There Must Be Something Wrong with Seeking Reality in a Virtual World

After No. 5 finished speaking, No. 6 skipped the turn, and it was No. 7's turn to speak.

Player #7 seemed to want to say something more. He hesitated for a moment, then just sighed heavily and chose to go over the microphone.

For Katsuragi Kohei, number 7, all he could do now was pray that the last person in the third-party camp wasn't Sakayanagi Arisu. If he and Sakayanagi both failed, perhaps Katsuragi Kohei's position would be a little easier. But the next second, number 8's statement shattered his illusions.

"I am Sakayanagi Arisu."

"Actually, after thinking about it carefully, I think it might be better for Class A if the good guys win this exam."

To the surprise of Karuizawa Kei Cupid, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed determined to reject this victory that was within her grasp.

"In the 'good guys' camp, there are two from Class A, one from Class B, one from Class C, and three from Class D."

"Class B and Class C will only receive two-sevenths of the profits. Class D will receive more, but it's still just Class D."

"In other words, I don't really want Class C to get a third of the points, even though I could get a third myself."

Sakayanagi Arisu analyzed the situation as if she were suddenly thinking of the class's best interests, and Karuizawa Kei began to feel a sense of foreboding.

With a bright smile playing on her lips, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to be able to read Karuizawa Kei's mind, even though she was on campus.

In truth, Sakayanagi Arisu knew perfectly well that she wasn't thinking about the interests of Class A at all; she simply didn't want Karuizawa Kei to win so easily.

Even if they are on the same side now.

"I'm the hunter. If there are any good guys on the field who don't want a third party to win, vote for me."

"I'll choose to shoot and take Cupid away, then you can throw out Wolf Number 5 tomorrow."

"This will allow the good guys to win."

"Ryo would probably be very willing to die with me, right?"

At the end of her speech, Sakayanagi Arisu teased Kitagawa Ryo, number 4, with a light laugh.

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head helplessly, but at this point it was an open kidnapping, and the other party's unrestrained remarks would no longer have any impact on the game's outcome.

[Player #8 has finished speaking]

[Player #11, please speak]

"I can't quite trust you, Number 8."

Horikita Suzune like this, and even at this point, she hadn't given up her last hope:

"If you really want to cooperate and achieve a victory for the good guys, then we should be able to vote for player number 4."

"You'll definitely argue that because you're a hunter, you can help us shoot and take Cupid away, right?"

"But I don't know if you'll actually shoot and take Number 5 away to achieve a third-party victory. What you said earlier might just be you deliberately toying with us. I investigated you before, Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A. You're the kind of person who would do something like that."

Perhaps because she had been outmaneuvered by Kitagawa Ryo too many times, Horikita Suzune remained vigilant and confident in her bargaining even at this moment.

"Ayanokoji, I know you're still on this field."

Horikita Suzune successfully secured the crucial vote, and her beautiful face flushed slightly with excitement.

"Your initial plan was to help Karuizawa win, right?"

"This is also why the third party dared to confront them directly, because with you included, they broke the balance and gained four votes."

"But as Classmate Sakayanagi just said, Class D' s interests are maximized when the good guys win; three-sevenths is greater than one-third."

"Furthermore, as a member of the good guys camp, you will receive your share, over ten million Private Points."

After failing the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, Horikita Suzune figured out many things, including Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

"You helped Karuizawa, she couldn't possibly give you that many points, could she?"

"Furthermore, if you choose to help our good guys now, I can share some of my points with you to help you reach 20 million."

"While I don't know your purpose in hiding your strength, in this school, Twenty Million Personal Points can accomplish a lot, whether it's transferring classes or preventing expulsion."

That's all I have to say.

"You decide for yourself."

It has to be said that Horikita Suzune had done everything she could, but she never imagined that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's reason for helping Karuizawa Kei wasn't for the sake of the class at all. He simply wanted to see Karuizawa Kei Matoba she entered Class C. Lacking in emotion, he was very curious about the specific relationship between Karuizawa Kei and Kitagawa Ryo.

[Player #11 has finished speaking]

[After everyone has spoken, the exile vote begins]

This may be the final round of voting in this Werewolf game.

Even the students on the cruise ship held their breath.

Even the waiting time seemed to slow down, becoming viscous.

Players 1 and 6 voted for player 5.

[Numbers 7 and 8 choose to vote for player number 8]

[Player #11 chooses to vote for Player #4]

Players #4 and #5 abstained.

To secure victory, Karuizawa Kei and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka chose the fastest method: throwing Shiina Hiyori.

Katsuragi Kohei believed Sakayanagi Arisu's story and voted for Sakayanagi Arisu, while Sakayanagi Arisu also cast his own vote to prove that what he said was true.

Horikita Suzune was initially confident that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Katsuragi Kohei, who had been persuaded, would follow her and pitch number 4, but she didn't expect that she would be the only one.

Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori both abstained from voting.

In other words, number 5, Shiina Hiyori, and number 8, Sakayanagi Arisu, are now tied.

According to the rules of Werewolf, the two of them will have another chance to speak, and then they will have a final PK. If it is a tie again, no one will be eliminated today.

[Player #8, please speak]

"... This is really troublesome."

