The gray avatar of Player 12 lit up with a unique symbol composed of a wolf's claw and a crosshair, indicating death by either a [Hunter] or [Wolf King] retaliation shot. Players 3 and 9's avatars also grayed out. Since players who die at night cannot leave a final message, all clues had to be inferred from the police badge floating in front of Player 12's avatar.
Yet Ryuuen Kakeru faced a tricky problem.
He had verified Player 3 the night before, and indeed 3 had a good role. According to his plan, if Player 3 turned out to be a "golden" card, the badge would be passed to him.
But for some reason... Player 3 also died last night.
Staring at the dimmed avatar of Player 3, Ryuuen contemplated the badge's next holder.
Actually, upon seeing Player 9's death and the symbol on himself, Ryuuen quickly deduced that 9 was not a Hunter, but the Wolf King, likely choosing self-elimination to take him out, fearing a potential Witch's healing potion.
But this logic didn't hold water. Why would the wolf team go so far, even sacrificing their Wolf King?
Three deaths in one night. If 9 self-attacked and killed Ryuuen with the death skill, how did Player 3 die?
Only two explanations made sense:
1. Player 3 and 9 were Lovers; 3 died due to 9's death.
2. Player 3 was poisoned by the Witch.
But the first theory didn't work—a Wolf King wouldn't self-sacrifice knowing they were in a Lover pair, especially if they knew they were in a third-party faction. The wolf kill requires unanimity among the three wolves, so that'd contradict the action.
Therefore, there must be a Witch still hidden, possibly a third-party Lover.
With little time left to pass the badge, Ryuuen had to make a choice. Other than Player 11, whose role was golden water, he couldn't fully trust anyone.
But even that had caveats. Seers can only determine "good" roles. What if Player 11 belonged to a third-party role like Cupid or the Witch? Those would still appear as "good" to the Seer.
Even with only 7 players left, Ryuuen couldn't find someone 100% trustworthy to entrust the badge.
Still, he passed it to Player 11.
[Sheriff, please pass the badge.]
At the last second, Ryuuen handed the badge to the verified golden water.
[Player 12 has died. Player 11 is now the new Sheriff.]
Having done all he could, Ryuuen let out a long breath.
[Sheriff, please determine the speaking order.]
[Player 1, please speak.]
"..."
Player 1 remained silent for a while. Despite the shocking death of three players in a single night, she seemed unfazed.
"The game is already won."
After much thought, she finally spoke.
"Player 4, please reveal your role. It's time to play with open cards."
That was all she said, and then she went quiet again. But she didn't pass her mic, so only her breathing could be heard.
Karuizawa Kei looked across the remaining players.
She was Player 1, and her role was Cupid.
Players 4 and 8 were the Lovers she selected. Whether they were good-good, wolf-wolf, or human-wolf didn't matter. Together, they had enough power to control the vote.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Player 6, was still alive.
With only 7 players left, the group of 1, 4, 6, and 8 could dictate the vote.
Once Player 4 revealed his role, and their faction became clear, they could begin vote-locking.
If 4 and 8 were good-good, then only Players 5 and 7 remained wolves. Two rounds would end it.
If they were wolf-wolf, they could kill Players 11 and 7 and win easily.
Even if they were human-wolf? That was fine too. As a third-party, Karuizawa would earn a third of the eighty million point prize.
[This isn't a normal Werewolf game.]
[Each player has dual roles: an in-game faction and a real-world class or personal affiliation.]
[Only players who realize this can maximize their gains.]
For example, if two Class B students were in the game, one as a wolf and one as a good role, the good role should help the wolf win. Why? Because the prize is divided among the winning faction. Wolves are fewer, usually three, while good players are at least seven. From a points perspective, helping wolves win yields a larger share.
So, playing the game by traditional rules meant betrayal after betrayal.
Like Player 3—he likely never imagined being poisoned by his own faction's Witch.
This fulfilled the final condition for third-party vote-locking, giving Karuizawa full confidence to declare victory.
[Player 1 has finished speaking.]
[Player 4, please speak.]
"I'm a wolf. This is a human-wolf Lover combo."
Kitagawa Ryo hadn't expected the win to come so easily. In his plan, he tricked Player 9 into self-killing to trade with the Seer and had planned to control the game for another day. But Player 3's sudden death turned the tide for the third-party.
"Vote out Player 5 and we win."
"Also, if there are still students from Class D or C, vote with us. The third-party includes me and Karuizawa."
Player 1 was Karuizawa Kei, very likely Cupid. Who else would confidently declare "the game is won" and ask him to reveal his role?
With that logic, Kitagawa instantly understood her confidence.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was likely still alive.
This was the weapon Kitagawa had handed to Karuizawa, and he fully expected her to use it. Including Ayanokouji, the third-party now held four votes.
Even if the Sheriff rallied the remaining players, they'd only have 3.5 votes.
"No need for the rest to speak. Let's save time."
[Player 4 has finished speaking.]
[Player 5, please speak.]
Player 5, Shiina Hiyori, unmuted but said nothing. She simply breathed silently.
To others, it might seem she had given up.
After all, once Player 5 was voted out, all wolves would be eliminated. In that case, if even one third-party remained, the third-party would win.
