, and that's when the tension became less oppressive.

"You're lucky," Suguru Nigari said in an indifferent tone.

"I'd rather bet that luck in games. Take me to that place," Jacob said, looking at Usagi behind him, and she nodded.

On the way, everyone could see that the atmosphere on the beach was one of pure celebration and festivity, no matter where you looked. What was curious was that everyone was in swimsuits, and as Jacob knew, some carried weapons while others didn't.

"If you were invited by Aguni, you might know how the situation works here. But your people must know the rules, and the first one is that everyone must be in swimwear. You're free to live however you want, but if you betray the beach, death to the traitors," one of Suguru Nigari's followers smiled and looked at Arisu, who seemed to have a blank expression.

"Additionally, all cards must be surrendered to the resident Top 1, and no one can leave once admitted to the Beach. Doing otherwise would be considered treason," another man standing beside Usagi said.

"How many people live here?" Airisu asked while observing the place.

"Hundreds of players, we don't keep count, but that number is countless."

After a few minutes, everyone reached a large door that seemed to have no one on the other side, which triggered a sense of alertness in Jacob. However, after a few seconds, his intelligent assistant informed him that there were several people inside, and none seemed to pose a threat.

"Alright, we're here." Suguru Nigari opened the door and walked in, but the other people didn't follow, allowing only Jacob and his friends to enter.

Crack!

The door swung open, revealing several individuals inside, but the most striking was the man in beach attire who had a huge smile.

"Jacob, I've been wanting to meet you ever since Aguni brought me those special cards that brought us closer to our goal!" The man named The Hatter looked at Jacob and pointed to a chair in the center of the room.

"Why didn't you come earlier?" a tall woman with short hair asked.

"Well, things got complicated for us on the way... But the important thing is that we're here, don't you think?" Jacob asked calmly. If any of these individuals posed a threat, his intelligent assistant would take control of his body immediately and eliminate them.

"Does anyone know what these games are about and where the ones who disappeared are?" Arisu stepped forward and asked these individuals, who seemed to know more about the games than Jacob.

Upon hearing this, Jacob closed his eyes and waited. Usagi furrowed her brow, but she didn't say anything either, as she wanted to know if these people had a different answer.

"Exactly!" The Hatter said, breaking his silence. "We have the answers to all your questions."

"Welcome in advance, friends of my friend's friend. You're all welcome to the Beach, the utopia."

"Hahaha, since we're here, let's refresh our memory." The Hatter pointed at the front wall and said, "This is the answer."

As The Hatter pointed ahead, two men who had entered later stepped forward, and numerous cards appeared before their eyes, representing the majority of members that should belong to all the games that had been played.

"I'll tell you the truth. There's only one way to end this infernal game," The Hatter pointed out. "We'll finish all the games and gather all the cards."

"All the cards?" Arisu asked.

"And if we gather them all, could we return to our world?" Kurabe also asked.

"It's just a hypothesis..." Jacob interrupted everyone's questions and said, "I don't discount that theory, but there are still the kings and queens of each suit in the deck. Who told you that those games aren't yet to come?"

Jacob's words cooled the room. The woman who had been smiling all this time didn't stop, but instead looked at The Hatter to gauge his reaction.

"By the way, Aguni seems to be missing from this card."