“What about you, Ayanokouji-kun?” she asked.
“I’m going to call out the real traitor somewhere around round three,” I replied. “I’m going to set up dialogue with unrelated students in the first and second rounds, to make it look like I’m having some difficulty finding the traitor.”
You wouldn’t be penalized Life Points when you called up someone who wasn’t a traitor, anyway.
“Then, to keep things fair, I’ll give you every last bit of information I have,” said Ichinose.
“You don’t have to go that far. I trust you,” I replied.
“No, I won’t be satisfied otherwise.”
And so, after the five-minute discussion ended, Ichinose and I both chose to pass, while showing each other our tablets. I had called out an unrelated student, Okiya, as did Ichinose. We both left the classroom briefly and headed to separate rooms. The first male examiner I saw today had joined up with me and went into the other room with me. I figured he must have been the observer for dialogue.
Inside the other room, there were only two chairs, placed so that they were facing each other. Aside from that, it was just a simple area, with a teacher’s podium, like a normal classroom. Okiya, who had been summoned, arrived as well. Afterward, nothing special happened. I told Okiya that I had called him here because I suspected him of being the traitor, but he denied it, naturally. Obviously, since I knew who the traitor was, I concluded that he wasn’t the traitor.
“Because Ichinose-san and Ayanokouji-kun were not able to discover the traitor, the traitor remains for both.”
That announcement was made once I returned to the playing field. Neither the students participating in the discussion nor the other representatives on standby in the waiting room had any conceivable way of knowing that Ichinose and I were doing something so inconceivable.
“Oh… Huh, so this is how they contact you. Here, I just got this message on my tablet,” said Ichinose.
With that, Ichinose showed me a message she received notifying her of the effects of the traitor, which said that Mitarai was an average student. I showed Ichinose my tablet as well. The second round played out similarly. We each called up irrelevant students and had them speak with us. Then we each asked them whether they were the traitor or not. Then, when they claimed to be innocent, we made the determination that yes, they were innocent, and after hearing the announcement, we returned to the room.
“Welcome back, Ayanokouji-kun. An announcement was made while I was waiting for you,” reported Ichinose, since she had returned to the room before I did.
“It seems like the announcements are played in other rooms as well,” I replied.
Then, Ichinose told me the second role, and we went into the third round. I could only hear the audio, but the discussion seemed to be going well and getting lively. Nevertheless, the students from Class B probably wouldn’t be able to settle down as long as the traitor remained in the game. After the five minutes of discussion ended and Ichinose and I both passed, I got up out of my seat.
“I’m going to go ahead and take care of the right to use a traitor now,” I announced.
“Okay. I’ll be waiting,” said Ichinose.
If I can declare the traitor in this third round, and then see the discussion to its end, that’ll be when things really start. But first, I need to take care of what needs to be handled. I left the classroom for a third time and went to the classroom dedicated for dialogue. Maezono, the traitor, stood before me, having arrived before I did and waited for me.
“So now it’s my turn, then?” asked Maezono.
“Sorry. I’ve got no idea who the traitor is, so my mind’s just going all over the place,” I replied.
Maezono sat down in the seat reserved for her, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
“I’m sure you’ve probably got a lot of things you want to ask, but for now, let’s focus on the dialogue. That’s what we’re here for,” I told her.
“Sure, that’s all well and good, but…don’t forget the fact that we participants have no clue what’s going on here at all, so we’re all feeling totally anxious while we’re fighting this battle. Oh, and I’m not the traitor, either. So don’t go declaring I am, even by mistake, okay?” said Maezono.
The traitors didn’t know exactly to what extent their presence was a hindrance to the representatives. They only knew about the danger of expulsion they faced if they lied in the dialogue and were declared a traitor.
“I know that. I haven’t doubted you from the beginning, Maezono, and I’m not going to make a declaration. I’m just calling up my classmates haphazardly because I basically have no clues whatsoever. I hope you’ll forgive me for that. Anyway, I had engaged in dialogue with Hondou before, and he said that you’re suspicious,” I told her.
“Huh? Hondou-kun said that? What the hell? That really pisses me off,” snapped Maezono.
“Can you think of any reason why he would say something like that?” I asked.
“Hmm… Well, maybe, but… No, I’m sorry. I don’t know,” she answered.
“I see. In that case, I guess I’ll just keep searching patiently, and go onto the fourth person.”
“I think that’s a good idea. Well, to be honest, if we can get Class Points from the traitor not being discovered and making it to the end, and our class doesn’t lose the exam, then it might be better to just leave things be, actually,” said Maezono.
“Yeah. Still, let me just formally confirm it, for the sake of keeping things moving. The dialogue can’t end if the participant doesn’t make a confession. You’re not the traitor, are you, Maezono-san?” I asked.
I repeated the same words I had spoken to Okiya and Hondou just a little earlier, word for word.
“Hey, um… So if I were the traitor, and I lied, what would happen to you, Ayanokouji-kun? You wouldn’t lose, would you?” asked Maezono.
“While it would put me at a slight disadvantage, it’s not a major impediment for me, and there’s no liability whatsoever. Actually, wait, in fact, it might be even more convenient to have the traitor lie, if possible,” I replied.
“So, what I said earlier about Class Poi—”
“Yeah. But we shouldn’t talk about that too much,” I said, cutting her off. “The rules of the dialogue probably prohibit diving too deeply into this exam’s rules.”
“Yeah…” said Maezono.
“At any rate, you’re innocent, Maezono. You can be sure that I will say what I think, without hesitation,” I remarked.
As if to confirm my intentions, the school made an announcement.
“Maezono-san, please make your confession.”
“’Kay. I’m not the traitor. So, Ayanokouji-kun, do your best as a representative, okay?” said Maezono.
With that, the pledge from the participant side was officially made. Maezono took a breath, got up from her seat, and turned her back to me. At the same time, the examiner also began to prepare to leave the room. I took a deep breath, as I sat there, staring at the now empty chair.
“I am convinced that Maezono is a traitor to the class. I’m declaring as such,” I announced.
That was my reply.
Silence fell over the room.
“Huh…?” blinked Maezono.
Maezono, who hadn’t expected to even bother listening to what I would say next since it would be so obvious, looked back at me with a confused expression.
“Huh? What…? What did you say?” she asked.
“Did you not hear me? I said that you are the traitor, Maezono,” I replied.