After Player 5's time ended, Player 6 skipped his turn. Then it was Player 7's turn.
Player 7 hesitated, sighed heavily, and passed.
For Katsuragi Kohei, the only hope now was that Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't the final third-party member. If both he and she lost, his standing might not be as bad.
But the next speech shattered his illusion.
"I am Sakayanagi Arisu."
"On second thought, maybe letting the good faction win would be better for Class A."
To Karuizawa's surprise, Sakayanagi seemed ready to abandon an assured victory.
"Class A has two players in the good faction, Class B has one, Class C has one, and Class D has three."
"B and C would get only 2/7 of the prize. D would get more, but they're just D Class."
"In other words, I don't want Class C to get a third of the prize, even if I get it too."
Sakayanagi smiled brightly, as if reading Karuizawa's thoughts.
She wasn't doing this for Class A. She simply didn't want Karuizawa to win easily.
Even if they were in the same faction.
"I'm the Hunter. If any good players don't want a third-party win, vote for me."
"I'll shoot Cupid. Tomorrow, vote out Player 5 and good wins."
"Ryo would be willing to die with me, right?"
She flirted with Kitagawa Ryo at the end. He only shook his head helplessly. But this was an open-card vote-lock now; her words wouldn't change the outcome.
[Player 8 has finished speaking.]
[Player 11, please speak.]
"I can't trust you, Player 8."
Horikita Suzune spoke calmly but with determination:
"If you really want to cooperate for the good faction's win, we could just vote Player 4."
"You'll say you're the Hunter and can shoot Cupid, right?"
"But how do I know you won't just shoot Player 5 and hand the win to the third-party? You might just be messing with us. I've researched you, Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A. You're the type to do this."
Even after being tricked by Kitagawa so many times, Horikita still remained wary.
"Ayanokouji, I know you're still here."
She had seized the critical swing vote.
"Your original plan was to help Karuizawa, right? That's why the third-party dared to go public—with your vote, they gained four."
"But as Sakayanagi said, Class D gets the most if good wins. 3/7 is more than 1/3."
"And you, as a good faction member, will get your share. Over ten million personal points."
"Karuizawa wouldn't give you that much."
"If you help us, I'll share my points to help you reach 20 million."
"I don't know why you hide your strength, but at this school, 20 million can change everything."
"That's all. You decide."
Horikita had done all she could. But she never knew that Ayanokouji's reason for helping Karuizawa wasn't about classes. He simply wanted to see how things would change for her after joining Class C. His emotionally-detached self was curious about her relationship with Kitagawa.
[Player 11 has finished speaking.]
[All players have spoken. Exile voting begins.]
This could be the final vote.
Even the students on the cruise held their breath.
Time itself seemed to thicken.
[Players 1 and 6 voted for Player 5.]
[Players 7 and 8 voted for Player 8.]
[Player 11 voted for Player 4.]
[Players 4 and 5 abstained.]
Karuizawa and Ayanokouji voted out Shiina Hiyori for the win.
Katsuragi trusted Sakayanagi and voted for her. Sakayanagi voted for herself to prove her sincerity.
Horikita expected Ayanokouji and Katsuragi to side with her, but they didn't.
Kitagawa and Shiina both abstained.
Result: Players 5 and 8 tied.
According to the rules, they now had one more speech each, followed by a tiebreaker. If tied again, no one would be exiled.
[Player 8, please speak.]
"...What a bother."
Sakayanagi glanced at the abstentions.
Kitagawa must have realized Player 5 was Shiina Hiyori, so he refused to vote her out.
It sounded melodramatic, but she knew Kitagawa was just that type.
[Player 8 has finished speaking.]
[Player 5, please speak.]
"Ryo."
Shiina finally spoke, naturally calling out the name etched in her memory.
Player 4 had abstained.
Maybe Players 1 and 6 wouldn't understand. A single vote would win it for the third-party.
But Shiina knew.
Kitagawa had recognized her voice.
Even just from her breathing.
Countless nights, across oceans, they'd read the same mystery novels, listening to each other's breaths.
The wolves could no longer win. Only the third-party or good factions remained.
But Shiina never wanted victory.
She just wanted confirmation.
Kitagawa's abstention gave her that.
That was enough.
[Player 5 has finished speaking.]
[Second round of voting begins.]
[Players 5 and 6 voted for Player 5.]
[Players 1, 7, 8, and 11 voted for Player 8.]
[Player 4 abstained.]
[Player 8 has been exiled.]
[Player 4 has died.]
[Player 8, please give your final words.]
"How does dying with me feel?"
Sakayanagi beamed.
Ryo could never choose. Not Karuizawa. Not Shiina.
But Karuizawa's vote shift surprised her. Clever girl.
Had she kept voting Shiina, she'd have lost points in Ryo's eyes.
Let Sakayanagi be the villain. Her image in Ryo's heart had nowhere left to fall.
Let Shiina and Karuizawa live.
Dying with Kitagawa...
Didn't sound so bad.
[Player 8 activates skill.]
[Player 6 has died.]
[All special roles have died. Wolves have wiped out opposing roles, but since Player 1, Cupid, still lives, the third-party faction wins.]
[Game Over.]
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