Date A Live Encore - Volume 10 - Chapter 5

Spirit Werewolf

 “—Early in the morning, on the outskirts of the village, the corpse of the most beautiful girl in the village, Maria, was discovered.” 

 That passage appeared on their smartphones as intermittent rain fell outside. 

 “The corpse was badly maimed, suggesting a brutal act performed by something inhuman. Huge claw marks, traces of sharp fangs, and also the smell of a beast that still lingers.” 

 “All of the evidence points to the fact that there is a werewolf hidden within this village.” 

 After hearing this, everyone present gulped. 

 It could be to moisten their throats getting dry from the tension—or perhaps to suppress the saliva ready to leak out. 

 “Yes, you must find the werewolf hidden among the villagers. Even if a mistake in judgment leads to a companion being hanged, do not hesitate, for if you do, you may be the one lying dead tomorrow morning.” 

 As the voice from the smartphone said that, a flash of lightning fell, illuminating the faces of the girls in the dark tent. 

 “…!” 

 Shido couldn’t help but feel his breathing choke up, because at that moment, he saw the silhouette of a wolf from the shadows of the girls illuminated by the electrical light. 

…Anyway, despite that disturbing introduction, this wasn’t actually a murder case. 

 This morning Shido and the others, who had set up camp by the riverside yesterday for Miku’s graduation trip, were awoken by the sound of rain. 

 “Ah… it’s raining a lot. Going by the river to play would be impossible now.” 

 Shido looked at the situation outside as he said that. After hearing this, the Spirits crowded in the tent all sighed in regret. 

 “Muu… I see.” 

 “Ugh, the sky is too fickle.” 

 While saying something like that, they all gave their opinions on the matter. 

 Inside this huge tent were Tohka, Origami, Kotori, Yoshino, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Natsumi, Nia, Mukuro, and Kurumi. In other words, the Spirits under <Ratatoskr>’s protection were gathered here in full. 

 “Well, the weather isn’t something we can change unfortunately. But what to do? Are there any games we can play on a rainy day?” 

 Miku slanted her head and placed her finger on her cheek. Then, Nia started fishing through her backpack as if remembering something. 

 “Fufufu, I was wondering if something like this was going to happen, so I came prepared.” 

 She then took out a few small boxes with colorful pictures on them. 

 “This is?” 

 “They’re so-called analog games. These are indispensable for school trips. Why don’t we try them together?” 

 “These are for school trips, huh?” 

 Shido bitterly smiled while looking at the boxes Nia lined up. There were playing card games like UNO, as well as several games he didn’t recognize. 

 “There are quite a few games… which one would you recommend?” 

 “Hmm, now that I think about it…” 

 Nia scrutinized the boxes in front of her. After giving it some thought, she licked her lips and picked up one of the boxes. 

 “Then how about trying this? It’s called ‘Werewolf! It’s quite famous, so some of you must have heard of it?” 

 While talking, Nia showed everyone a game box with a wolf pattern. 

 “Werewolf…” 

 He had never played it before, but he was familiar with the name. 

 Origami, Natsumi, the Yamai sisters, and Kotori all gave a similar look. 

 “Werewolf…?” 

 “Muu, it sounds terrifying.” 

 Yoshino and Tohka spoke while staring at the cards with a serious look. Seeing them like this, Nia simply laughed lightly. 

 “It’s not such a scary game. To put it bluntly, it’s a so-called social deduction game. If you can hunt down the werewolves mixed in with the villagers, the villager side wins. If the number of villagers is reduced to the same number as the werewolves, the werewolves win. So, how about it? Simple enough?” 

 Listening to Nia, Mukuro asked puzzledly. 

 “Mun… since it is a werewolf, would it not be stronger than a human? How can humans defeat a werewolf?” 

 “This game is divided into day and night rounds, so the werewolf can only be in beast form during the night. One villager is attacked every night, but during the day the werewolf isn’t any different from a normal human being. Therefore, the villagers will aim to identify the werewolf during daytime and hang them dry.” 

 While saying that, Nia let out a “Gii” sound while pretending to strangle herself. Yoshino was a little startled upon seeing that sight. 

 “It’s a scary game…” 

 “No, no, nobody is actually going to be hanged.” 

 Nia tried to calm Yoshino down with a lighthearted smile. While listening, Kotori folded her arms and stirred the Chupa Chups lollipop in her mouth. 

 “I see. Although the villagers must kill the werewolf, they don’t know who it is. Therefore, if there’s any misjudgment, the one hung will be an ally. But if you do nothing, you’ll all be picked off by the werewolf in the end. Despite the subject matter being scary, it isn’t an uninteresting game.” 

 “Right? And even though we have 12 people, we can still all participate in the game at the same time.” 

 “Ufufu, but finding the lurking werewolf by relying on instinct and luck alone won’t work. There must be a strategy to this game, correct?” 

 Kurumi narrowed her eyes while saying that. 

 “What you say is true.” 

 Nia nodded in agreement as she spread out the cards on the floor. 

 “There are various roles in a game of Werewolf, and each role has its own unique combination of goal and ability. 

 —First of all, ‘Villager.’” 

 Nia picked up a card with a cartoonish person drawn on it and showed it to everyone. 

 “Although it’s the role with the most cards and no special abilities, it’s a position said to be the main character of the game. Armed with courage, wisdom, and your vote alone, your mission is to defeat the werewolves.” 

 Then, Nia showed a card with a wolf on it. 

 “Next up is ‘Werewolf.’ One villager will be attacked every night, and you decide who that is. During the day, you have to play the role of a harmless villager, so that everyone else doesn’t suspect you. In a game of 12 people, there should be two werewolves in the game. If those two are killed, the villagers win. If the number of other players equals the number of werewolves, the werewolf side wins.” 

 And then—Nia placed new cards next to them, with illustrations of a character holding a crystal ball, a character with a ghost behind them, and a character in armor holding a sword. 

 “These three are key positions for the villagers to win. 

 The ‘Seer’ can choose one person every night and learn whether that person is a human or a werewolf. If a werewolf is found, the situation will immediately be in favor of the villagers. 

