“Okay, you’ve confessed like 99% already. Like we said a thousand times, how can we trust you to actually tell the doctor the real target tonight?”

“But has consistently strived to save people since Day 1, so…”

“And then she killed a citizen at night! We didn’t hold the trial on Day 1. was killed!”

With two players already dead, it was difficult to build mutual trust. Assuming that was a mafia member — which was how the tide was going — her humanism could be interpreted as mere propaganda and agitation, which would only benefit the mafia. She may have been manipulating the citizens to stay nonviolent and keep killing people at night. That was what pointed out.

“And on Day 2, you guys definitely selected someone, which just happened to be luckily defended by the doctor. The mafia sought to kill people two days in a row. And now you want us to believe you?”

“So we can just join forces with the doctor to block the selection itself, altogether.”

“What if that strategy is just to find out who the doctor is, who’s probably a pain in the ass, and kill them? How can we possibly believe the mafia in the first place?”

“…….”

The conversation was going nowhere. But this was only natural, just like the “This or That nightmare” that Reina had mentioned before. No one could tell who was telling the truth. There was no progress. At that moment, slammed her fist on the table and confessed, “I am the mafia.”

“What the…!!”

“That message from is true. The identity of the sender — be that the sheriff or any of the two other mafia members — or whether it’s just a random message is not the point. The point is that it is true.”

“Sh… she confessed! Come on, let’s hold the trial!” frantically called out to Reina.

But Reina did not respond. She seemed willing to guarantee unlimited freedom of speech and discussion. began to narrate what happened the previous at night. “Since Day 1, I have been against killing people. But the other two mafia members did not agree, and I couldn’t stop the selection myself. But now that the winning method is clear, I don’t need the other two, but just the doctor to work with me so we can put an end to this killing spree once and for all. We can all take home 400 million won, too.”

“Well… that’s good news, actually…!!” Even , who had been angry all this time, nodded in agreement. He suddenly complied at the mention of survival and the prize money. Then, he began to use all his anger more productively.

“Hey, Doctor, stop hiding and come forward to cooperate.”

“Like that would make the doctor come forward!”

“Why not? Unlike the sheriff, the doctor can defend themselves at night! There’s no problem with revealing their identity!” said .

… Huh?

Something about comment made Junsung feel uneasy. But before he could think more, spoke to again. “Nothing has changed here. So what if you’re the mafia? Someone anonymously ratted you out, and you actually happened to be the minority that’s against murder, and you claim that you will definitely cooperate in the winning method? How perfectly planned out this whole thing is! It just seems to me that you abruptly changed your strategies when you were exposed.”

“Oh, come on! You’re being too cynical! has been consistent about wanting to save people since Day 1!”

“The roles were also distributed on Day 1. How can we prove that she is not putting on a show right now to get the maximum expected value as the mafia? What if the other mafia members tipped her off about the anonymous message, and she instantly changed her tactics to this winning method stuff?”

“You…!”

Despite the arrogant tone and attitude, did have a point. There were two scenarios: either was a real humanist or a killer mafia member just pretending to be one. In the former case, the winning method may have been real. In the latter case, the winning method may have been a new strategy to kill citizens, thought up at the last minute. I would go for the latter, to be honest… I believe that human nature is fundamentally evil. But what if she’s actually good? She doesn’t look like she’s putting on a show…!

[The “This or That” nightmare just never seems to end.]

“…Shut up, ,” shot back at Reina’s provocation, boiling with rage. Then she turned to the other players. “I don’t see what’s holding you back. I confessed that I am a mafia member, and you can’t even believe me?”

“Forget that for a moment… The question is, are you really going to work with the doctor?”

“I have no other choice, because if someone dies tonight, you can all put me on trial and kill me tomorrow.”

“Oh, um…”

ultimatum intended to dispel all doubt. It was very powerful. She was putting her life on risk. Her determination and sincerity were hard to deny. There was no reason for not to cooperate. Finally there seemed to be some light guiding them all to the winning method.

“Well… nice speech.”

