"I am the Seer. Last night, I investigated Player 11. Player 11 is a Good role."
[The Seer has appeared.]
As one of the most critical roles in the Good faction, the emergence of the Seer instantly sharpened everyone's focus—especially Horikita Suzune, the player who had just been declared as "confirmed Good."
Although her role card was indeed a Good role, and although, as Player 3 had analyzed, it made sense for the Seer to reveal themselves on the first day, this still wasn't enough to guarantee Player 12's identity.
Horikita would never blindly accept someone as the Seer just because they declared her as Good. If Player 12 made even the slightest inconsistency, she would expose them without hesitation.
Of course, she hoped Player 12 was indeed the true Seer. Their identities were now publicly tied. If the Seer turned out to be fake, her own status would also come under suspicion.
Ryuuen Kakeru continued his speech:
"Some people mentioned it already: it's unlikely for a Werewolf to fake-claim Seer in this setup. So, as long as no one else contests me, I believe it's safe to accept my identity, right?"
Though he said it casually, the undeniable confidence in Player 12's tone only added weight to his claim.
"That guy earlier... Player 3, right?"
"I don't like the way you talk. You're not the Seer, yet you felt the need to tell the real Seer how to speak. And what's with that nonsense about the Thief burying the Seer card?"
"Sure, it sounds like you're thinking from a Good perspective, but if you really drew a Villager card like you said, why go so far with all that speculation?"
Ryuuen stared intently at Player 3's icon, as if trying to peer through the screen and into the player's actual expression.
He knew the name Kouenji Rokusuke very well.
When Kitagawa Ryo first proposed his strategy against Class D, he had warned of two potential wild cards: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Kouenji Rokusuke.
According to Kitagawa, Kouenji possessed top-tier abilities even when ranked against the entire first-year. He was not someone to be taken lightly.
And now, Player 3 was very likely Kouenji.
Ryuuen, by nature, despised wild cards. He preferred others to follow his lead. And Kouenji was one of the biggest wild cards.
Even if Kouenji really was a Villager, Ryuuen, as the Seer, didn't want someone like that disrupting the Good side.
"A Thief buries the Seer card, picks a Werewolf, and then fake-claims Seer?"
"That idea is way too imaginative, Player 3. Don't you realize how tiny that probability is?"
"Risking the credibility of a likely real Seer just to explore such a longshot possibility... seems more like you're trying to stir the pot."
Kouenji's words had been subtle. On the surface, they seemed pro-Good, but if you thought about it, they cast doubt on the Seer.
Ryuuen suspected he was planting seeds of uncertainty in the minds of the Good players.
"Everyone should vote me for Sheriff today. Tonight, I'll inspect Player 3. If he's a Good role, I'll let him lead the charge."
Despite his suspicions, Ryuuen acknowledged Kouenji's sharp thinking. If Player 3 really was a Good role, his leadership could benefit the faction.
This was why Ryuuen called on Players 2 and 11—who had voting rights—to elect him as Sheriff.
The Sheriff role grants tie-breaking power and an extra 30 seconds of speech. If the Sheriff dies, they can pass the badge to another player.
For a Seer, this role is even more crucial: by passing the badge before dying, they can indirectly confirm another player's identity.
For example: if Ryuuen becomes Sheriff and survives the day, then inspects Player 3 that night, even if he is killed by Werewolves, passing the badge to Player 3 would confirm them as Good. That would give the village three confirmed Good players (including the Seer) and drastically improve their chances.
"If Player 3 turns out to be a Werewolf, I'll pass the badge to Player 11. That's it."
"I'm done."
[Player 12 has finished speaking.]
[Player 10, please begin speaking.]
Kanzaki Ryuji unmuted his mic:
"Player 10. Solo Good role."
"Player 12 is probably the real Seer. His speech, at least to me, was convincing."
He immediately acknowledged Player 12 as the Seer.
"In this setup, it's genuinely hard for a Werewolf to fake-claim Seer. Without knowing who the lovers are, the risk is too great. So I accept Player 12 as the Seer and Player 11 as Good."
"As for Player 3's theory about a Thief picking Werewolf and burying the Seer card... I find it highly unlikely. If we follow that kind of logic too deeply, we'll never get anywhere. So let's just let Player 12 lead for now."
"Also, since Player 12 dared to reveal as Seer, that pretty much guarantees they aren't a lover. The Seer almost never survives the first night, unless the Witch already used their healing potion."
"I noticed that only Players 2 and 11 didn't run for Sheriff. That makes them suspicious. If the Werewolves are hiding under the Sheriff vote, then Player 2 is especially suspect. Let's hear their speech later, but I personally think it might be worth voting them out."
"Lastly, since Player 12 is the Seer, and Player 11 is confirmed Good, and I have a Good card in hand, based on position logic, I'll throw out a random guess that Player 9 is a Werewolf. Just a guess—don't overreact, Player 9."
"That's all."
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"They're finally starting to call out wolf suspects."
Hashimoto Masayoshi slicked back his blond hair, lounging in his chair as he turned to Kamuro Masumi.
"Kamuro, what do you think?"
"The simplest way to win in Werewolf is through process of elimination. Narrowing down the pool of players to locate where the wolves might be hiding. That's what we call 'wolf-pointing.'"
Kamuro Masumi sat upright with perfect posture, a stark contrast to Hashimoto's casual demeanor. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, intensely focused.