 Then there is the ‘Spiritualist’, this role can tell whether the person hanged the previous day is a villager or werewolf. This is also very important information. If the werewolf was killed, then it’s worth celebrating, but otherwise that means the villagers have killed one of their companions. 

 The next one is the ‘Knight’, the only role that can compete against the werewolf at night. The knight can guard one person every night. A person protected by the knight won’t die even if they’re attacked by the werewolf. If the knight is attacked however, they will die, so please be sure to not carelessly reveal your identity.” 

 The Spirits mumbled to themselves while looking at the cards in the order introduced by Nia. 

 At that moment, Miku raised her index finger and asked. 

 “I roughly understand now, but isn’t the werewolf side at too much of a disadvantage?” 

 Then, Nia let out a “Nfufufu” laugh while placing another card on the floor. Drawn on this card was a character grinning under the moonlight. 

 “‘Madman.’ The trickster of the game. Although a member of the werewolf camp, they’ll be seen as a villager even when investigated by the Seer or Spiritualist. In other words, the Madman is a traitor among the villagers that is collaborating with the werewolf. The madman will disrupt the village to aid the werewolf, their ally at the critical moment.” 

 “I see… that’s quite a nasty job title, but it sounds like it could be fun.” 

 After listening to that introduction, Miku couldn’t help but sweat a bit while smiling. “Right?” Nia smiled back before turning her attention to the remaining cards. After thinking it over for a few seconds, she chose two more cards to place on the ground. 

 “Since 12 is a relatively large number of players, why don’t we add two more special cards? First up is—the ‘Demon Fox.’” 

 “Demon fox…? What kind of role is that?” 

 “Hmm, the demon fox is a third-party. You won’t die even if attacked by the werewolf.” 

 “Huh? What? Can they only die from hanging?” 

 Natsumi asked with one eye closed. 

 However, Nia shook her head. 

 “No, not only that. The demon fox is cursed when discovered by the seer. So, even though it’s strong against the werewolf, it’s still difficult to survive.” 

 “Hmm… I see.” 

 “The demon fox wins if they survive until the game ends—if they’re alive when victory is confirmed for the village or werewolf teams. The difficulty level is high, but isn’t there a sense of accomplishment from playing a hard role and still obtaining victory?” 

 Nia said that with a wink as she placed down the last card. A character holding delicious looking bread was drawn there. 

 “This is the ‘Baker.’ Every morning, this person bakes delicious bread for everyone.” 

 “What?!” 

 Upon hearing this, Tohka’s eyes glistened with excitement. 

 “That’s a good job title!” 

 “Isn’t it? Generally speaking, this is an unpopular card that’s not used often, but I thought Tohka-chan would like it.” 

 “Umu! It’s a wonderful card!” 

 Tohka kept nodding with a huge smile on her face. Shido couldn’t help but smile at this, but then he turned to ask Nia. 

 “So, what is the effect of the bread?” 

 “It’s very delicious.” 

 “Huh?” 

 “Like I said, the baker just bakes delicious bread for everyone. Besides, what else can you ask of a baker?” 

 “…” 

 After a brief silence, Shido finally figured it out. In other words, this was just a card to liven up the mood. To put it bluntly, if the bread that was baked every morning was no longer being baked, that would indicate that the person hanged yesterday or attacked by the werewolf was the baker. 

 “Well, alright. For the time being, do you want to try it out?” 

 Compared to blindly learning the rules, these sorts of games were easier to pick up through actually playing. With that in mind, Shido gave that proposal. 

 “Yup, that’s right. There are many different ways of playing this, but let’s use the rules I know for the time being… ah, that’s right. This game needs a host that has knowledge of all the roles. Although I could host, that would mean we’d have one less player, so let’s do this.” 

 Nia took out a smartphone from her pocket and began operating it. Then, she placed it in a position that was easy for everyone to see. 

 There was a familiar face being displayed on the screen. 

 “Huh? Maria?” 

 “—Yes. Are you enjoying your trip, Shido?” 

 The <Fraxinus> AI replied back to Shido through the smartphone’s speaker. 

 “I’ve heard the entire story. Let me act as the host; although I am a little dissatisfied at the request coming from Nia, someone mature like me won’t get angry at something of this level. Yes, even if I was treated as a convenient woman who can only come in handy on this sort of occasion, I am not at all angry.” 

 “…” 

 Contrary to her words, she seemed quite dissatisfied. They should probably get her some souvenirs on the way back. 

 “Now, let’s get started. Please shuffle the cards you wish to use and distribute one to each player.” 

 “A-Ah…” 

 Shido followed Maria’s instructions and began to shuffle the cards. 

 At that moment, a girl quietly raised her hand to stop him: Origami. 

 “—Wait. I have one suggestion.” 

 “Suggestion?” 

 Origami nodded in response to Shido’s inquiry and continued on. 

 “Werewolf is a very good game, but to make it more interesting, I would propose the adoption of the OO style rules.” 

 “…OO style… hold on, do you mean the Oririn Original…” 

 Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Shido’s cheeks tightened. However, Origami shook her head without changing her expression. 

 “Oririn Omnipotent.” 

 “If it’s not what I said, then what’s that supposed to mean?!” 

 Shido raised his voice to the level of a scream. Certainly, during the snowball fight they had before, Origami had made a similar proposal. 

 “The OO style rules have two main points. First, the winners may make any request of the losers. Second, cheating that isn’t proven won’t be considered cheating.” 

 “You must be plotting something!” 

 Playing against Origami with these rules would be tantamount to suicide. Shido repeatedly shook his head to express his opposition. 

 In contrast, however, Maria didn’t seem to care much about this. 

 “Alright, I agree to these terms.” 

 “Hey, hey, are you serious? If you approve those rules, do you have any idea what she might try and do?” 

 “It’s interesting to see how messy this will become. Moreover…” 

 “Moreover?” 

 “There’s no harm in it for me.” 

