"..."
Our silence now was solely to sort through the situation.
Somewhere in this academy, there were people who had imprisoned us... the so-called [Ultimate Black] and [Ultimate White].
And if we killed even one of them, everyone would be able to escape this vile academy at once.
"D-don't be ridiculous! There's no way we can believe anything you say!!"
"Sonoconsigliere... Mayumi, that is no rumor. The fact that we are here in this academy right now is conclusive proof, isn't it?"
Akano was right. By now, those things had demonstrated far too many unreal abilities for us to think they were lying to us.
"Urgh... That may be true, but..."
When Mayumi finally fell silent, the unspoken deductions left behind began tying themselves together.
No, perhaps we already knew.
We had simply been too afraid to admit it.
"..."
That the only 'people' in this academy were the sixteen of us.
"Ah, you lot. This is information you don't really need to know, but we'll tell you specially!"
At that moment, the Monotwins, who had been snickering at the sight of us, spoke up.
"Right now, we're being operated by just 'two people' hidden somewhere in this academy! Put simply, we're their 'avatars'! Upupupu!"
It was practically a nail in the coffin.
As if they would allow not the slightest denial, we had no choice but to acknowledge it at that moment.
That among us, there were two people who had imprisoned everyone and were controlling the Monotwins.
"S-so... that means, um, isn't this what it means...?"
Even Rekida, as scatterbrained as she was, now faced the chill crawling up her spine.
"That among us are the [Ultimate Black] and [Ultimate White]... Yeah, the so-called 'black mastermind' and 'white mastermind'!?"
At last, she had reached the truth that had already swallowed her whole.
"...That must be it..."
"Sh-Shoko..."
I wanted to deny it until the very end, yet before I knew it, I found myself murmuring those words.
"...It seems our involvement has been sufficient for now. Don't you agree, Monono?"
"Kekekeke, exactly! They're doing such a fine job moving things along themselves! Well then, you bastards! We'll leave the rest to you! Go kill each other properly!"
Poof!
Before anyone could say a word to stop them, the Monotwins vanished in an instant.
"..."
Leaving behind nothing but an ultimate level of awkwardness.
No, the true name of that awkwardness was paranoid suspicion.
"...Gulp."
We stole glances at one another, tacitly putting a little more distance between ourselves.
Yet in this situation, where no one dared point it out...
"...Pfft."
Someone let out a laugh after all.
"...Akano...?"
It was Akano, who had somehow already stepped toward the dining hall exit.
"Ah, excuse me. Everyone's reactions were simply rather amusing..."
"A-amusing...? What do you mean by that?"
At Shu's question, she gave us a brief sidelong glare before answering.
"What do I mean? I could die laughing at all of you, still standing there sluggishly without even finishing grasping the situation."
Just as I was about to counter that we were acting this way precisely because we understood the situation...
"Everyone, don't you understand yet? This is a 'challenge.'"
Her single remark effortlessly cut me off.
"Of course, the reason for the challenge—the so-called whydunit—is still unknown... But one thing is certain: right now, the black mastermind and white mastermind have issued us a challenge through the Monotwins."
Her brilliantly crimson irises slowly darkened and clouded over.
"We are shamelessly playing along with your little farce. If you can kill us, then try it... That's what they're saying. Do you understand now?"
Only after hearing that did I realize this was the malice we had been turning our eyes from, made manifest.
"...Well, that is all I have to say. Even so, if I were to add just one more thing..."
Her footsteps turned toward the exit without hesitation.
"Yesterday may have been much the same, but shouldn't we continue not trusting anyone from now on?"
...Tap.
And Akano was no longer in the dining hall.
As though this place were a pigsty full of pigs denying reality, she left it with a light step.
"...Heh. That puppeteer has presented quite an interesting deduction."
This time, Hiranui broke the silence once more.
"Hiranui..."
"I have no intention of associating with a group that has lost its trust. That is all there is to it."
...Tap.
"..."
No one could refute that.
Had two decisions, rather than just one, set something free that we had been suppressing?
"Y-you all... I shall excuse myself as well. I need to... collect my thoughts."
"S-sorry... I'm going to take a little walk too..."
"...Disgusting."
One by one, they left this ignorant pigsty.
"Tana... Tana hates this... I-I want to get along with everyone... Uuugh..."
[Calm down, Tana. Come on, let's get out of here first.]
And with Kaiju leading Tana away as the last to leave...
"..."
Only three foolish people remained behind.
"Phew..."
"Shoko... Are you okay?"
There was me, and Shu, who thankfully remained at my side.
"...Hmph. Quite a pleasant atmosphere from the morning onward."
And, for some reason, Tsurudo.
"Tsurudo...! Aren't you leaving?"
"Hm? What's this, you want me to leave? Even if it's just you two in the dining hall, you won't be able to do anything naughty, you know?"
"I-is this really the time for jokes like that?! Read the room!"
When Shu flared up at him, he playfully made a gesture of pushing her away with his palm, then...
"...We're exactly the same as yesterday."
His eyes suddenly sharpened as he murmured in a low voice.
"What...? What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten. The members who went around getting acquainted with the other students yesterday—it was the three of us, wasn't it?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, it was... But why does that matter?"
At Shu's question, he gave an irritating smile and wagged his index finger even more irritatingly.
"I'm only revealing this now... but I've actually been keeping it in mind from the start."
"Keeping it in mind...? Don't tell me..."
"...Yeah."
His index finger came to a dead stop.
"The possibility of a 'wolf' hiding behind a sheep's mask."
