Chapter 428: Werewolf
"Alright. Now that everyone has received their cards, look at your roles, and make sure not to reveal them—especially the werewolves."
Clearly she wasn't the referee, yet Fujiwara Chika still ended up doing the explanation work.
After speaking, Chika looked at her own card.
Villager.
Tsk, so boring.
And if she followed the wrong person, losing would be super embarrassing.
Anyway, like Shinomiya Kaguya said, stupid villagers could only follow the footsteps of the strong—like water without a source, a tree without roots.
What will Ai-chan's card be?
Fujiwara Chika was very curious.
"Secretary-chan, don't secretly peek at other people's cards." Hayasaka Ai warned, seeing her sneaky puppy-like expression and posture.
She flipped her own role card——
Witch.
Possessing one bottle of poison and one bottle of antidote; the former could kill someone at night, the latter could save someone killed by the wolves at night; but she couldn't save herself.
It could be said that aside from the Seer, the Witch was the second highest-ranking role in the entire field! Absolutely no doubt!
"Ai-chan is sitting opposite me—how am I supposed to look at your card? Don't accuse innocent people!"
"Mm-hmm, that's hard to say."
Ishigami Yuu didn't pay attention to the conversation between the two of them.
He flipped over his own card.
…Hunter?
He didn't expect to get one of the two divine roles.
After dying, he could choose one player to shoot and take down with him.
Everyone here is an elite student of Shuchiin… this round won't be simple. Ishigami Yuu covered his card again.
If the players were ordinary people, maybe he would've dared to play boldly.
He might even reveal his role openly, because the hunter was an extremely powerful and high-ranking role; anyone who opposed a hunter almost couldn't escape death. In a match with only two wolves, if the hunter revealed himself, he was practically invincible! Wolves trying to challenge a hunter was basically handing themselves over to die!
"Alright, is everyone done looking? Then let's begin."
Fujiwara Chika saw that everyone had checked their identities, so she gestured for Miko-chan to start the game.
Then, she began observing the expressions of the players.
When playing Werewolf online, you couldn't see people's faces, so you couldn't read subtle details; but playing in person had this technique—using small facial cues to figure out who was a wolf.
Ai-chan's expression… why did she suddenly smile at me? Is she planning to kill me on the first night? Fujiwara Chika looked away.
And her guess wasn't wrong——
I really want to… use the poison to send Chika away immediately. Hayasaka Ai didn't care about winning or losing; she just wanted to ruin Fujiwara Chika's game experience.
But playing recklessly as a witch wasn't very wise.
What if Chika was the hunter? If a witch killed the hunter with poison, they wouldn't be able to shoot.
"Everyone, night has fallen. Please close your eyes."
"Werewolves, please open your eyes."
"Please choose a player to kill… are you certain this is the one?"
Several dozen seconds later.
"Witch, please open your eyes."
Hayasaka Ai slowly opened her eyes.
"The player killed last night is this one. Do you want to use your antidote?"
The one killed was Ishigami Yuu?
Should she save him?
Hayasaka Ai thought for a few seconds, then nodded.
After confirming, Iino Miko continued to the next step——
"It's morning, please open your eyes."
"Next is the election for village chief. The chief has 1.5 votes." Miko-chan looked toward Shinomiya Kaguya, afraid she didn't understand the rules, so she continued explaining: "During the daytime voting phase, the chief's vote counts as one and a half."
"So one person voting is like two people?" Shinomiya Kaguya nodded to herself, then muttered: "Even a game about killing each other can't avoid being infiltrated by power and hierarchy? The chief's authority is clearly far above normal players. Hmph, but humanity truly does need a smart player to lead them."
She felt she could be the chief and lead her team to victory.
"Those who want to run for village chief, please raise your candidate board."
As soon as she finished speaking—
Sakurai Saki, Fujiwara Chika, Shinomiya Kaguya, and Hayasaka Ai all raised their boards one after another.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
At this moment, Iino Miko was extremely grateful she wasn't participating in this round; otherwise, would the girls close to Sakurai Saki tear her apart?
"Starting from the right side of me."
The person seated immediately to Miko-chan's right was Sakurai Saki.
"Last night the one who died was Shirogane, but I saved him. Since we don't have a seer, letting the witch lead the team is clearly the most reasonable choice." Sakurai Saki finished and glanced around, then smiled slightly: "Looks like the wolves didn't kill him last night, and none of you showed any suspicious expressions."
"Alright, I'm not the witch, I was just fake-claiming."
Sakurai Saki put his board down.
The second person, Shinomiya Kaguya——
"What Sakurai-san said makes a lot of sense. If the witch reveals herself, we basically confirm two good players. Since there are only two wolves, harming their own teammate has extremely low benefit and high risk. If the witch doesn't save, the whole round collapses immediately."
"I believe Sakurai-san is good. And of course, I'm also a good player."
She placed her board down.
Kaguya had intended to run for chief, but after hearing Sakurai Saki speak, she also…
No.
Kaguya realized something.
A witch revealing herself wasn't necessarily a good thing.
The third person——Fujiwara Chika.