 “…” 

 …Sure enough, the root of this seemed to be not being able to participate in this trip. But since there was <Ratatoskr> work that couldn’t be set aside, it couldn’t be helped. 

 “With that being said, I don’t think Origami could benefit from those rules.” 

 “Huh?” 

 “After the game starts, you’ll understand. Come now, distribute the cards to everyone.” 

 “A-Aah…” 

 Shido assigned a card to each person as instructed. 

 And thus, the first night arrived for a village with a lurking werewolf. 

◇◇◇

 “Mariaaaa!” 

 “How could this be, Maria-san was…” 

 “…No, aren’t you embarrassed calling yourself the most beautiful girl in the village?” 

 With the body found on the outskirts of the village (the established setting for now), the villagers “screamed” and “rushed towards” Maria. 

 After this, a voice echoed from the smartphone again. 

 “The death of Maria, a beautiful girl like a flower loved by everyone, brought a deep sorrow to the village, but blind sadness will be no help at all. As you know, there are two werewolves lurking among you. You guys must search for anyone suspicious and make the decision to hang them. 

 —The discussion time has begun. Discuss with everyone and decide who will be killed today.” 

 A countdown appeared on the screen of the smartphone. It seemed they had to come to a verdict before it reached zero. 

 “…” 

 Shido reconfirmed the card in his hand before exhaling a little. 

 —The card with a fox character drawn on it. 

 Right. Shido’s role was the demon fox, said to have the greatest level of difficulty. 

 This meant that Shido must both avoid being detected by the seer and live to the end. This role really was like walking on a dangling tightrope. 

 “The werewolf that killed Maria is among us…” 

 “Dread. There are too few clues.” 

 Kaguya and Yuzuru surveyed the crowd with serious looks. The two of them, with strong ambitions of winning, had already immersed themselves in the scenario of the game. 

 Seeing this, Shido also changed his way of thinking. Certainly, his current identity was that of a demon fox, but right now, he must play the role of a harmless villager and work with everyone to find the werewolf. 

 “That’s right. It seems that the seer and spiritualist must wait until the coming night before they can use their abilities. Does that mean we need to guess who to hang on the first day?” 

 While saying that, Shido looked at everyone’s expressions… But it was hopeless, it was impossible to tell the identity of the werewolves from that alone. 

 The only information he could get from expressions was Tohka’s look of disappointment at her own card. Likely, she didn’t end up getting the ‘baker’ card. 

 As everyone was suspicious of each other, Nia suddenly raised her hand and spoke. 

 “Okay, okay! Nia-chan is coming out and saying it now! Actually, I am the seer, so don’t hang me by mistake!” 

 “Huh…?!” 

 The sudden confession left Shido stunned. No, not just Shido, several of the Spirits also were surprised. 

 That’s right, if you declare yourself to be the seer, you wouldn’t be tied up. However, the seer was also the role that the werewolf wanted to erase the most. 

 “I-Is that okay, Nia? Suddenly giving out your identity like that, if you’re attacked by the werewolf tonight, you won’t be able to use your action—” 

 “Nfufufu, don’t worry. There is still the ‘knight’ in the village, after all.” 

 “Ah…” 

 As it stood, that certainly was true. If the ‘knight’ that could defend against the attacks of the werewolf was around, it would be okay to confess your identity. In fact, this would be actually a good way to prevent the seer from being killed early. 

 “—Just like that, the knight among us! Remember to guard me tonight! Ah, but there’s no need for you to identify yourself yet! Otherwise you’ll be targeted by the werewolves!” 

 While saying that, Nia cheerfully waved her hand. 

 Like this, the village with no clues had received a small hint. It would be desirable for today’s dropout to be someone other than Nia—but. 

 “…Eh?” 

 In the next second, Shido couldn’t help but raise his brow. 

 After all, at that moment, Mukuro had raised her hand high just like Nia. 

 “Mun… what does this mean? Muku is also the seer…” 

 Mukuro said that in a confused manner. 

 After hearing this, the Spirits all adopted similarly confused looks. 

 —There were two seers. 

 That is to say, either Nia or Mukuro was lying. That must mean— 

 “…” 

 Shido half-consciously turned his gaze towards Nia. 

 No, not just Shido. The other Spirits all tacitly looked towards Nia’s direction, their eyes all seeming to say “I feel Mukuro is the real one…” 

 “…W-Why are you all looking at me like that?!” 

 Nia likely guessed their intentions. 

 “Um…” 

 “No reason…” 

 “It’s obvious that you guys are more suspicious of me! Why?! My conditions should be the same as Mukku-chin!” 

 Dissatisfied with everyone’s response, Nia faked some tears after pretending to be wronged. 

 …So it would be like this, for better or for worse, Shido understood that this game encouraged misdirection. 

 Regardless, no matter how suspicious, there was no concrete evidence. In order to avoid killing the seer by mistake as much as possible, it would still be appropriate to choose someone else other than Nia or Mukuro. 

 The question would be which one the knight would protect tonight. If they protected the fake seer, the real one would likely be killed by the werewolves and everything would be in vain. Indeed, the werewolf or madman pretending to be the seer must have been aiming for this result. 

 As Shido was thinking this over, an alarm sound began to beep from the smartphone. 

 “It is time. Please select the person who will die today.” 

 “Huh, already?!” 

 “I don’t understand anything yet…” 

 The Spirits all had difficult looks over Maria’s announcement. 

 Two self-proclaimed seers, Nia and Mukuro, had revealed themselves, but there were no other clues. Although the options had been narrowed down to a degree, it would still depend solely on intuition to decide who would be killed first. 

 “…No, but—” 

 Shido scratched his cheeks while sorting out his thoughts. 

 Certainly, he didn’t know who was suspicious. However, he still had an idea on the person who should be nominated for the first day. 

 “Then please start voting. Point your finger at the person you wish to hang. All together now…” 

 The sound of someone in the tent holding their breath could be heard, but that wasn’t unreasonable. 

 After all, the fingers of Shido, Tohka, Kotori, Natsumi, Yoshino, Mukuro, and Nia were all pointed at Origami. 

