"W-What are you talking about...?"
"Why Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K..."
"N-No way..."
The students went deathly pale as they stared at Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K.
"N-No... that can't be right..."
"Kyoko Kirigiri was the one leading the charge to uncover the truth just now...! If she were a traitor, there'd be no reason for her to do that..."
"Same with K...! He listened to my worries in the kitchen earlier...! A traitor wouldn't be that kind and sit there giving me life advice..."
"And calling that girl a traitor feels weird when all she ever does is play games..."
"Ahaha, well, even for Ultimates like you, picking out the traitors would be difficult, right? If not for my luck, even I might never have been able to identify them..."
"Your luck...?"
Komaeda began speaking while looking at everyone with eyes brimming with hope.
"I... wanted all of us to fight against the despair called traitors. And to do that, I needed a way to distinguish them from the rest of us."
"Then you're saying you actually did identify the traitors? Just how, exactly...?"
"Haha... Didn't I just say so? I used my luck..."
".....?"
Pigami stared at him in utter incomprehension, and Komaeda continued.
"When we were deciding who would clean the old building, I planned to draw lots so the traitors would get picked... but then the cleaning groups split themselves up on their own, you know? And at that moment? I realized it. Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K were the traitors."
"Hold it! How the hell does that lead to that conclusion!?"
As Komaeda kept spouting one incomprehensible thing after another, Koizumi finally snapped, looking like she'd had more than enough.
"You've been going on and on about 'luck' this whole time...! What does it have to do with traitors just because the cleaning group ended up being Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K!?"
"Because... at the time, I desperately wished we'd split up in a way that would separate the traitors from the rest of us..."
"That's exactly my point!! You seriously expect us to believe reality just bends itself around whatever you desperately want!? What kind of insane nonsense is that!?"
At that, Komaeda answered in a dejected voice.
"Ahaha, well... compared to all of your dazzling talents, my 'Ultimate talent' is so shabby... maybe it's only natural you wouldn't remember it... It's okay. I understand completely..."
"W-What are you talking about...?"
"Ah, sorry. I have a bad habit of thinking negatively... Anyway, I know none of you are interested in my worthless little talent, but if you'll forgive the imposition, may I tell everyone one more time what my talent is...?"
".....?"
"My talent is [Ultimate Lucky Student]."
As soon as they heard that, the students rounded on Komaeda with expressions of utter disbelief.
"You've gotta be kidding me. Even if your talent is 'luck,' you think we're supposed to believe every single thing unfolded exactly the way you wanted!? That's not luck, that's a damn superpower, idiot!"
"That lie is way too huge, dude! Ain't that just delusional disorder!? Quit spewing garbage and admit what you did already!!"
"Servant of falsehood, steeped in wicked deceit... your cunning has already been pierced through by Shinbiru's Golden Hawk, Chapter P, who whispered the truth into my mind by telepathy. If you keep wagging that three-inch tongue, an eternal curse shall coil around your body..."
"I've heard enough. Until Hinata is treated, we'll tie you up and isolate you in the old building."
The students condemned Komaeda with icy contempt, but he didn't so much as blink. He simply looked around at them all, smiling, and opened his mouth again.
"Haha, you can do whatever you want with me... but I do have a way to prove those three are traitors. Wouldn't you like to hear it?"
"A-A way to prove it...?"
"That's right... Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K... if you really aren't traitors... then say this, right here and now: 'I am one of the three traitors Monokuma defined yesterday.'"
The students stared at him in disbelief and immediately protested.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean...? You're telling them to suddenly declare that they are traitors...?"
"This makes zero sense! I have no idea what you're trying to do!"
"You... what exactly are you thinking...?"
"Isn't it obvious...? He's lost his mind and started babbling nonsense."
"You bastard! Quit screwing arou—"
"No, this isn't a joke. I'm more serious now than I've ever been. Go on. Hurry. It doesn't even have to be true, so just say it. And for the record, don't phrase it vaguely. Repeat exactly what I said."
"..."
"You only have to say it once, regardless of the truth, okay? If you can say it, then I'll drop my suspicions too! So come on...!"
"....."
"Hey... why are all three of you so quiet? Hm?"
"...."
"Hahahahaha... I guess my talent really did hit the mark after all, shabby as it is compared to everyone else's..."
When Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K suddenly fell silent, the students sensed something was deeply wrong and began firing questions at them.