Sakayanagi Arisu only said this one sentence, looking somewhat anxiously at the two abstention votes from players number 4 and 5.

Kitagawa Ryo must have recognized that number 5 was Shiina Hiyori, which is why he was unwilling to personally throw Shiina Hiyori out.

Although it sounds pretentious, Sakayanagi Arisu Kitagawa Ryo, the other party would definitely do such a thing.

[Player #8 has finished speaking]

[Player #5, please speak]

"Cold."

Shiina Hiyori finally spoke, naturally uttering the name she knew so well that it was etched into her memory.

Number 4 abstained from this round of voting.

Perhaps it's something that players 1 and 6 can't understand; all they need to do is give their vote to player 5, and the third-party faction will win.

But Shiina Hiyori knew.

It was because Kitagawa Ryo recognized his own voice.

There was only breathing.

But on many nights in the past, they had been on opposite sides of the ocean, each listening to the other's breath as they read the same mystery novel.

The werewolves can no longer win this game, because now there are only two possibilities: a third party wins or the good guys win.

But Shiina Hiyori never wanted this victory.

All she wanted was confirmation, and Kitagawa Ryo's abstention gave her that confirmation.

That's 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 number 8.

[Player #4 abstained]

[Player #8 has been exiled]

[Player #4 has died]

[Player #8, please give your last words.]

"How would it feel to commit double suicide with me?"

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled charmingly.

There was no way around it; Ryo's personality simply prevented her from making a choice herself, whether it was helping Karuizawa Kei or Shiina Hiyori.

However, Karuizawa Kei really surprised her; the final vote-changing was quite interesting.

She's smarter than I thought.

If she continues to stubbornly vote for Shiina Hiyori, her ranking in Ryo's eyes will definitely drop.

Then let me be the villain. Anyway, there's no way Sakayanagi Arisu's impression on Kitagawa Ryo can be any worse.

Let Shiina Hiyori and Karuizawa Kei live, and let herself and Kitagawa Ryo commit suicide together...

It seems pretty good?

[Player #8 activates skill]

[Player #6 is dead]

[All the divine roles are dead, the werewolf faction has wiped out the entire side, but because Cupid #1 from the third faction is still on the field, the third faction wins this game.]

[Game over]

Chapter 52: There's definitely a problem with seeking reality in a virtual world.

"The results of the two Special Exam during the summer vacation of the first semester of first First Year, the Uninhabited Island and the VIP Exam, are in."

Inside the Student Council on the top floor of the club building at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, a purple-haired girl with her hair in a bun was meticulously reporting to the Student Council, Horikita Manabu.

While working on the documents in his hands, Horikita Manabu nodded to Tachibana Akane to continue reading.

"In the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, the top four places were taken by students from Class 1-C, Class 1-B, Class 1-D, and Class 1-A, respectively."

A hint of surprise flashed in Tachibana Akane's eyes. The situation of Class A being at the bottom in the Special Exam was something she had rarely seen, even as a third-year senior. She even tried hard to recall which exam she had ever been at the bottom. Of course, this was also related to Horikita Manabu's personal abilities.

Horikita Manabu's expressionless face remained unchanged.

"What about the changes in the Class Points?"

"After the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, Class C's Class Points have surpassed those of Class B. If the points don't change this month, Class 1-C will be promoted to Class 1-B when the second semester begins."

"As for the subsequent VIP Special Exam, there were no changes to the Class Points."

The information on the document seemed to be hard for Tachibana Akane to believe; she stared at it for a while before reading it aloud, albeit haltingly:

"All twelve groups reached a consensus on result one, and used the 83.5 million points they had earned as stakes to play a twelve-player Werewolf game, with each player acting as an individual."

"The final winners were Sakayanagi Arisu from Class 1-A, Kitagawa Ryo from Class 1-C, and Karuizawa Kei from Class 1-D."

"Each of the three received approximately 27.8 million Private Points."

This has broken the school's record for the most points held by an individual since its founding. Previously, even students who used fraudulent means only managed to obtain 12 million points. But now, three people are holding a staggering 27 million points.

Keep in mind that even the current Class A can only earn 100,000 Private Points per month, which adds up to 1.2 million per year and 3.6 million per three years. This is roughly equivalent to the total income of seven or eight Class A students over three years.

Moreover, the figure of 20 million has special significance at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

An opportunity to transfer to another class or a withdrawal protection.

In other words, these three students have essentially graduated. As long as they are not expelled in the next three years, they can choose to transfer directly to Class A at the end of their third year and enjoy all the benefits offered by the school.

Thinking about this, even Tachibana Akane felt a little envious and jealous. After all, even under Horikita Manabu's leadership, their Class 3-A had been challenged all the way to this day and had to overcome many difficulties to maintain their Class A status. But now that she was told that three students in the First Year, she was bound to feel a little unbalanced.

But Horikita Manabu seemed puzzled. He adjusted his glasses and asked:

Who started this Werewolf game?

"It seems to be Kitagawa Ryo from Class 1-C."

At this point, Tachibana Akane glanced around the room warily. Since her shift had ended and all the other Student Council members, including the two vice presidents, had already left, she added in a low voice: