Chapter 162: Announcement of the Results of the Fourth Round of Voting
After Kaneko-san was killed, I was just trembling on my bed.
Her death was too vivid.
The thought of being killed like that scared the hell out of me.
（I should have just left her alone, she’s a stranger… even if I don’t do it, someone else will…）
I regretted from the bottom of my heart that I hadn’t meddled too much in trying to rescue Misuzu-chan.
In the morning, after spending the night trembling with fear, I was horrified when I noticed that there was breakfast on my desk. And it made a chill ran down my spine.
Someone had come into the room before I knew it.
I was reminded. No matter how hard I locked the door, this place was not safe.
The detective, Hikami-kun, and Kaneko-san were dead, and there were only nine of us left, including me.
I, Kyoko-san, Masakey-chan, Natsumi-chan, Fumijima-san, Misuzu-chan, President Kurashima, Akira-chan, and Yamauchi-san.
Normally, even the death of one person would be a matter of great importance, but three lives have already been lost. Even so, if seven more people don’t die, this death game won’t end.
The value of life is extremely light here.
（What should I do… how can I survive?）
While I was thinking about this, a knock on the door suddenly rang out, and I involuntarily fell back on the bed.
「Who is it?」
「It’s me, me! Kyoko. I just wanted to talk to you before we vote next time」
That voice was unmistakably Kyoko-san.
Honestly, I can’t trust anyone right now… but the best of the rest is probably Kyoko-san.
After some hesitation, I unlock the door and invite Kyoko-san into the room. When she opened the door and saw my face, she smiled.
「You don’t look okay… You’ve got dark circles under your eyes」
「That’s because..」
That’s what anyone would do if someone died like that in front of them. If I close my eyes, I can see the image of Kaneko-san hanging from the ceiling behind my eyelids.
Kyoko-san sat down on the bed without hesitation and opened her mouth with a slightly downcast look.
「While you were cooped up, I talked to two of the new models. Masakey is the one who betrayed us」
「I knew it..」
I knew that much.
Because Natsumi-chan looked surprised when Fumijima-san got three votes.
「But it’s not because someone told her to, it’s because she thought in her own way that Chihiro must be the mastermind. If Chihiro is the mastermind, the death game can be ended here. That’s what she thought」
「That’s not why we agreed..」
「Well, you can’t blame her for that. Even if Masakey had kept her word, the result would still be the same. We all don’t know each other, so we can’t help but be suspicious of each other」
「…That’s true… but..」
「We can’t trust each other, but still, to find the mastermind, it’s important to team up with people we don’t think are the mastermind and secure the majority of votes. That’s the only way to survive, right?」
「Even if you say that, there’s no guarantee that Kyoko-san isn’t the mastermind..」
「No, there is no such thing. But right now, President Kurashima has Mizuki and Yamauchi. Then Misuzu has Fumijima, and that’s five votes. The rest are me, you, and the two new models. If we don’t work together, we’ll be destroyed individually and that’ll be the end of it」
「Still… it’s five against four, isn’t it?」
If we vote for the four of them in turn, the President’s group can survive for a while. Our lives are a dying breed.
「Yeah, but just now Misuzu came to persuade me」
「Misuzu-chan?」
I raise one eyebrow.
「Yes. Misuzu is cooperating with the President on the condition that Fumijima is eliminated after Chihiro. So the next vote for Fumijima by the President’s group will be four, since Fumijima will never vote for himself. That means they need one more vote to be sure」
Well, if Fumijima-san is eliminated, the President group’s vote will be reduced to four. If there are only eight people left, they want to keep five votes.
（But why Kyoko-san?）
I was mildly jealous that I wasn’t the one Misuzu-chan had called out to.
「So… you’re going to let Fumijima-san in?」
I asked in a slightly spiky voice, and Kyoko-san shook her head seriously.
「No… dropping Fumijima here won’t help. More importantly, dropping the President will destroy the cooperative system between Mizuki, Yamauchi, and Misuzu」
「President Kurashima?」
「Yes. If we can get the votes of the two new models, you and I, and Fumijima, to vote for the President, we can win five to four」
「Ehhh!? You’re bringing Fumijima-san into this?」
「Yeah」
I was a little surprised by this.
To be honest, after what he had done to Misuzu-chan, Fumijima-san was nothing but a disgrace.
「I don’t think I can cooperate with him, but I can use him… I’m going to try to persuade Fumijima that he’s the one the President is after next, and that once the President is down, the only person Misuzu can rely on is him. I’ll try to convince him of that」
To be honest, I have no idea what to do right now. In that situation, I have no choice but to bet my chips on Kyoko-san.
「Can you help me?」
I nodded quietly to Kyoko-san’s question.
◇ ◇ ◇
『Good evening! Aramaki-san announces this time is 9:00 p.m, Jake! Gather around the round table, Jake!』
As usual, Aramaki-san’s voice rang out very loudly.