Only then could I guess what he was trying to say.
"Call it the instinct of an [Ultimate Gambler], if you like. In any case, ever since I woke up, I've been keeping a close enough eye on everyone's movements."
"And your conclusion was that the two of us were safe? But why...?"
"I told you, I can tell at a glance. And rather than being certain, it's closer to hoping that you two aren't them."
"Then don't tell me the reason you asked us to stick together from the beginning was..."
"The same. I believed you were the safest. Well, I'm sure that's the right answer."
Apparently, he was the type to put a great deal of blind faith in his own instincts.
"Tsurudo..."
Still, right now, that alone was more than enough for us.
"Then, um, do you happen to know who the black mastermind and white mastermind are too? By a gambler's instinct...?"
"Come on, even I can't do that! They're just instincts in the first place, so I can't blindly be certain. Anyway... I stayed behind because I had something to say to you two."
"Something to say...?"
He looked around, as though worried someone might be listening.
"It's nothing major. I just wanted to make a suggestion."
Apparently reassured, he continued in a low voice once more.
"How about the three of us find the [Ultimate Black] and [Ultimate White] hidden among us?"
The moment we heard that, both of our eyes widened.
"F-find them... How?"
"Who knows? We don't know that yet. But one thing I can be sure of is that two heads are better than one."
"Tsurudo... It may be late to ask, but... are you really sure they're among us? The black mastermind and white mastermind..."
"..."
Tsurudo fell into thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
"...Honestly, I'm still open to the possibility that they might not be. But that doesn't mean we should let go and pray for the best. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I see... We're not doubting for the sake of doubting. We're going to doubt in order to believe, right?"
"Just what I'd expect from a fixer. That's a neat summary."
Indeed, there was no flaw in Tsurudo's words.
"...Tsurudo. Can I ask just one more thing?"
"As long as it's not about the color of my underwear today, ask away."
"Do you really think there are only the two of us? People you can trust completely, I mean."
"Hmm... I can't say there definitely aren't others... But I have no intention of opening my heart any further than this, either."
"What? Why not?"
"...There's a famous saying in my line of work."
- Once four or more people gather, they will inevitably split evenly apart.
"I know what you're trying to say. But... it's never been wrong. And not once has the outcome been good, either."
I saw his face grow a little bitter.
"...Yeah, that's enough for me."
"What, really...? You don't need to dig any deeper as a detective? Not that I want you to, of course."
Letting out a small laugh, I shook my head.
"No, I'm grateful instead. Even so, it means you trust Shu and me completely. That's enough."
"Shoko... Then...!"
"...Yeah. What about you, Shu? What do you intend to do?"
Tsurudo and I turned toward her at once, but...
"I-I'm obviously in favor! I think both Shoko and Tsurudo are dependable in one way or another!"
Shu answered with a bold smile, her voice as cheerful as usual.
"'In one way or another' is a bit much, but then it's decided? A temporary alliance, I mean."
As he said that, Tsurudo held out the back of his hand.
"I don't know what we can do, or how far we can go..."
"But it's better than doing nothing, right? Let's do all we can!"
Our hands stacked atop his.
"...Yeah. Thank you, both of you."
Feeling the warmth of our hands, Tsurudo smiled softly.
Having formed that crude resolve almost by accident, the three of us attempted various investigations in earnest afterward.
But the results were meager—no, it would be fair to say there were none at all.
After that morning's incident, the others no longer actively interacted with anyone.
We understood why, of course, so we tried to search for suspicious behavior as discreetly as possible, but...
"...Sigh."
In the end, we discovered nothing by the time the day was over.
*
*
In the end, even after two days trapped in the academy had passed and we entered the third, we had achieved nothing.
"Sigh, I suppose it was impossible after all. It's not as if we're detectives or police officers, so it won't be easy to get results..."
"There is a police officer here, though..."
"And a fixer who's, well, a detective if you count that..."
I did not say it aloud, but honestly, I thought there was no way forward anymore.
But that was mistaken.
I realized that at night, after dinner.
"Ahem! An announcement from Private Kyusen Academy! All of you are to gather immediately... on the 'fourth floor of the main building'! Naturally, refusal will result in immediate execution!!"
Suddenly, the Monotwins summoned us.
And to the fourth floor of the main building, which had never been opened until now.
"Don't worry! We've specially unlocked an elevator on the first floor of the main building that can only go up to the fourth floor! So quit making excuses and get your asses up here already!"
Countless questions piled atop one another, but they could not stop our footsteps.
"Upupupu, thank you all for gathering on such a late evening! We'd like to offer our bored and completely insincere gratitude!"
In the end, all sixteen of us stood before the Monotwins.
"Anyway, without further ado, we'll explain right away!!"
Against a dim backdrop like a movie theater, the Monotwins began to speak.
"It's already the third day, and yet not a single one of you has fucking lifted a finger to murder anyone! Have you forgotten all about the hidden [Ultimate Black] and [Ultimate White]?"
Behind them stood massive doors split into black and white, as though symbolizing them.
"You... What exactly are you trying to say...?"
"It's simple! At this rate, there won't be a game, so we're going to make it so you have no choice but to play!!"
Answering my question, they shouted.
"And so, from now on, we'll announce an 'additional motive' for you!!"
An unbelievable declaration that instantly sent a murmur through everyone.
"Let us introduce it! This is our masterpiece, prepared for you to kill the [Ultimate Black] or [Ultimate White]...!"
And only then did we realize it.
"The ultimate murder motive, the 'Past Theater'!!"
That something had begun to twist violently.
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