Chapter 122 - One Hundred Twenty · Day Two · Daytime

Chapter 122: Chapter One Hundred Twenty · Day Two · Daytime"...I saw the so-called exile you have during the day and I know there must be innocent souls among those people. But just to satisfy the wishes of the vast majority, to keep the town moving forward, they are suddenly sacrificed—and this sacrifice doesn’t even require their own consent." Su Ming’an turned his head, his tone suddenly becoming heavier: "...Do you think such a system is reasonable?"

"I, I..." Moli bit her lip, her hands nervously clutching the red gauze on her body, her lipstick smeared messily across her mouth: "...This, this is all arranged by the townspeople, I don’t know... I, I seem to have forgotten a lot, but as soon as I wake up at night, I find myself in a coffin wearing these clothes... I don’t know anything else... I really, really don’t know anything..."

Su Ming’an slowly stood up, he saw faint sunlight streaming through the door crack, the color of morning glow.

...Is it almost morning?

Exile time is approaching again.

He had confirmed there were no additional clues in this shrine, only this suddenly appearing Moli. Now that he finally managed to increase her favorability, he must get something out of her.

"At night? What do you do during the day?" he asked with some caution.

"..." Moli lowered her head.

The morning light spilled in bit by bit, the collar around her neck glittered with dazzling gold, somewhat blinding.

"I don’t remember," she said in an extremely light voice.

"..." Su Ming’an faintly realized that perhaps the favorability still wasn’t high enough.

The light of dawn fell upon them, and Moli lifted her head.

"You, you need to leave," she suddenly came over and pushed him, in a manner that brooked no refusal.

With a creak, the tightly locked wooden door suddenly opened, and at the same time, Su Ming’an also heard the distant chime of the clock coming from the square.

"Dong—"

It was almost time for exile.

He looked at Moli, wanting to ask more, but as she pushed him out the door, he saw her hands begin to heat up, redden, as if they were about to self-ignite upon touching the morning light.

"I can’t leave this place," her eyes were moist, laced with red veins. She looked at him clearly, with a trace of urgent longing: "Your story is very interesting, come find me tonight... okay?"

"..." Su Ming’an hadn’t had the chance to respond when he saw the wooden door close sharply before his eyes.

"Dong—dong—"

The clock’s chime from the square drifted over, exile time was upon them.

He turned and walked towards the square, lost in thought.

The long table in the square was already filled with ten players.

Su Ming’an became the last one to take a seat. The moment he arrived at the square, several hidden gazes also cast their attention towards him.

"...Su Ming’an." He heard Lv Shu’s voice beside him and lifted his head to see that Lv Shu looked rather solemn.

"Look over there," Lv Shu said.

Su Ming’an turned his head to the right and saw that on the cross where Andre’s body should have been hanging, there was now only a pool of blood.

"Someone even stole the body..." Iris huffed lightly: "Among us, there shouldn’t be someone with such a sick interest, right?"

"If it were cute Noel, I might be a bit interested," Mizushima Haru giggled: "That big dumb Andre, who would want him, it’s like adding garbage to one’s room—irrecyclable garbage at that! Right, my lady~"

Mizushima Kawa Sora turned her head away, she didn’t seem to want to talk.

She had been paying attention to Su Ming’an’s gaze... she had exposed herself in last night’s attack, this guy... he was certain to try everything to reveal her today, wondering if their plan for today could succeed...

But today... why does he seem a bit dazed?

"...Su Ming’an, did you not get good rest last night?" Noel, seated right next to him, asked in a low voice, yet his words were crystal clear across the long table.

It seemed like nothing more than a considerate inquiry, but on this table of exile, it carried a hint of probing.

"Um..." Su Ming’an rubbed his eyes and looked up to see Mizushima Kawa Sora’s somewhat nervous expression, and smiled, "...Indeed, I was quite worried that I would die during the night, especially since I’m a witch who has used up the antidote and can’t save myself. But it looks like tonight is a peaceful Christmas Eve, with no one dead... That’s really wonderful."

Mizushima Kawa Sora was momentarily stunned.

...Why hadn’t this man exposed her?

He had figured out her identity the previous night; he was also recognized as a witch, and his words were likely to be believed by others. Why was he now treating her with kid gloves?

"Alright, there are twenty-seven minutes left until the voting time," Adolf spoke up. The mercenary, who had always been mature and steady, said, "The two seers, please report the results of your investigations from last night."

All eyes focused on the two people at the long table.