“Finally admitting that I’m right, ?”

“No way, I’m not buying it. Never.”

“What?!”

While everyone else found hope, was sinking deeper into pessimism. He stared at . “How can you be so sure that we can kill you tomorrow after you kill a citizen tonight?”

“What the hell do you mean? Of course, the citizens will gather the votes and…”

“So far, only citizens have been killed. All three mafia members are still alive… You think 10 survivors is a lot? If another citizen dies tonight, there will be only nine players left, in which case the majority would be five votes. If the mafia win over two players by tomorrow, the citizens will all be fucking killed! The game may be over in a flash!”

“……!?”

The winning method was democratic, as it sought to make the opposition less than the majority. This theory made the players sink into a deeper level of mistrust. Puzzled, frantically looked at . “Oh, um, does that make sense, ?”

“Yes, it does, actually.”

“Huh?”

“The goal of this game is not the victory of a specific role, but survival itself. So actually, both cases are possible — either the mafia members take sides with the citizens, or the citizens take sides with the mafia.” He was just answering the question, but what he said sounded far more convincing than what said, even if he was stating the cold hard facts. seemed to think that it was merely a theory. “But it’s not likely that the mafia would have won over two of the citizens… Of course, all kinds of conversations may be going on in those tablets, but it’s hard to believe that as many as five players are working together.”

“! The ones who voted for elimination!”

“That includes , actually.”

“Argh, this is so damn annoying! Just forget this argument. The doctor should just come forward and cooperate! Come on, Doc! Step forward!” urged furiously, but the conference room was filled with silence. He glared at , outraged. “You scumbag! The doctor’s not coming forward because of all your crap!”

“It’s all so easy for you, huh? I envy your pathetic little brain.”

“What the hell did you just say?”

“We’re lucky if is just the mafia. What if she’s a citizen taking sides with the mafia? This game will be over right away. We can assume that most ‘regular citizens’ are dead.”

“…Now you don’t believe I’m the mafia?”

The tides had suddenly turned, and the whole thing was getting completely out of hand. Even the confession of the mafia was not being trusted. looked at over his glasses and spoke coldly, “No, I don’t. I don’t believe you. You confessed that you’re the mafia, but it was only after message came up. It doesn’t seem like a voluntary choice.”

“My goal is for all the players to survive, which is clearly what I’ve been saying since Day 1. Everyone is just being played by , right? Citizens and the mafia are killing each other, just because of these stupid roles in the game.”

I agree, I definitely agree, a hundred percent, but…!! Junsung just nodded inwardly to what had said. She was right. Aside from the ethical issues, the right decision here in terms of mathematical expectations was to use the winning method and leave the house with 400 million won in one piece, instead of spending each night in fear of elimination. Most players were probably thinking the same thing, perhaps even and . The problem was that could not be trusted. The sweeter her words seemed, the more suspicious they sounded. What had initially pointed out was still effective. Perhaps when message drove into a corner, she had no choice but to change her tactics toward suggesting the winning method.

If only it had happened in a different order, I would have believed her a hundred percent…! Junsung was perhaps not the only one thinking that way. The other players were all silent, but in their minds, they were probably racking their brains to figure out whether was telling the truth.

They were back in the damned “This or That” nightmare again. The silence went on and on, and the daytime for citizens got shorter and shorter. After serious consideration, said, “So… let’s sum it up. First, the winning method. So we don’t hold the trial in the daytime, and the doctor and one mafia member work together at night to block all attacks, right? We do Bingo every day.”

“What’s difficult about this? It’s easy.”

“Not for me! Anyway, next. Now says that she’s the mafia and that she will cooperate in this winning method. But the doctor, is still hidden, which means they’re not willing to cooperate…”

That was right. Whether was telling the truth or not did not matter unless the doctor agreed to cooperate. But the doctor remained silent, which probably meant that he or she could not trust or was just against the winning method itself. Then spoke up curtly, “Shall we vote?”

“Huh? Wait, , we’re still thinking!”

“Will you ever finish? We can’t wait for the doctor forever.”