"This is the 'truth' we wanted to tell you."
"No way..."
"It's an enormous story. The kind that's almost impossible to believe, right? So take some time to sort out your thoughts."
"....."
There had been plenty of twists and turns, but in the end, we succeeded in bringing Nanami over to our side.
We told her every truth I knew, and after hearing all of it, she looked utterly shaken.
"My head keeps hurting... And there are all these emotions I can't even identify..."
"What kind of emotions?"
"Happiness... longing... sadness... pain... They're all rushing in at once..."
"It's probably part of your memories coming back now that you've heard the truth. I went through the same thing."
"Ugh..."
"Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Don't try to fight it. Accept the emotions instead. Come on, try it."
"Okay... Hoooo... haaah..."
Nanami kept breathing deeply for a long while. Then, at last, she smiled.
"Thank you. Both of you... Thank you so much for telling me the truth."
Nanami lifted her head, her expression turning grave, her eyes brimming with resolve.
"Then... what do we do now...?"
"Well, first..."
"...we need to increase the number of people on our side, right?"
Kyoko Kirigiri cut in before I could finish.
"Isn't that right, K?"
"Y-Yeah. But how did you kno—"
"Because I've been watching you this whole time, you admirable little fool. Slowly winning people over until, before anyone notices, you've turned everyone into your allies."
"....."
The praise hit me out of nowhere. I froze, face burning red, awkwardly scratching the back of my head. Kirigiri let out a sigh.
"Please don't make that stupid expression."
"Hehe..."
"So. What's the plan?"
"I'm going to use a method that worked pretty well last time."
"Last time?"
Nanami asked with a puzzled look. I flashed her a grin and answered.
"We're going to hold a vote."
".....?"
"We got a lot out of doing that before."
"Knock knock knock"
"Um... guys...? I brought food..."
Hanamura's voice drifted in from outside the room.
Creeeak...
"Okaaay, you guys. Don't look so down. Eat this special meal, prepared by yours truly, Hanamura, and cheer u—"
"Hanamura."
"Huh...?"
"Could you do us a favor?"
"U-Um... huh...?"
All three of us were staring at him with deadly serious expressions, and Hanamura instantly started stammering in confusion.
"I-I mean, even if you stare at me that hard... it's not like you'll suddenly get x-ray vision..."
"Could you tell everyone what we're thinking?"
"E-Everyone...?"
"Yeah. Everyone."
Hanamura's face lit up with curiosity.
"Hmm... I don't know what kind of favor this is yet, but... I'll hear you out."
The second he said that, I hurriedly started talking before he could change his mind.
"I know you guys can't fully trust us right now. I understand why you isolated us here, too."
"Well... yeah, that's true. Though for the record, I was against locking you up in the first place..."
"Thanks. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is this: maybe isolating us is the right call for now, but if it keeps going, the seeds of distrust might start sprouting in everyone. Honestly, after that incident, I think those seeds have already been planted."
"Hmm..."
"We want everyone to stay united instead of splitting apart. And to do that, I think we need to bring this situation to a close."
"...How?"
"With a vote. A vote on whether or not you can trust us."
"A vote...?"
Hanamura looked baffled. I kept going.
"Yeah, a vote. We'll settle it democratically. If more people vote that they can trust us, we walk out of here and regain our freedom. If they vote that they can't, then we stay locked up here indefinitely."
"Hmm... I think I get the idea, but... if you hold the vote right now, there's a good chance the result'll be that nobody trusts you, you know? There were a lot of kids who were seriously suspicious of you..."
"We know. That's why we're asking for a one-day grace period."
"A grace period...?"
"Right. From tonight until tomorrow night, give us one day to move around and try to persuade everyone. After that, we'll accept whatever decision you make."
"Hmm..."
"Anyway, could you tell everyone that during dinner tonight...? Oh, and I have one more favor to ask..."
I asked with an apologetic expression, and Hanamura answered with a greasy grin.
"...Sure, got it. That's easy. Piece of cake."
Hanamura agreed far more readily than I'd expected. It was a pretty heavy burden to dump on him, so the fact that he stepped up without hesitation made me genuinely grateful.
"U-Um... in exchange..."
"Yeah...?"
Hanamura's eyes flicked back and forth between Kirigiri standing beside me and the personal alarm hanging around my neck. Then his nose started bleeding, and he spoke.
"If you guys get your freedom back... tell me every last detail."
"....."
"That's the position of the kids currently being called 'traitors.'"
"S-Settle this with a vote...?"
"...Huh."
"Mmm... a vote, huh..."
The others had come to the dining hall for dinner after hearing that Hanamura had somehow cooked food good enough to make them forget yesterday's chaos. They'd been completely absorbed in the meal, so when Hanamura suddenly dropped that bombshell, the whole room reeled in confusion.
"Well... this is something we do need to settle somehow... but a vote...?"
"Are we to borrow the hand of the goddess of judgment and personally pass sentence on their innocence...?"
"Those bastards... what the hell are they so cocky about? In the end, they're the ones who trapped us here, and one of them's an attempted murderer..."
"But maybe they had some reason for trapping us here, and Nanami didn't do it on purpose, you know...?"
"A vote...? This is making me nervous and hyped at the same time!"