"——Just to clarify, I am not a seer." Edward shrugged his shoulders: "Originally, I wanted to try and get Su Ming’an out first, but he’s already recognized as a witch... I won’t muddle these waters anymore."

"You, you’re not a seer, what were you messing around for yesterday!" Iris frowned, "Edward, we don’t care about your personal feuds with Su Ming’an, but if you are on the side of the good guys, you shouldn’t be issuing these random death checks."

"It’s not necessarily the case that Edward is one of the good guys," Mizushima Kawa Sora said indifferently, "If he’s a werewolf preparing to claim to be a seer, and his accusation landed on the true witch, hitting steel, now might be his chance to withdraw."

"Moreover, even if Edward withdraws voluntarily, Lv Shu may not be the true seer either," Eni said, "The real seer... might still be afraid to come forward..."

"Shall we... let Lv Shu report his investigation first, whether or not he’s the true seer?" Lin Jiang said in a low voice, hunching over and not daring to look up.

"Last night, I investigated... number ten, Eni," Lv Shu said while watching Su Ming’an’s gestures, sitting up straight: "He is a good person."

"?? Why investigate me?" Eni, wearing a "do I look like a villain" puzzled expression, said, "You should have been checking those two silent and inactive people! They seem more suspicious than anyone!"

Caught off guard by the sudden mention, Lin Jiang looked as if he wanted to shrink under the table, while Yamada Machiichi, still silent, was fidgeting with her skirt hem, eyes dark.

"So no matter whether Lv Shu is the true seer or not, no other seers have come forward?" Adolf rubbed his temples, appearing quite helpless, "Then we’ll just have to trust Lv Shu for now..."

"More than that, I’m more concerned about..."

At this moment, Edward’s gaze was firmly locked onto Su Ming’an, who had kept quiet all this time, filled with deep scrutiny.

"...You’re an openly revealed witch, and you can’t save yourself. Su Ming’an," Edward’s gaze was cold, filled with deep suspicion: "Why... didn’t you die last night?"

All eyes immediately turned their attention to him. Logically, if nothing unexpected happened, Su Ming’an should have been the one to die last night, but now everyone had safely arrived at the long table...

Mizushima Kawa Sora clenched her fists, a slight tension evident.

"That’s a question for the Guard," Su Ming’an said with a smile, "Perhaps last night, a dear Guard watched over me, allowing me to come out unscathed?"

"But you’re a witch, one holding a bottle of poison," Iris said: "Yesterday, when Edward and Lv Shu were at odds, shouldn’t you have used your poison to kill Edward, whom you considered an obvious werewolf?"

"Why would I kill Edward?" Su Ming’an said, puzzled: "Since I wouldn’t die at night, why not save my poison for a more clear-cut situation later on, right?"

"...I don’t understand your reasoning; I think your chances of dying last night were still very high..."

"So, can you find a new witch to challenge me?" Su Ming’an smiled at her, "I’m the only witch here, and you need to find someone to expose me, right? If no one else opposes me, then I am the true witch. Miss Iris, why are you targeting me, exactly?"

Iris choked on her words, her fingers nervously twitching on the tabletop, then she turned her face away.

"...Well, let’s leave the identities as they are for now, Su Ming’an is the real witch, Lv Shu is the real seer, then the Andre who was exiled yesterday is a true werewolf, and Eni who was identified as a good person by the seer is a real good person," Noel concluded with a smile, seemingly unconcerned as if treating this like a real board game. He spread his hands, his smile innocently asking, "——So, who shall we exile today?"

A silence descended upon the long table.

People looked at each other, none speaking out.

And just then, footsteps sounded from the edge of the plaza.

The Mayor, carrying a basket of fruit and leaning on his cane, came slowly. Following behind him was a pretty girl with braided pigtails, her head slightly bowed.

"Travelers from outside, have you come to a conclusion?" The Mayor asked, seeing that the players were temporarily uninterested in engaging with him. He wasn’t annoyed but instead signaled the girl to place the fruit in front of the players and said with a beaming smile, "There is no need to rush, my friends; evil cannot stay hidden. We always believe that you can definitely find those hateful monsters lurking in the shadows and drive them out..."

The one setting the fruit was Moli, but she wasn’t dressed in the dazzling red from the night; she wore the plain apron she had on during the day. She smiled shyly, acting as if she didn’t know Su Ming’an and, as she set the fruit in front of him, he watched her expression carefully.

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"...Moli?" Su Ming’an called out softly, met with a somewhat bashful look from Moli.

