Chapter 326

Chapter 326

On the day of the Mafia game, those who agreed to participate in the Mafia game were seated around a round table at the top of the Tower of Beginnings in the Hall of Myriad Stars.

Sung-Woon had just finished explaining the rules of the Mafia game. "...Those are the rules. No one's confused, right? Sha-Cha, put your hand down. Lakrak, you too. ...Ovenwave, why are you raising your hand? Didn't you say you've played with friends?"

Ovenwave said, somewhat embarrassed, "I don't know the rules, but I just played."

"You played without knowing the rules?"

"It was fun."

"You had fun without knowing the rules?"

Sung-Woon looked around at the others, puzzled.

Wisdom said, "Looking at us like that won't make us know any better." Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

Lunda said, "It's just...getting caught up in the moment or something like that."

As Sung-Woon was about to retort, Sha-Cha raised their hand again.

Sung-Woon said, "I told you to put your hand down. I'll give additional explanations."

"That's not it."

"Then what?"

"I'm asking why that is here."

"That?"

Sha-Cha pointed their finger across the round table at Aldin.

Aldin was blatantly avoiding eye contact.

Sha-Cha continued, "That’s not a Constellation."

Krampus then interjected, "Sha-Cha, there's no problem with participating in this game even if someone’s not a Constellation."

"It's not about ability. I'm questioning the qualifications."

"This is just a game."

Sha-Cha shook their head. "It's not just any game. Winning this game means defeating the Nebula and Hegemonia. And didn't we also agree on a small bet?"

The bet, proposed by Lunda, was that the losers would do a favor for the winners.

This Mafia game was determined to be a series of rounds with a scoring system, where each player, whether a civilian or a mafia, earned one point for each win, and the first player to reach ten points would be declared the winner. This meant there could be multiple winners depending on the situation.

The favor itself was vague and could hardly be considered obligatory, and it was not directed at any particular individual, but it was a favor to be fulfilled by a Constellation after all. Depending on the individual circumstances, it could be significant. However, Aldin was the only one present who was not a Constellation. Therefore, from a certain point of view, it was hard to say that the game was played with fair stakes.

Somehow avoiding Sha-Cha's gaze, Aldin sighed and said, "Alright. It's probably better if I step out."

As Aldin was about to get up, Krampus twisted and turned not knowing what to do, thinking he should intervene but couldn’t find a solid reason to do so.

"Wait." Sung-Woon stopped Aldin and said, "Sha-Cha, are you not going to participate in the game if Aldin plays?"

"No."

"So you don’t love the idea, but you’re okay with it, right?"

"Sure."

"Then let's all play together."

Aldin sat down without a word of thanks.

Sung-Woon's gaze was on Krampus, since it was Krampus who had wanted Aldin to participate in the game, and Krampus responded with an awkward smile.

HumanTracker said, "But didn't they say they don’t understand the rules even after it was explained? From what I see, they’re more of a problem than Aldin."

Lunda suggested, "Then let's make them extras."

Lakrak asked, "What's an extra?"

What he had thought were just decorative black cloths above the round table had become curtains that obscured the players' vision. They blocked not just the visible spectrum, but also ultraviolet and infrared, and even other senses not limited to sight. It was a curtain imbued with magic.

[Mafias, please confirm each other.]

'How do we do that?'

Sung-Woon wondered but soon found out. The mafia's vision could penetrate the curtain, and they could see who the other mafia were through the fabric.

After identifying the other two mafias, Sung-Woon smiled bitterly.

'Well, this has turned out rather tricky.'

After discussing with the other two mafias, Sung-Woon nominated their first target to be killed for the first night.

***

[Day has dawned.]

[The victim of the first night is player Nebula.]

After the black curtains were drawn back, the players looked at each other, remaining silent for a moment.

Sung-Woon, hidden behind an opaque wall, sat quietly without making any move.

Hegemonia was the first to speak. "As expected. Although, it’s unfortunate they killed Nebula first instead of me."

Hearing this, Lakrak nodded.

Then Ovenwave, perhaps annoyed at Lakrak's nodding as if he knew something despite claiming to know nothing about the game, asked, "Um...Hegemonia, did you anticipate who was going to die?"

"Of course." Hegemonia nodded. "The mafias would want to kill the person who seems like they would play the best first. I don't particularly agree, but I know that Nebula is relatively recognized by others as being good at the game. So, it makes sense, in a way. Hmm, but with such an obvious person dead, it's tricky to decide whom to suspect...."

Lunda said, "I have someone in mind to suspect Hegemonia."

"Who?"

"It's you!" Lunda pointed a finger at Hegemonia.

"Me? Haven't you learned to never make a bet unless you’re sure?"

"Well, of course I have my reasons."

"Let's hear it then."

Lunda held up three fingers. "First, you want to beat Nebula."

"It's just a practice game."

"Even if it's just a practice game, you want to win. Even if you claim it's not true, at the very least, to others it seems you wouldn't give even a practice game away. Anyway, with Nebula dead, you're relatively winning, aren't you?"

"...Well, go on."

"Second." Lunda took a breath before continuing. "You were the first to speak after seeing Nebula's death."

"So what?"

"It's a Mafia game. Everyone knows that controlling public opinion is key to winning. But the more one feels threatened, the more hasty they also become."

"So, you suspect me just because I spoke first? Just based on the order?"

"Not solely for that reason. There's a third reason."

Hegemonia furrowed her brows and waited for Lunda to continue.

Lunda said, "Your words."

"What I said?"

"Honestly, if Nebula died, you'd be the most suspected. But you tried to deflect suspicion from yourself by saying someone definitely wanted Nebula dead first to avoid suspicion at all costs."

Hegemonia smiled. "Interesting."

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