But I’m not surprised anymore.
『Ah, it’s too loud』
That’s all I think.
When we moved to the large room with the round table, no one had come out yet.
After waiting for a while, people started to gather one by one, and when I saw Fumijima-san sitting next to Kyoko-san, I was relieved to know that the persuasion had been successful.
Misuzu-chan took the trouble to sit on the other side of Kyoko-san, next to Fumijima-san, in order not to alarm him? I wondered.
『It seems everyone is here, Jake』
The distressed look in the fishes’ eyes on the monitor was annoying.
『The number of people in the room is now down to single digits, and it’s nice to see the dirtiness of humanity seeping out, Jake』
「Shut up, fish. I don’t want to be called dirty by someone who has a parasite in her stomach」
Kyoko-san’s lips twitched and Aramaki-san jumped.
『Oh, you’re right, Jake. Then you should see the results and realize how dirty you are, Jake!』
Aramaki-san probably knew that Misuzu-chan had gone to negotiate with Kyoko-san and that Kyoko-san had persuaded Fumijima-san.
I think she is trying to say that the result of this vote is the result of mutual deception.
『I’ll announce the results of the minority vote first!』
（Minority vote?）
My eyes widen involuntarily.
I assume there is no such thing.
There should be a 50-50 split, with five votes for President Kurashima and four votes for Fumijima-san.
As usual, Aramaki-san is shown in a close-up, and the words “Total result” with flame effects are drawn with flashy movements.
And the next thing that appeared on the screen was…
『Itsuki Kurashima – two votes』
「What the helllllll?」
Kyoko-san shouted and stood up. Two votes means that Kyoko-san and I are the only ones who voted for President Kurashima.
Then…
『Fumijima Pheasant Man – three votes』
And finally, with an explosive effect…
『Kiyoka Yamauchi – 4 votes』
appeared on the screen.
In the stunned silence, Yamauchi-san kicked her chair and stood up.
「W-w-w-why! How come! Why is this happening to me?」
Fumijima-san, who was standing across the table from Yamauchi-san, let out a laugh.
「Fuhihi~, I was surprised when President Kurashima instructed me to vote Yamauchi-san in, though. Well, if he and Mizuki-san are going to survive, you’re definitely going to get in the way, and I can understand why he would want to get rid of a useless woman as soon as possible. Fuhihi~」
President Kurashima shouted at the smirking Fumijima-san.
「You idiot! I didn’t give you that order! I would never do that! Trust me, Kiyoka! You Fumijima! Why are you lying to her?! What are you scheming!」
「No, no, no, President might be thinking that if Yamauchi-san is still alive, you’re in trouble, but the four votes that went to Yamauchi-san were mine, Misuzu-san’s, President’s and Mizuki-san’s, right? Hey, Misuzu-san」
「…Yes」
Fumijima-san’s words were met with a downcast nod from Misuzu-chan. This time, Mizuki-chan raised her voice.
「No, I didn’t! I didn’t vote you! I vote for Fumijima! I swear!」
I have no idea what’s going on here. I definitely put in President. Maybe Kyoko-san did, too.
Where were the votes for the two new models who didn’t want to participate in the conversation at all? They must have disliked Misuzu-chan, so it is unlikely that they acted in concert.
In other words, Misuzu-chan isn’t trying to defeat Fumijima-san, is she?
「Fumijima! You bastard! You betrayed us!」
Kyoko-san twisted up Fumijima-san’s chest, and he turned away with a frightened look on his face.
「How could I betray you… how could I defy the President!」
「Fumijima! How dare you!」
Yamauchi-san shouted at the same time as the President struck the round table with great force.
「I’m going to kill all of youuuuuu!」
Immediately, there was a loud bang that made my eardrums feel like they were about to collapse.
『Shut up, Jake!!!!!!』
Silence descended, leaving behind a reverberation of keening and feedback noise. Everyone froze in place.
In the silence that had been forcibly created, Aramaki-san said in a clerical tone.
『Cough… then, I will announce the mission to be assigned to Kiyoka Yamauchi, Jake』
Then, as Aramaki-san appeared in a close-up on the screen, the words appeared in the background.
『Crucifixion[1] sex 24 hours, climax quota 100 times, return alive』
「What…crucifixion?」
As soon as Yamauchi-san’s expression turned frightened, Aramaki-san let out a chuckle.
『Don’t worry, Jake, it’s the ugly ones that will be crucified, Jake』
「Ehhh?」
Fumijima-san jumped out of his skin. He’s aware that it’s him, even though all he’s said is that he’s ugly.
『Use the crucified ugly one, and if you can cum a hundred times, you’ll survive, Jake! I’ll show you how to use it, Jake!』
「No, that’s… that’s hard for me..」
Fumijima-san looked even more desperate than Yamauchi-san.
(1) Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Romans, among others.
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