"W-Why are you guys acting like this all of a sudden...?"
"Why... why are you making those faces and saying nothing...?"
"But... what is this even supposed to mean...?"
Hearing the unease in their voices, Komaeda spoke softly to everyone.
"Oh, it means something, all right. It means those three are traitors."
"That's impossible...! There can't be traitors among us...!"
"When I went to the old building earlier to help Hanamura, I ran into Nanami. She happened to be trembling and looking pretty anxious, so I tried a little leading question on her."
"A leading question...?"
"Yeah. I told her, 'I'm a traitor too, so we're on the same side.' And then Nanami said... 'Y-You're a traitor too...? B-But... traitors shouldn't be able to reveal to the others that they're traitors...?'"
".....!"
Komaeda grinned and looked at Nanami before continuing.
"Nanami, for some reason, traitors can't reveal to the others that they're traitors, right...? Hm?"
"That's..."
"Honestly, Nanami, falling for a leading question that flimsy... you must've been under a lot of psychological pressure, huh? Unless your mental state was already falling apart, you never would've slipped up that badly..."
"I... I...!"
"Anyway, at the time I just hand-waved it and said maybe traitors were allowed to reveal themselves to each other... Hahahahaha..."
"Hk..."
"So then, let's return to the original question. Why can't the three of you tell everyone here, 'I'm a traitor'?"
"....."
Wearing a smug smile, Komaeda turned to the students, whose faces had all gone rigid.
"I knew it. This luck is the only talent I've got. Well, misfortune always comes afterward eventually... but if it lets me expose the traitors, then a little bad luck is nothing."
"Wait just a second! You've been saying 'traitor, traitor' since yesterday, but there's something I want to ask!"
"S-Sonia...?"
Sonia suddenly cut in and threw the question at everyone.
"What exactly is this 'traitor' supposed to be?"
"Huh...?"
"What kind of existence is a traitor, exactly, if killing one doesn't trigger a Class Trial... and they can't even reveal that they're a traitor themselves...?"
"C-Come to think of it... yeah. What even is a traitor...?"
"And now that I think about it... the one who told us traitors existed in the first place was none other than Monokuma, the Mastermind behind this killing game."
"Then... that doesn't necessarily mean the traitors are the bad guys!! And if Monokuma, the Mastermind, is the one calling them 'traitors'... then maybe the traitors are actually the good guys...!"
"Upupupu? The traitors are the good guys? Nope! Not even close!!"
Monokuma abruptly popped out and made his declaration to the students.
"The traitors are on the same side as Monomi, the one who erased your memories and locked you up here!! So? Still wanna call them the good guys now?"
"I-I don't believe a word you say...!"
"Upupupu... Then Monomi... you say it! Aren't the traitors really on your side?"
"They are on my sidey-wide...! The traitors and I are observers from the Future Foundation!"
For one frozen instant, everything went silent.
"Upupupupupupu! Oho, we've got some new words! Future Foundation? Observers? What's that supposed to be...?"
"F-Fuwawa!? Why did my true feelings just...!?"
"Upupupu! I don't need a naughty little sister who tells lies! I just changed your settings so you'd be forced to tell the truth!"
"E-Everyone...! It's true! It's the bright red truthy-wuth! Ah, n-no... f-fuwawaa..."
Monomi stammered in a panic, her face turning pale, and then she vanished somewhere.
"Upupupu... I may be the one who started the killing game, but the ones who locked you up here and erased your memories were Monomi and the Future Foundation observers...!"
"N-No way..."
"And just so you know, the 'Future Foundation' is a terrifying bunch known as destroyers of the world. Even if you combined Togami's Togami family, Sonia's Novoselic Kingdom, and Kuzuryu's Kuzuryu clan, they still wouldn't stand a chance against them...! So? Scary, right? Horrifying, right?"
"I-I can't believe it! Why would an organization that massive target us of all people...?"
"P-Proof! Show us proof...!"
"Scary...? That's... y-you're the one making us do a killing game..."
"Who knows...? You can decide that for yourselves. Anyway, I'm off! I've gotta get back to what I was doing! It's been a while since things got this interesting! Upupupupu..."
Leaving those words behind, Monokuma disappeared.
Everyone sank into confusion, and a long silence followed. But Pigami was the first to recover and shatter it.
"...Even if everything Monokuma said is true, we can't automatically treat the traitors as enemies."