 Incidentally, Origami and Kurumi pointed at Natsumi, Kaguya and Yuzuru pointed at each other, and Miku pointed at Kotori. 

 “—Why?” 

 Origami spoke in surprise. Certainly, Origami’s name hadn’t received any particular attention until now. It could be considered unusual for her to receive a significant majority of the votes and be selected for lynching. 

 But despite that, the reasoning was clear. Shido explained as he scratched his head, eyes half open: 

 “…It would be scary to let someone who advocated those rules stay until the end…” 

 After listening to Shido, the Spirits nodded in agreement. 

 “That rule you mentioned was clearly meant to give way to cheating.” 

 “…The best policy is to kill you while we still can…” 

 “S-Sorry…” 

 Confronted with everyone’s opinions, Origami frowned in regret. 

 “This was a miscalculation. I was hung before getting to show my finger substitution technique.” 

 “Wait, what were you going to do…?” 

 As Shido asked with a cold sweat, Origami sighed and left the circle where everyone was sitting. 

 “Rules are rules. I’m dropping out here, but I hope everyone can hunt down the werewolves and restore peace to the village.” 

 “Origami-san…” 

 Origami sat a little farther away, becoming a spectator. Apparently, that was the “world after death”. 

 “Now, night will arrive once more. Everyone, please close your eyes.” 

 Following Maria’s instructions, Shido and the others tightly closed their eyes. 

 “—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. What a pity. On the outskirts of the village, Miku’s corpse was discovered in a wretched state.” 

 “Kyaaaaaaaaa?!” 

 Miku let out a hair-raising scream at Maria’s declaration. 

 “I-I’m dead?! But I haven’t done anything yet!” 

 With that said, Miku curled up with tears in her eyes, but Yoshino tried to soothe her by patting her on the back. 

 “Hmm, Mikki was killed. That must mean Mikki wasn’t the werewolf.” 

 “…Eh, really? I thought Miku must be a werewolf. Image wise…” 

 After hearing what Nia had said, Natsumi opened her eyes, surprised. 

 “What do you mean ‘image wise’?! For me to attack girls every night, that sort of thing… that sort of thing…” 

 Miku’s voice was gradually growing quieter. From that impression, she must be thinking, “This… feels surprisingly good…? I mean, a situation where someone has to be attacked every night…” or rather something along those lines. 

 “Now, Miku, please depart to the world after death.” 

 “It can’t be helped. I’ll be watching everyone’s heroism from heaven with Origami-san.” 

 With that said, Miku left the circle. Incidentally, in the postmortem world, Miku was instantly suppressed after trying to hug Origami. 

 “Incidentally, delicious bread was delivered to everyone in the morning as well.” 

 “Ooh, the baker is safe!” 

 Tohka let out a sigh of relief at Maria’s words. 

 Shido unintentionally smiled. From that, he could be almost certain that Tohka wasn’t the baker. 

 “Now, please select the person who will be hanged today; the discussion phase has begun.” 

 Along with Maria’s declaration, a countdown began on the smartphone screen just like before. 

 At the same time, the self-proclaimed seer, Nia, immediately raised her hand. 

 “Yes, yes! Everyone, please listen! I checked boy’s future last night and found that he was a perfectly genuine human being!” 

 “Huh? You chose me?” 

 “That’s right. This way, boy’s innocence is confirmed! Let’s work together to find the werewolves!” 

 Nia said that while giving a thumbs up. Compelled by her momentum, Shido bitterly smiled and also gave a thumbs up in response. 

 Then, Mukuro also raised her hand and spoke. 

 “Mun, Muku investigated Natsumi last night, and she is also human.” 

 “Hmm… I see. Compared to yesterday, we have more information to work with.” 

 Kotori stroked her chin as if to indicate that she was thinking. 

 Indeed, it was just as she said. It was regrettable that the werewolf hadn’t been found, but this still further reduced the suspect pool. 

 Thinking it over, though, Shido twitched his eyebrows. There was definitely something amiss in the events that had just transpired. 

 Right. Nia said that she had investigated Shido. 

 However, Shido—the demon fox, who would be cursed to die once divined by the seer—was obviously still alive. 

 That could only mean one thing. 

 (—So, you’re the fake after all, Niaaaaaa?!) 

 Shido raised an unvoiced cry in his heart. 

 There was no benefit for the villager camp to disguise their identities. In other words, Nia was either the werewolf or the madman, pretending to be the seer. There was no other possibility. 

 He had unexpectedly obtained information that everyone else didn’t yet know… but this wasn’t good. If Nia grew suspicious, Shido’s true identity could be revealed as well. It would be better to wait and see how this unfolds. 

 After all, as the demon fox, it didn’t matter which side won. All he needed to do was survive until the end. 

 If so, it would be beneficial to treat Nia as the real seer and join the werewolf camp, but in order to do that, he would need to call Mukuro—the real seer—a fake, which weighed heavily on Shido’s consciousness. 

 “Um…” 

 As Shido was thinking that over, Yoshino suddenly let out a voice. 

 “Hm? What’s wrong, Yoshino?” 

 “I’m actually the spiritualist.” 

 “Eh?” 

 Shido’s attention turned to Yoshino, who had suddenly revealed her identity. 

 The spiritualist was a role that would know the identity of the person who was hanged yesterday—in the current situation it would be Origami’s identity. Like the seer, it was a role that offered guidance to the villagers. However, that also made it a prime target for the werewolves. 

 But the spiritualist revealing her identity now would mean— 

 “Origami-san… was a werewolf.” 

 “…!” 

 Yoshino’s words were shocking. It was no wonder: Origami, who had been voted out on an external premise, was a werewolf. 

 For the villagers, this was a very lucky situation. But on the other hand, such smooth progress was also suspicious. While not giving any explicit statements, Kurumi and Kotori thoughtfully narrowed their eyes. 

 Having said that, no one else came out and claimed to be the spiritualist. Of course, there was the possibility that either Origami and Miku was the spiritualist and Yoshino was betting on that, but when considering Yoshino’s personality, it seemed unlikely. 