"I think Saki-kun is a good player. After all, he suggested letting the witch take the chief's badge. That's clearly helping the good side. Ah, and if Ai-chan claims she's the witch, I absolutely don't believe her. Earlier before the round started she secretly smiled at me twice—it felt very wolf-like."
The last person, it was Hayasaka Ai's turn.
"I think boyfriend-kun has ill intentions. If the witch appears, she will definitely be killed tomorrow, because there are only two special roles. Killing them is faster than killing villagers. The witch will definitely die tomorrow, so should she use the poison? The probability is that she won't, because she might hit the hunter, and the game will end immediately. There are many good people, so there's no need to take the risk. But in that case, the wolves will gain a huge advantage."
On the first day, the witch almost hands herself over to the enemy.
Hayasaka Ai decided to play safe: "I'm not the witch, just a villager, but the badge should still be in the hands of a good person. Those below, if anyone is good and thinks I didn't say anything wrong, then please vote for me."
End of speech.
"Those who are not running for village chief, please vote."
"Hayasaka-senpai received two votes, Kei-chan one blank vote."
Hayasaka Ai successfully obtained the village chief badge.
"Last night was a peaceful night, village chief please choose the speaking order," Iino Miko announced.
Because Ai-chan saved someone, it was a peaceful night.
"Speak in clockwise order."
In the next round, because the witch didn't appear, there were no perspectives, everyone could only guess blindly.
Fujiwara Chika waved her hand, stood up, and took out the detective hat she had prepared——
"Ai-chan is definitely a wolf. Earlier she attacked Saki-kun, and she also wanted to take the village chief badge. I predict she will be changing her mind later and assert herself as the witch. Very suspicious!"
The one speaking near the end, Sakurai Saki, rubbed his forehead——
"I feel that this round we shouldn't skip the seer, because if there's no seer and the witch hides among the crowd without appearing, there's absolutely no way to deduce anything. The wolves also don't jump out, everyone hides, and the round will be extremely boring."
Then, he suddenly changed direction——
"So, I want to vote for Ai-chan. Earlier she attacked me, someone who is working for the good side, pure. Alright, that's the end of my speech."
Hayasaka Ai, the last to speak, glanced at him: "I'm the witch, do you want to reconsider? The one I saved yesterday was Ishigami-kun. As for why I didn't reveal my identity earlier, it's because I wanted to carefully observe everyone's speeches."
"President Shirogane earlier only said two sentences and was done, idle. Kei-chan explained why she didn't vote for me, because she didn't think my villager identity could win the badge. As for Chika, I think she's a wolf. Ishigami-kun was also idle but he was killed yesterday, so I believe he's a good person."
"Today let's vote for Saki-chan, because I often interact with him. As long as he lies, he will pretend to smile and act like he's thinking deeply."
After hearing her speech, Sakurai Saki looked around at everyone's expressions, and he exclaimed: "Hey! You guys are really going to vote for me? I…"
He shut his mouth.
"If you're just playing the game, then just play the game, but mixing real-life factors into it is too underhanded, isn't it?"
If he didn't explain, it would've been fine. But once he explained, everyone voted for him.
Sakurai Saki gave his last words: "I'm really not a wolf."
Once he finished speaking, everyone became even more certain they didn't vote for the wrong person.
Round two began.
After night fell, the wolves killed someone, then the witch used her poison.
Morning came.
"Last night's deaths were Fujiwara-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai. Village chief, will you pass the badge?"
"Give it to Ishigami-kun."
As she predicted, once she revealed her identity as the witch, she would definitely die.
"Please choose the speaking order."
The one with the badge, Ishigami Yuu: "Clockwise."
The first to speak was Shirogane Miyuki: "The situation from here is quite simple. Sakurai is a wolf, so we have two villagers left and one special role. As long as the hunter doesn't appear, everything will be easy. But… this is the best-case scenario. There is another possibility: Sakurai is truly a good person who was misunderstood, and Hayasaka was the wolf, because during the first speech, she said she was a villager."
"After getting the badge, she turned into the witch. Not to mention that among the ones who died last night was also Secretary Fujiwara. High probability the witch used her poison. So next, there are two possibilities: 1. The witch poisoned Hayasaka the wolf, 2. Hayasaka was killed by the wolves, and the witch poisoned Secretary Fujiwara."
Of course, it could also be personal revenge.
After all, the information that Secretary Fujiwara and Hayasaka Ai were competing over Sakurai Saki had existed for a long time, so this possibility couldn't be ruled out.
"The worst outcome: three good people die, and two wolves remain."
He didn't say who to vote for, he only laid out the information on the table.
Kaguya spoke: "Ishigami-kun is holding the badge, I think we can follow him."
After she finished speaking, it was Shirogane Kei's turn.
Kei glanced around once and said: "I am the female witch. On the first night, I saved Ishigami-senpai, and last night I poisoned Hayasaka-senpai. Sakurai-senpai—I believe he's a good person. For the female witch to jump out carries huge risk. After all, to avoid making mistakes, the poison in hand basically can't be used. Moreover, on the second night I will definitely die, so it's like giving away a free life."
"When Hayasaka-senpai said she was the witch, I thought she was truly a good person, a villager wearing my witch identity to block attacks. But unexpectedly, she used a very strange reason to push Sakurai-senpai out. If just because of habit one can vote for someone else, then this game doesn't need logic anymore."
"I agree with Sakurai-senpai's words, so on the first day, I didn't jump out and didn't vote for Hayasaka-senpai. The reason is that a villager taking the badge can't lead the team. If it's given to a wolf, the risk is too big, better to skip."
"I am the witch. This round I want to vote for Shinomiya-senpai. Ishigami-senpai is the village chief, and my brother's speech just now didn't sound like that of a bad guy."
Shirogane Kei was playing the game surprisingly seriously.
It was clearly just a normal Werewolf round among friends.
"..."
After listening to everyone, Ishigami Yuu started thinking.
Why did the situation suddenly become so complicated?
Is Shirogane Kei really the witch? Her reasoning and actions were very logical. A witch jumping out is indeed dangerous—playing safe increases the win rate; the process is just a bit dull.
This is the final round, because the witch already used the poison. If they play incorrectly, the good side loses; if they play correctly, the wolves lose.
So, who to vote for?
He could pass first. If Hayasaka-senpai was the witch, the game would end immediately.
Vote for Shirogane Kei?
If she's the witch, then when the wolves kill at night, they still lose.
Vote for Myuu-senpai?
If he's a villager, since Fujiwara-senpai died as a villager, and Sakurai-senpai is also a villager, they would lose.
Vote for Shinomiya-senpai?
No, she isn't a wolf, they would still lose.
'The final question is: trust Hayasaka-senpai, or Shirogane Kei…'
Ishigami Yuu struggled internally, a few seconds passed——
"Let's vote for Shinomiya-senpai. Normally she's smart, clever, and beautiful, but she's been so quiet in a deduction game like this, I find it unreasonable. Shinomiya-senpai should definitely be much better than this!"
Flattery piled on top of flattery.
But Shirogane Kaguya was still glaring at him with eyes sharp enough to kill.
[You're dead for sure!]
Iino Miko maintained her poker face, and as the judge, she said: "Please vote."
"Two votes for Shinomiya-senpai, one vote for Kei-chan…"
Finally, Iino Miko announced:
"The wolves win! Kei-chan and Sakurai-senpai are the wolves."
After she spoke—
Ishigami Yuu jumped up: "Ah, I'm so thirsty, I'll go get some water first."
Immediately after that, under Shinomiya Kaguya's icy gaze, he vanished into the living room.
Hayasaka Ai held her head: "I voted out one wolf, how did we still lose!"
"You took personal revenge! Losing serves you right!" Fujiwara Chika was furious to death!
She strongly suspected Hayasaka Ai of playing dirty—she must be the one who killed her last night!
"Who told you to call me a wolf? I was the witch originally. But because of your words, the witch became unreasonable!"
I took personal revenge? You were even worse!
"…Tch."
Fujiwara Chika felt utterly helpless.
She only wanted to play for fun, who could have known Hayasaka Ai was actually the witch. Since she was the witch, she should have admitted it early. First she claimed to be a villager, then changed her story later.
Sakurai Saki, as a wolf who had won, found the match quite entertaining: "Chika, in the end Ishigami sided with Kei, that's definitely related to what you said. All the suspicion toward Ai-chan started from you."
Fujiwara Chika turned away, refusing to accept this "accusation."
At that moment, Shirogane Kei walked over to Sakurai Saki, showing off: "Saki-nii, I led you to victory, right? Is there any reward?"
This comeback victory was entirely her achievement.
"What do you want?" Sakurai Saki looked up at her and smiled.
Seeing this, Shirogane Miyuki lectured Shirogane Kei: "Kei-chan, don't casually make requests of others, that's not good!"
Hearing that, Shirogane Kei's previously cheerful mood instantly dropped in half.
What was Aniki thinking?
She just wanted a symbolic treat, like candy or something. But once Shirogane Miyuki intervened, Shirogane Kei immediately lost interest.
'You even voted for me in the final round, you terrible big brother! No sense of social interaction, no wonder you can't find a girlfriend.'
Shirogane Kei had no idea Shirogane Miyuki was trying to protect her from the "scumbag demon."
If one day she realized her brother's intentions, who knows what she would think.
(note: honestly, i never played werewolf, so i'm not sure if i edited correctly or not...)
...
After Werewolf, they played a few more rounds.
They adjusted the rules several times, though with so few people it wasn't very balanced. But since they were playing with friends, it wasn't too boring.
Night.
Sakurai Saki slept alone on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Today was a rare day he could sleep alone.
"Da-da~"
There were sounds outside the door. Just when Sakurai Saki thought he was about to be "attacked," he realized the footsteps quickly disappeared.
He thought for a moment, opened the door, planning to check the situation.
After walking a bit, on the second-floor villa balcony used for tea, he found a small figure in cute pajamas, looking up at the moon.
It was Iino Miko.
...