"R-Right... Even if it's true the traitors erased our memories and kidnapped us... the one who pushed us into murder is still Monokuma, isn't it?"
"I... I don't know anymore. I don't know who I'm supposed to trust now... Everything is chaos."
"What the hell is happening here...?"
"Ibuki's brain can't process this anymore... It feels like my neurons are on fire..."
In the middle of that confusion, K quietly asked Komaeda a question.
"Komaeda... why did you do this...?"
"...Hm? What do you mean?"
"I'm asking why you'd pull something like this when you didn't even know for sure what the traitors really were!!"
"Hahahaha... who knows? Why indeed...?"
"If you'd just told everyone what you figured out and tried to drive the traitors out, then gladly...!"
"No... that wouldn't be enough... That alone wouldn't let me witness the dazzling hope everyone creates when they stand against despair..."
"What...?"
"And as for what the traitors really were... whether they were good or evil... I never cared from the very beginning...! I just wanted to see it—the exquisite, beautiful hope the students would make bloom as they fought against despair...!"
"You... you..."
"Wouldn't it be far more despair-inducing for the students if, instead of just anyone becoming the culprit... it was the 'traitor' they'd all been on guard against?"
"You...!"
"And then... the students fighting back against that despair... they would've made a hope more radiant than anyone else's...! No matter how I think about it, it's such a shame. Hahaha..."
"You're insane!!!"
"Ahaha, thanks for the compliment..."
As K looked ready to lose control again, Kyoko Kirigiri stepped in front of him and questioned Komaeda instead.
"Komaeda, then the reason you gave Nanami the knife was..."
"That's right! The reason I gave Nanami the knife was to make a traitor commit murder..."
"....."
"Well, I told Nanami that someone who'd soon realize you were a traitor would attack both me and her during the party, so she should carry the knife for self-defense. Of course, I coated it in fluorescent paint so it would be visible during the blackout..."
"And after that...?"
"After that... I asked Monomi to turn off the lights for a moment because we were throwing a surprise party, and once the blackout happened, I just stood still right next to the glowing knife."
"But Hinata was pushed by you...!"
"Ahaha, Nanami. I didn't push him."
"What...?"
"Hinata just lost his sense of direction in the blackout and wandered around. Then he ran into me on his own and got shoved toward the knife. That's all."
"Y-You think anyone's going to believe that absurd crap...?"
"I told you, didn't I? I'm the [Ultimate Lucky Student]... I wanted so badly to see a traitor commit murder and everyone overcome that despair... so that's what happened."
Komaeda said something so preposterous it should have been laughable, and yet none of the students could laugh it off or dismiss it.
Was it because of that strange aura rolling off him, something that made his words feel true on an instinctive level? Or because he'd just proven his luck by correctly identifying all three traitors?
In that leaden silence, someone muttered:
"No way... I can't believe this... That's literally a superpower..."
Hearing that, Komaeda began to speak in a lonely voice.
"Well, I don't think it's all that amazing... It has a fatal side effect, after all..."
"A side effect...?"
"In the end, Hinata survived thanks to the quick first aid, so my plan to make a traitor commit murder fell apart, and all of my crimes were exposed too...! Just like always, misfortune inevitably comes after my luck...! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Everyone was exhausted in body and soul, so they could only stand there numbly and listen to Komaeda's long, manic laughter. Then, from among them, someone suddenly stepped forward and approached him.
"Yeah, it really does seem like misfortune comes after your luck."
"Hahahahahahaha... K, are you saying you understand me...? Even if it's only the understanding of a traitor... I'm happy an Ultimate talent understands me..."
Komaeda was still smiling in rapture, but K answered in a voice cold enough to freeze blood.
"Want me to tell you what you've really done?"
".....?"
"The truth is, every single member of Class 77 is—"
Bzzzzzzzzzt
Just as K, his eyes blazing with rage and hatred, was about to say something to Komaeda, the E-Handbooks of K, Kyoko Kirigiri, and Nanami suddenly went off.
After checking his E-Handbook, K ground his teeth, then glared at Komaeda like he wanted to kill him and spat out the words in a voice thick with fury.
"I can't wait to see the look on your face once you learn the whole truth."
Hearing that, Komaeda laughed as if he were delighted.
"Ahaha... I have no idea what you mean... but if you're saying it like that... then now I'm really looking forward to it..."