In the instant he saw that look, he understood; this wasn’t the Moli from the night.

The Moli from the night had eyes just as pure and clear, but the emotions they revealed were like an untouched spring, devoid of any contamination. She was like a blank page, unmarred by any color; she believed everything he said, accepted any ideology he espoused, as if she had never encountered anything else, pure like a newborn.

...But this Moli before him, he did not see that crystal-clear spring in the depths of her eyes.

He held back his call, watching her pass by with a smile, and said no more.

After all, how could the Mayor’s daughter be lying in a cold coffin at night?

...Was she a stand-in? Having an innocent girl die in her place?

Su Ming’an did not shy away from suspecting the worst of everything in this town.

"By the way, travelers," the Mayor mentioned as if it were an afterthought, "...If you can’t come to a conclusion during the daytime discussion, you can choose to give up voting, and no one will be eliminated."

"This... This is also an option?" Lin Jiang lifted his head, a glint of hope in his eyes.

"Yes, this way, there is no chance that an innocent person will be wrongly eliminated..." The Mayor said with a smile, his wrinkles twisting together, "But... the monsters will not be kind at night. Innocent people will still die in the evening. However, travelers... the choice is yours. You must understand, to win the ultimate victory for your faction, you must learn how to make the ’sacrifice’ of the innocent..."

As he spoke, he slowly turned around, his Dragon Head Cane making a dull thud on the ground. After delivering the fruit, Moli bowed deeply to the people at the table and then helped the stooped old man walk towards the square.

"...What do you think?" Iris retracted her gaze and spoke out.

"Right now, the only clear good people are Su Ming’an, Lv Shu, and Eni," Noel said, tapping his fingers on the table. "There are four Werewolves... aside from Andre on the first day, there are three left... For the good people against the Werewolves, eight to three seems like an acceptable ratio..."

"Noel, are you suggesting we forego voting?" Eni looked somewhat disapproving.

"Otherwise, whom do you suspect? Eni," Noel’s tone was exceedingly light.

Eni’s words faltered; he already had his suspicions, but he couldn’t voice them.

...In fact, looking at it, Edward, who claimed to be the Prophet yesterday and then suddenly retracted it today, seems most suspicious.

But... Eni couldn’t say he suspected Edward.

Before the game started, he and Edward were on the same side, regardless of factions. Superiors had even instructed him that, even if he failed, he must support Edward towards success...

Indeed, many people present had intricate connections with Edward.

Even if everyone suspected Edward today... it’s highly likely Edward would not be eliminated.

This game... the differences between factions did not seem to matter that much.

Because the true alignment... was determined before the game even started.

"...Then let’s abstain from voting," Eni said, as if taking a long sigh of relief, loosening his fists and uttering these words.

He felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders for a moment.

It seemed at that moment... his competitive spirit was not as strong anymore.

He suddenly realized that his former self, who had feverishly chased the title of "Number One Player," was too naive and had thought too little.

Some things were simply beyond the reach of his cautious self.

"Abstain from voting, yes, abstain...," Lin Jiang muttered, fiddling with his fingers, trembling with fear.

"Abstaining is indeed not bad, once someone sneakily votes, we can just beat them up as a werewolf," Iris agreed.

"But abstaining is just a slow death, eh? Someone will still die at night..." Adolf seemed to disagree somewhat.

"So what do you suggest, who do you suspect? Speak up," Edward gave him a cold glance.

Adolf’s hands tightened, and he lowered his head in silence.

No one consulted the opinion of the true prophet.

Lv Shu seemed to be isolated as no one spoke a word to him until the voting segment arrived, and no one suggested that the true prophet should cast a decisive vote.

"Let’s just keep it this way for now, there’s still a good number of good people left. Let’s see who dies tomorrow to narrow down the exploration range, and then we can vote," Noel said, setting the tone for today’s decision to abstain from voting.

"Hmph, no one is allowed to vote, eh! Whoever votes gets beaten up as a werewolf!" Mizushima Haru’s eyes blinked rapidly as he rubbed his hands together, seemingly eager to pick a fight with someone.

The barrage was puzzled by this scene:

The red candles on the table were slowly burning down to the end.

Su Ming’an looked at the small space in front of him, the red of the number bucket as deep as blood, evoking an almost scalding sensation on sight.

His fingers touched the number five tag, then suddenly he felt a dizzying shift in his vision.

"Clang—"

The number tag rolled to the ground as Su Ming’an slowly squatted down, steadying himself on the edge of the small space.