"Although Player 10's comments might sound a bit blunt—directly accusing Player 2, who hasn't spoken, and Player 9, who hasn't had the chance to speak yet—it's true that at this stage of the first round, someone needs to start pointing out potential wolves."
"And to be fair, he's not just throwing out wild guesses. There is some logic to the 'wolves hiding under sheriff votes' theory and positional analysis."
Hashimoto scoffed and shook his head dismissively.
"I think it's a dumb move. Sure, it looks decisive and bold, but he clearly hasn't thought through the consequences. Calling out Player 2 is one thing, but tossing out a guess that Player 9 is a wolf before they've even spoken? That's just low EQ."
"No, it's not about emotional intelligence."
Kamuro Masumi shook her head.
"In a typical game of Werewolf, Villagers are supposed to follow the guidance of the special roles, stay out of the way, and help eliminate suspects through discussion. But in this match, most of the players are elites from their respective classes."
"Meaning even if they drew a plain Villager card, they're still used to being decision-makers."
"Over the past semester, they've developed a habit of being the ones calling the shots."
"So even within the same faction, conflicts are bound to arise—just like the tension between Player 3 and Player 12."
"That's why this game will be far more complex than anyone anticipated."
"Because not everyone here is playing purely for victory—and the person who wins may not be the one who benefits the most."
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Shiina Hiyori met Kitagawa Ryo when they were twelve years old. Their first interaction was in a public online chatroom.
Amidst a crowd of adult netizens, the two kids blended in seamlessly, chatting about Ellery Queen, Dorothy, or Lawrence Block as if they were their peers. Naturally, they quickly noticed each other—or rather, were drawn to one another.
Shiina Hiyori found her first real friend to talk to online.
What she didn't know for a long time was that she was also one of Kitagawa Ryo's only two people he could truly talk to.
For the next couple of years, neither of them asked much about each other's real life. They stuck to talking about books—recommending, teasing, critiquing each other's favorite authors.
As their bond grew, they moved on to voice chats, since their typing speed couldn't keep up with their rapid thoughts.
Lovers need common interests. Shared hobbies continuously generate shared topics. There are endless books in the world, and so their conversations flowed endlessly, like water from a spring. Time zones didn't matter; they would start a conversation at random hours in their respective nights.
Just like there are 20 rules in detective fiction, Shiina Hiyori and Kitagawa Ryo had their own unspoken rule:
No matter when, they could always talk freely.
Thirty thousand idle words, spoken only to one person.
"Detective Rule No. 3: Do not include romantic elements in the story. They only allow irrational emotions to interfere with pure reasoning. Our goal is to bring the culprit to justice, not send a pair of star-crossed lovers to the altar."
"Hiyori, what do you think about that one?"
That morning, Hiyori was getting ready for the day while Kitagawa Ryo was just climbing into bed. They talked about love.
The girl pressed a warm towel to her face in front of the mirror.
"I don't know."
A great detective novel requires logic: The murder method and the method of solving must be reasonable and scientific. The puzzle and its solution must be clear and structured. The crime must ultimately make perfect sense.
Detectives and criminals act like puppets on a stage created by the author, dancing until the truth is revealed to the reader.
Shiina Hiyori had always been enamored with this genre. Until the incident with Kitagawa Ryo.
Real life is not a carefully constructed mystery. It can have unfathomable motives, outrageous sequences, and a surreal ending.
Holmes and Watson first met at their shared apartment. That was the beginning of their story.
Shiina Hiyori and Kitagawa Ryo first met at a courtroom. One stood at the defendant's bench, the other sat in the gallery.
She had heard the boy's voice countless times—cool, soft, but warm enough to make one want to cry.
"Regarding the defense counsel's claim that the defendant acted to protect a classmate, this should warrant leniency."
"Is the witness referenced in this argument present today?"
Everyone turned their heads—everyone but the defendant, who still stood with his back to them.
"Who knows."
The boy smiled carelessly, as if his smile were an abyss.
Shiina Hiyori had believed they were the same. Without wounds, without a past, like a blank snow-covered field, ready to mark with their own signs and symbols.
But in the moment Kitagawa Ryo was sentenced in court, Shiina Hiyori remembered that morning he asked her about love. The dazed morning feeling, like the warm wet towel on her face, made it seem like life was long, and their story was just beginning—like two pure angels holding each other's clean hands.
Shiina Hiyori remembered the name of the girl mentioned in the defense.
Karuizawa Kei.
[Player 10's speech ends.]
The broadcast pulled Shiina Hiyori back to reality.
She took a deep breath and looked down at her role card:
[Werewolf]
She didn't care about victory. All she wanted was for Karuizawa Kei to lose.
To achieve that, the first step was to identify Kei's player number and which side she was on.
Even if Kei turned out to be her werewolf teammate, Hiyori would not hesitate to betray her.
Pressing her lips together, Hiyori started narrowing down the possibilities in her mind. Player 3 was already excluded.
[Player 9, please speak.]
Now, one of her "teammates" was about to speak.
She recalled the first night—there were three werewolves in total.
Alongside her in the werewolf faction were Player 9 and...
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Currently revealed information:
Player 3: Kouenji Rokusuke
Player 5: Shiina Hiyori (Werewolf)
Player 6: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka
Player 8: Sakayanagi Arisu (Hunter, couple with Player 4)
Player 9: Ichinose Honami (Werewolf, unknown if Wolf King)
Player 10: Kanzaki Ryuji
Player 11: Horikita Suzune (Good faction, specific role unknown)
Player 12: Ryuuen Kakeru (Seer)
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