 “…In that case.” 

 Natsumi grumbled while having a sullen look. 

 “…The werewolves should know the identity of their companions… that is to say, one of the people who didn’t vote for Origami on the first day is a werewolf?” 

 “…” 

 Natsumi’s reasoning caused Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Kurumi to frown. 

 Right. Those three people didn’t vote for Origami on the first day. Strictly speaking, Miku also didn’t vote for Origami, but she had already been killed overnight. 

 “H-Hold on. Being a suspect from that alone is unreasonable.” 

 “Dissatisfied. What Kaguya says is true; it seems as if you just want an opportunity to argue.” 

 “That’s correct. Isn’t there also the possibility of Yoshino-san lying?” 

 The three people who were suspected gave their counterarguments. 

 However, at that moment, the alarm signaling the end of discussion time rang. 

 “Time is up. Please vote now.” 

 “What? We’ve just reached the critical moment?!” 

 “Even though there is no confirmation… it can’t be helped.” 

 Nia and Kotori frowned as they raised their fingers. Shido and the other two followed the other two as they began to vote. 

 “Then, please select the person that will be hanged today. All together now—” 

 Under Maria’s guidance, everyone pointed to their chosen victim. The result was— 

 Kurumi, four votes. 

 Kaguya, four votes. 

 Yuzuru, two votes. 

 “Hmm, Kurumi and Kaguya have the same number of votes.” 

 “What would you do in this case?” 

 As Kotori asked, a different number appeared on the smartphone’s screen. 

 “In the case of the same number of votes, both parties will be given one minute to defend themselves before a revote. If the revote is still a tie, there will be no deaths today.” 

 “I see…” 

 As Kotori got her answer, she placed the Chupa Chups stick back into her mouth and cast her gaze upon Kaguya and Kurumi. 

 “Then let’s start with Kaguya. Can you explain why you didn’t vote for Origami?” 

 “Hey…” 

 At the end of Kotori’s question, the number on the smartphone began to count down. Kaguya crossed her arms, dissatisfied, but nonetheless began to speak. 

 “I do have some opinions about the oath made with Origami, but as long as I win, there won’t be any problem. In that case, defeating the enemy is the supreme goal, isn’t it?! I am not a werewolf! If I die, the light of life will go out with me!” 

 Kaguya clenched her fist while giving that powerful speech. Although, well, they couldn’t quite tell what she was trying to say with that last statement. 

 “Then, next up is Kurumi. If you will, please.” 

 The countdown was restarted, matching Maria’s voice. At the same time, Kurumi started talking while looking at everyone. 

 “My reasoning is roughly the same as Kaguya-san. I am not incapable of understanding everyone’s decision, but if I must choose, I wish to make a choice that would be more beneficial for the future. As for the reason why I voted for Natsumi-san—” 

 Having said this, Kurumi licked her lips and revealed a coquettish smile. 

 “If there was the potential for trouble from a difficult enemy, it would be better to hang them before that could come to pass.” 

 “…” 

 The Spirits were left speechless. 

 …How to describe this? Even without any confirmation, just from Kurumi’s expression and the words spoken— 

 It all felt just like a werewolf. 

 “Then, please cast your votes once more. All together now—” 

 As expected, all at once everyone’s fingers had pointed at Kurumi. 

 “Ara, ara. How sad. You all are not willing to believe me.” 

 Kurumi sighed as she got up and embarked on a journey for the afterlife (that is, to Origami and Miku’s section of the room). 

 “Kurumi was executed. Now, night will come again. Everyone please close your eyes.” 

 Maria said that in a light tone. Shido and the others closed their eyes in accordance with the instructions and waited. 

 “—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. 

 What a pity. On the outskirts of the village, Kaguya’s corpse was found in a very interesting pose.” 

 “Huuuuuuh?! Why am I the only one with something strange added on?!” 

 Kaguya screamed at Maria’s merciless words. 

 “Wha…?” 

 Shido and some of the Spirits frowned upon hearing this. 

 There were two main reasons. One was simply concern, as the werewolf hadn’t been hunted down yet. 

 The second was the surprise that today’s victim was actually Kaguya. 

 “What’s going on…? Kaguya was still suspected of being a werewolf. For the real werewolf, she would have served as a useful smokescreen. To still kill her…” 

 As Shido asked in confusion, Nia replied while scratching her head. 

 “Hmm… but it’s not unthinkable. Of course, the werewolf definitely wants to attack the seer and spiritualist, but if the knight is still alive, there’s the possibility of that being ineffective. Kaguya, who was suspected of being a werewolf, had a low chance of being protected by the knight. If the werewolf is seeking a quick end to the game, then that was a good choice. The situation is still unclear, though; she may also have been randomly selected. Otherwise—” 

 “Otherwise?” 

 As Shido asked, Nia smirked before continuing on. 

 “—Maybe they’re having fun provoking the villagers this way.” 

 “…!” 

 Hearing what Nia had said, Shido and the Spirits all gasped. 

 Then, amidst the tense atmosphere, Maria spoke through the smartphone as if to add fuel to the fire. 

 “I have more sad news for everyone: I didn’t smell the scent of baked bread this morning.” 

 “Baaaaaaaaaaker—?!” 

 Tohka let out a sorrowful scream. 

 “Gu, guuuu… how could this be?! It’s all because of your bread I could hold on till now. Just you wait… I’ll avenge you…!” 

 Tohka clenched her fist with tears in her eyes. It wasn’t trivial to cry like this, and the remaining Spirits couldn’t help but tremble. In the afterlife, Miku pouted her lips and said, “Really, why didn’t you react like this when I died?” 

 “The baker… ah.” 

 Shido frowned slightly. 

 …Could it be that Kaguya’s last words were actually meant to imply she was baking the bread? She seemed to have been planning on revealing her career in her own style. 

 “Everyone’s mood must be very conflicted, but it’s almost time to start the discussion. Please select the person who will be hanged today.” 

 After Maria finished speaking, the countdown began again. 