Everyone reacted differently, but they all agreed on two things: this issue had to be resolved quickly, and settling it with a vote was acceptable.
"Fine... it's decided. Twenty-four hours from now, we'll hold a vote here in the dining hall regarding the future treatment of the isolated Nanami, Kyoko Kirigiri, and K."
Pigami swept a sharp gaze across the room and continued.
"For the next twenty-four hours, those three will be granted the right to move around under supervision and attempt to persuade us. Whether you listen to them or not is your choice. And when the vote is held, if you think their words are right, write 'I trust them.' If you think they aren't, write 'I can't trust them,' and submit it."
"....."
"That concludes the leader's order. Any questions? If not..."
"Hey... what about that insane white-haired bastard?"
"Komaeda is naturally excluded from the vote. The three at the center of the vote are excluded as well."
"Yeah... that guy doesn't deserve a vote anyway..."
"Then spend your time as you see fit. That's all."
Once Pigami finished speaking, the students scattered in all directions, each carrying their own private thoughts.
'Good. K asked me to find out what everyone's thinking.'
And as those students dispersed, Hanamura quietly slipped after them, stalking them with surprising finesse.
"I seriously can't trust those assholes. No matter how you slice it, they're the ones who locked us up here, right? Anyone saying they trust them is an idiot."
"If that is the young master's will..."
"Peko, I told you to drop the formal speech while we're here..."
'What... exactly is their relationship...?'
Hanamura spent a while listening to their strangely loaded exchange, his imagination running absolutely wild over the nature of their relationship. Then he wiped away the drool spilling from his mouth and classified Kuzuryu and Pekoyama as anti-trust.
"Big Sis...! Big Sis, how are you going to vote...?"
"Hmm... honestly, I can understand their side to some extent... but I still don't trust them. It's too soon to believe them."
"Waaah! That's my Big Sis! Same as me! Well... even if I thought differently, if it's your opinion, Big Sis, I'd follow it no matter what!"
'She'd follow her no matter what...? Th-That's... a seriously dangerous thing to say...!'
Hanamura barely managed to suppress the delusions threatening to explode in his head, then classified Saionji and Koizumi as anti-trust.
"Hey, you guys. I've got a question. What's your stance on this vote?"
"Well... me? Honestly, I'm not totally sure, but... K and Nanami don't seem like bad people, and that Kirigiri girl somehow feels dependable, y'know? So I figured I'd try trusting them."
"Ibuki trusts all three too! Distrust is the pitch-black root of all evil!"
"...I agree with that. Distrust is the root of all evil."
'Good. Well, I'm on the pro side too, of course...'
After putting Souda, Mioda, and Togami in the pro-trust camp, Hanamura added his own name to the list and smiled to himself.
"But... what will Sonia do...?"
"I... would still like to remain neutral for now. I was taught that in any situation, you must deliberate with the utmost care until the very end before making a judgment."
"I-I still haven't decided either... Ah, no, that's not it... Sonia is being cautious... I'm just stupid... S-sorry...!"
"Even if the authority of the goddess of judgment has been bestowed upon us, should an ordinary mortal recklessly wield a power too great for even this body and the Four Dark Devas of Destruction to control, ruin would surely follow... Therefore, I too must exercise the virtue of humility..."
'Hmm... I have no clue what he's talking about, but... I guess that means neutral...?'
After spending a long while deciphering Tanaka's statement, Hanamura cautiously sorted Sonia, Tsumiki, and Tanaka into the neutral camp.
"Haaah... haaah... voting and all that... instead of complicated stuff like that...! I'd rather just beat the hell out of someone and fight it out...!"
"When it is difficult to settle one's opinion, setting thought aside for a moment and unleashing one's strength to the fullest can be helpful..."
"Yeah? If you say so, I guess that's how it is. Come to think of it... Nidai, what's your stance?"
"...I still haven't decided either, which is why I am having a dialogue of the body with you. Whenever I engage in a dialogue of the body, my thoughts become calm."
'A... a dialogue of the body...?'
Hanamura stared at the two of them, drenched in sweat, with a blissed-out expression. Then the phrase "dialogue of the body" entered the conversation, and he started gushing nosebleeds for a very long time.
'I-I'm getting dizzy... I-I can't die here in such a stupid way...'
By the time the blood loss started making him anemic, Hanamura finally snapped back to his senses. He hastily stopped the bleeding and classified Owari and Nidai as neutral.
"All right, that's everything everyone said, along with the positions they're currently holding."
"Thanks, Hanamura. Seriously, this helps a lot. But... are you okay?"
"Huh...? What do you mean, okay...?"
"I mean, you've been staggering around this whole time, and your clothes are soaked in blood. Of course I'm worried..."
"Haha... no need to worry... this is just proof of my passion..."
"Don't push yourself too hard. You've done enough, so get some real rest."
"Yeah... yeah, I should... I've got things to do in my room anyway... eheheh... Oh, right! Hinata still hasn't woken up, so I couldn't investigate him. Well then, I'm off..."
After Hanamura staggered out, the three of us looked at each other.
"You guys ready?"
"Yep!"
"Yes."
"Whew... Then there's still some time before night falls... let's go persuade the neutral group first."
And so the three of us headed toward the fateful turning point that would decide the future course of the killing game.