["And he shall lay all the sins upon the goat's head, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a designated man... He shall release the goat into the wilderness, and the goat shall bear upon itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land." — Leviticus]
One person temporarily changing their vote was no great matter. Father Rachi looked at the short-haired girl who had been identified, then at William, and asked with a smile, "Son of God, are you certain that Guest Number 8 is a heretic?"
William said stiffly, "I think she is. I'm sorry, but for more people to survive, she has to die... The more people survive, the greater our chances of clearing the final Instance. Then, we can revive everyone who died in the game."
Rather than explaining his reasons, those last words seemed more like an attempt to ease his own conscience.
He had always considered himself a good person—someone willing to help whenever he could, and willing to pay some price for the well-being of others. But only now did he truly realize that, at heart, he was an ordinary selfish person who would harm others to save his own life.
"Hehehahaha, you make it sound so righteous, but why should I be the one who dies? Why can't it be you?" Unable to move, the short-haired girl could only glare fiercely at William and sneer. "You want to kill me because of my skill, nothing more. But I can promise not to use it. Holding one more trial does me no good at all! When all's said and done, you're all cowards who are afraid of dying!"
William remained silent. He knew perfectly well that he was choosing a scapegoat: the short-haired girl would die in his