 Then, Mukuro spoke with some regret in her voice. 

 “Mun… Muku’s object of divination was Kaguya. Of course, she was human.” 

 “Ah… is that right? A case of bad timing, then.” 

 Shido awkwardly scratched his cheeks after hearing Mukuro’s words. 

 Indeed, no matter how one would phrase it, Kaguya was ruled out as a suspect. It could be a coincidence but it was the best timing for the werewolf to attack Kaguya. 

 “Ah, me too. What a shame about Kaguya.” 

 “…” 

 Nia hurriedly continued from where Mukuro’s words left off, and the Spirits narrowed their eyes in distrust. 

 However, there was no evidence that this was a lie, and right now, there was one person more suspicious than Nia. 

 Yoshino spoke with a trembling voice. 

 “Kurumi-san was a human being, as was Kaguya-san. That means…” 

 While saying that, Yoshino cowered while glancing at Yuzuru. Yuzuru repeatedly shook her head to refute the claim. 

 “Explanation. It is not Yuzuru. Please reconsider. If Yuzuru was the werewolf, she wouldn’t attack Kaguya and make herself the next suspect.” 

 “Ah…” 

 After hearing this, Yoshino’s eyes widened as if realizing something. 

 However, Nia interjected and began mouthing off. 

 “Eh? Really? Did you not think of this excuse beforehand and chose to attack Kaguya to seek more excitement?” 

 “Negation. Please stop guessing. Is there any evidence?” 

 And so, those two started their own battle. 

 But regardless, it was an unshakable fact that Yuzuru didn’t vote for Origami on the first day, so from Shido’s point of view, it was basically impossible for Yuzuru to escape death today. 

 Yuzuru voting for Kaguya wasn’t the problem. The problem was that all the other suspects besides Yuzuru were now dead. If Yuzuru wasn’t a werewolf, that must mean that the real werewolf had voted against her teammate on the first day. 

 Shido frowned while thinking that. 

 Origami introduced those messy rules before the start of the game and made everyone vigilant. Shido, too, thought at that moment that Origami should be eliminated as soon as possible, and she actually had been hanged on the first day. 

 If the real werewolf had expected this early result, then it may be possible that she chose to abandon her companion in order to avoid future suspicion. 

 That move would be a huge gamble. However, Shido had an idea of who among them might have the courage to make such a decision. 

 “…Mukuro, Nia.” 

 “Mun?” 

 “Hmm? What’s the matter, boy?” 

 Mukuro and Nia slanted their heads at Shido’s words. Actually, it would be okay to only ask Mukuro, but as long as Nia had “confirmed” his identity it would be unnatural to exclude her. 

 “Tonight, Yuzuru may still be hanged. But if the murders don’t end, there’s a person I want you both to use your powers on.” 

 “Hmm…?” 

 “Hoho, who is it?” 

 As the two asked in interest, Shido slowly raised his hand and pointed at a person. 

 “—It’s Kotori.” 

 “…Huh?” 

 After Shido finished speaking, Kotori narrowed her eyes in intrigue. 

 However, the alarm then rang out from the smartphone. 

 “It’s time to vote. Please point to the person you want to lynch today. All together now, everyone—” 

 Everyone pointed their fingers in accordance with Maria’s command. 

 The result was—five votes for Yuzuru to three votes for Nia. 

 “Regret. Ku… it can’t be helped. I hope everyone can fight till the end.” 

 Yuzuru looked sad as she walked towards the afterlife. Kaguya and Miku happily waved to welcome her. 

 “Yuzuru is out, then. It’s nighttime again, so please close your eyes.” 

 Maria’s voice echoed in the village where only seven people remained. As night fell, the werewolf’s atrocities were about to repeat once more. 

 “—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. Also, good news for everyone: nobody died last night.” 

 “Huh…?!” 

 “Does that mean there are no more werewolves…?” 

 “No. The werewolf is still lurking in the village. Please start the discussion.” 

 As Maria said that, the countdown began again. Shido and the others turned to look at each other with serious expressions. 

 “The werewolf is still here, but no one was killed… in other words, did the knight protect the person who was attacked?!” 

 Shido deliberately raised his voice as he said that. In reality, it was possible that the werewolf had targeted the demon fox—Shido—and subsequently would be suspicious of him. However, Shido wanted to minimize the existence of the demon fox, so he deliberately promoted the knight as the cause. 

 Then Nia gave a round of applause to match this. 

 “It should be. Hooray for the knight! We’re that much closer to our victory!” 

 “Ah. So what happened to what I wanted you to do yesterday?” 

 Shido looked at Kotori while saying that, and Kotori calmly raised her Chupa Chups stick as if welcoming the challenge. 

 “Mun…” 

 Mukuro pointed to Kotori, cold sweat dripping down her cheeks. 

 “Imōtogo… is a werewolf.” 

 “…!” 

 Mukuro’s words caused Tohka, Natsumi, and Yoshino to hold their breath. 

 Nia, however, reacted fiercely. 

 “Huuh?! What is Mukku-chin saying?! Imouto-chan is clearly a human being!” 

 Nia’s position was diametrically opposite Mukuro’s. 

 At the same time, Kotori exaggeratingly shrugged. 

 “Yes, I am human. I was wondering which seer was fake, but to think it was Mukuro… how surprising, you know how to play so well despite this being your first game, but on the contrary, Nia is so proficient that it makes people suspicious!” 

 “Ahah! How merciless!” 

 Nia stuck out her tongue while slapping her forehead… This exaggerated performance was as suspicious as ever. 

 “M… Muu, which one is telling the truth…?” 

 Tohka looked confused. Then, Nia and Mukuro both leaned forward at the same time. 

 “Tohka, believe in Muku! Imōtogo is a werewolf!” 

 “Don’t be fooled, Tohka-chan! Believe in me!” 

 “M-Muu…” 

 Tohka cast her eyes to Shido as a plea for help. Shido bitterly smiled as he worked to put together his thoughts in his head. 

 The real seer was Mukuro. Therefore, as he had expected, Kotori was the werewolf. 

 Since the other werewolf, Origami, had already died, if Kotori was hanged now, the villagers—no, the victory of the demon fox, Shido, will be confirmed. 

 It felt painful to deceive Tohka and the others, but this was a game. 

 Shido opened his mouth after a small nod. 

 “—I think Mukuro is correct. If you vote for Kotori, it’ll be our victory.” 

 Tohka’s face brightened upon hearing what Shido had said. 

 “I see. Then—” 

 —But at that very moment. 

 “…Can you hold on for a second?” 

 Natsumi stretched out her hand, interrupting Tohka’s words. 

 “Natsumi…?” 

 “‘Mukuro is the real seer and Kotori is the werewolf.’ I have no objections to this assertion; after all, Nia has been hitchhiking on Mukuro for a while now… but I think we should postpone hanging Kotori.” 

 “What do you mean, Natsumi-san?” 

 Yoshino asked with a surprised look. Then Natsumi continued on with a gloomy look on her face. 

 “…Have you forgotten about the existence of the demon fox?” 

 Suddenly hearing that name mentioned, Shido felt a tremble reach his shoulders. 

 “Of course, it is possible that they’ve already dropped out… but, if victory or defeat is confirmed while the fox is still alive, then only the fox will win. If possible, it would be best to hunt them first and then hang Kotori afterwards.” 

 “Hmmm… shouldn’t Muku kill the fox through divination?” 

 Mukuro asked while tilting her head. After thinking it over, Natsumi slightly shook her head and replied. 

 “…No, it may be too late. Even if you succeed in cursing the fox tonight, another person will be hanged, and one more killed by the werewolf. Of course, if the knight survived and successfully guarded someone, things would be different, but if the madman and werewolf are included in the remaining four, we can no longer win. Because half the votes are held by the enemy, the werewolf could no longer be hanged.” 

 “Hmm, what should I do?” 

 “…It’s best to hang the demon fox this round, and then hang the werewolf the next round. Although a villager will be sacrificed tonight, that would still be our victory.” 

 “I see… but how would you know who the demon fox is?” 

 “Hmm…” 

 Natsumi narrowed her eyes as she looked at the remaining players one by one. 

 “…There are two possible candidates, but I don’t think Tohka’s aptitude is in acting…” 

 Then, Natsumi softly whispered. 

 “—Hey, Shido.” 

 In the end, it seemed that the target was determined as Natsumi looked straight into Shido’s eyes. 

 “W-What’s the matter?” 

 “…I remember your identity as a villager was divined by Nia, but I think Nia is the madman. Are you a villager being deceived? Or the host of the demon fox?” 

 “—!” 

 Hearing those words with her transparent gaze that seemed to see through everything, Shido felt his breathing suffocate. 

 “…” 

 That was enough for a genius at observation, however. Natsumi lowered her eyes and raised her voice to tell Tohka and the others. 

 “Let’s hang Shido today. Even if he is actually a villager, it should be fine as long as we hang Kotori tomorrow.” 

 As she made that declaration, the alarm from the smartphone rang. 

 “Time is up. Please vote on the person who will be eliminated today. All together now, everyone—” 

 Under Maria’s orders, the voting began, and after a moment of hesitation, Tohka and the others reached out to Shido. 

 “So it’s me…” 

 “…Mu. I’m sorry, Shido.” 

 Tohka apologized as her expression turned dejected. Shido shrugged with a bitter smile. 

 “Don’t worry. It’s only a game. I’ll be praying for the villagers’ victory.” 

 With that, Shido let out a sigh and departed for the afterlife. 

 “…But still.” 

 On the way there, Shido glanced at Natsumi and whispered at a volume only he could hear. 

 “…She really is amazing.” 

 It was only now that Shido recalled what Kurumi had said. Indeed, in this sort of game, Natsumi was truly a tricky enemy. 

 “—It’s morning. Please open your eyes. What a pity. Natsumi’s corpse was found on the outskirts of the village.” 

 “…Ah, right. I had guessed it would be like this. Thank you, then.” 

 The next morning. Natsumi nodded at Maria’s words and waved to Yoshino, Mukuro, and Tohka before standing up. It was as if she expected to be targeted. 

 …Only it was a shame she had to depart, as she stiffened after seeing Miku smiling and beckoning her to the afterlife. 

 The remaining five players were Tohka, Yoshino, Mukuro, Kotori and Nia. 

 “Then, start the discussion. The person who will be lynched today—” 

 “No, that’s not needed anymore.” 

 Tohka then interrupted Maria. 

 “It’s over, Kotori. Or rather—werewolf!” 

 Then, Tohka stretched her finger to point to Kotori. Yoshino and Mukuro were also staring at Kotori with determined looks. 

 “So, what do you think, Kotori? If you have any objections, we can enter the discussion phase as usual.” 

 Confronted by all of this, Kotori sighed softly and shrugged. 

 “No need. I don’t think I can overturn this situation. Although the dead can’t speak, I’ve been forced to learn that the words left by the dead can have a great impact on the living.” 

 This was her declaration of defeat. 

 Maria nodded and then continued. 

 “I understand. Today’s victim is Kotori, then. 

 —Night fell, but there were no victims. Congratulations to the villagers, the werewolves lurking in the village have been eliminated.” 

 “Ooh!” 

 “We did it!” 

 “Mun…!” 

 The three of them celebrated, and everyone in the afterlife also gave them a round of applause. 

 “Tch, we were clearly one step from victory. Anyway, if it was me and Imouto-chan, we could still have reversed that situation, right?” 

 Nia complained as she revealed the card in her hand; as Natsumi expected, the symbol of the madman was drawn there. 

 “There are also good ways to lose. Shido’s judgment, Natsumi’s observations, plus Tohka and the others who were willing to believe in them. It was all wonderful.” 

 While saying that, Kotori turned over her own card, displaying the werewolf. 

 Looking at this, Nia smiled and said, “Imouto-chan is too mature.” 

 “Kya! You did it! Tohka-san, Yoshino-san, Mukuro-san! You were all so cool! Ah, and of course Natsumi-san!” 

 Next, Miku, holding Natsumi under her arm, returned back to the village from the afterlife and revealed the card in her hand. The image of a knight was drawn there. 

 “…Wow, Miku, you were the knight? You died too early…” 

 Natsumi, who was caught under Miku’s elbow, revealed her card; the person who shined during the finale turned out to be an ordinary villager. 

 The Spirits who were in the afterlife returned to their positions one by one, revealing their identities as if to answer any questions. 

 Origami was a werewolf. Kurumi and Yuzuru were villagers. Kaguya was the baker. And, of course, Mukuro and Yoshino were the seer and spiritualist respectively. 

 Basically, it was the same as Shido’s guesses. Shido also returned to his position, intending to reveal his own card as well. 

 —But, at the same time. 

 “Hmm… then I won.” 

 Over there—was a card with a demon fox drawn on it. 

 “Huh…?!” 

 Seeing Tohka’s card, Shido couldn’t hold back his surprise. 

 No, not just Shido, but Natsumi and the other Spirits’ eyes widened in astonishment as well. 

 That’s right. After all, the demon fox card must have been given to Shido. 

 Perhaps two demon fox cards had been added in by mistake? Shido hurriedly flipped over the card in his hand. 

 “Wha—” 

 The result caused Shido to let out a shocked gasp again. 

 Shido’s position was ‘demon fox.’ There was no doubt about that. 

 But what Shido had now was an ordinary villager card. 

 “I-It can’t be? Certainly, I was the demon fox…” 

 After distorting his eyebrows in confusion, Shido choked on his breath upon looking at Tohka again. 

 “No way… a switch?!” 

 Then, Tohka showed the demon fox card in her hands with a ruthless expression unimaginable from the usually cheerful Tohka. 

 “—What nonsense. Human, do you have any evidence?” 

 “About everyone’s respective positions, you can find them in my records—” 

 “Hmph.” 

 Just as Maria was about to say something, Tohka glared at her, displeased, and the screen of the smartphone displaying Maria began to flicker as smoke began to rise from it. 

 “M-My smartphone?!” 

 Nia screamed as she picked up her phone. 

 However, Tohka didn’t care about this at all as he continued to calmly look at Shido. 

 “I’ll ask again. Do you have any evidence? Assuming what you said is true, have you forgotten the rules of the game?” 

 “—!” 

 Listening to Tohka, Shido and the other Spirits all trembled a bit. 

 Indeed, although it was quickly forgotten due to Origami being the first to drop out, this werewolf game was run with the OO style rules. As long as cheating wasn’t caught, it wouldn’t be considered cheating. In that case, the result at this moment meant everything. 

 Tohka glared at everyone to make sure there was no objection and raised her chin while huffing from her nose. 

 “There is always one winner. Only Tohka is suitable.” 

 Then, while saying so, she threw the demon fox card toward Shido. 

 Shido shed cold sweat upon seeing this. 

 A facial expression that was unimaginable from the usual Tohka. In fact, some of the Spirits were so surprised by the sudden change that they were left speechless. 

 However, Shido had an idea of this Tohka. 

 Right—this was Inverse Tohka. 

 Although there were no clearly visible changes, Shido felt that the Tohka in front of him was similar to her inverse self from that time. 

 “…Wait a minute. If you win with the OO style rules, that means—” 

 Natsumi tensed up as she squeezed out those words. 

 After hearing this, Shido also realized. The point of the OO style rules was not only to allow undiscovered cheating, but the winners obtained the right to make any request of the losers. 

 “…” 

 Shido and the Spirits all gasped. 

 The normal Tohka was fine, but they were all wary of what Tohka would ask for now that she had changed like this. Tohka raised her lips to reveal a faint smile as if noticing everyone’s concerns, but— 

 “…Muu, I am at a loss between curry or hamburger steak… considering it’s camping, it should be curry…” 

 At the next moment, Tohka’s expression changed back to the version that Shido and the others were familiar with. 

 “…Huh?” 

 Shido couldn’t help but slant his head and widen his eyes, and Tohka looked back at him, confused. 

 “Huh? What’s wrong? Is it not still possible to make a request? I wanted to request the lunch menu…” 

 “Ah, no…” 

 Because Tohka had suddenly changed back to her normal state, Shido was left speechless for what to say next, simply shaking his head to dispel the confusion. 

 But what was going on with Tohka just now? 

 Feeling as if it was just a strange daydream, Shido couldn’t help but scratch his cheeks. 

 Finally, Tohka seemed to reach a decision, and clapped her hands together before speaking: 

 “I’ve decided. If you will, please, everyone.” 

 “A-Ah. What do you want to eat?” 

 “No, I decided to leave the lunch menu up to you. I would like to make another request.” 

 “Another request?” 

 “Umu.” 

 As Shido asked, Tohka looked on at everyone and smiled. 

 “‘Everyone will continue to live happily forever.’ That is my wish.” 

 Shido was left unsure how to respond to that. 

 Of course, there were several reasons to be surprised by Tohka’s words, but more than that, Tohka’s expression and tone at that moment tightly squeezed Shido’s heart. 

 Yes, it was just like the words everyone left behind in the death game moments ago— 

 “…Mu? What’s wrong?” 

 “—! No… it’s nothing.” 

 After hearing Shido’s reply, Tohka happily said, “That’s it!” and gathered everyone’s cards again. 

 “Then let’s play another round, with rules that aren’t in the OO style!” 

 Tohka began dealing the cards to everyone. 

 The Spirits were still shocked for a few moments longer, but their cheeks gradually loosened as they received the cards. 

 “Kaka, how amusing. This time I’ll show you my strength!” 

 “Challenge. Yuzuru won’t lose this time.” 

 “Then this round we’ll use the OOO style rules—” 

 “…You’ll be hanged on the first day again, Origami.” 

 In that way, the preparations for the next round began in a somewhat orderly manner. 

 “…Then let’s start.” 

 Shido breathed a sigh of relief to regain his composure, confirming the card he received before taking his seat again.