Chapter 332
Winning the game occurred when someone reached 10 points, meaning that preventing someone from obtaining 10 points gave others a chance. Therefore, it wasn't surprising for Hegemonia that, given her high likelihood of being a civilian, a troll would emerge from the civilian side to intentionally hinder the civilians' victory.
‘I was expecting that the game would enter a new phase at this point.’
Sung-Woon raised his hand and said, "I'm the doctor."
Hegemonia slammed the round table. "Didn't expect things to go this far. Why would the doctor come forward!? Play the game properly!"
Eventually, Hegemonia also posed as a fake doctor to decrease the likelihood of Sung-Woon, who could have been the only real doctor, being killed.
‘What kind of crazy game is this?’
However, the game ended unexpectedly. HumanTracker, Aldin, and Sung-Woon were the mafias.
‘Was his declaration as a doctor also a disguise?’
Through fake police and fake doctors, they screened out the ordinary civilians, targeted the real hidden roles first, and gradually hung the civilians through mafia instigation to secure victory.
Hegemonia realized that the game hadn't gone awry but had evolved into a more difficult puzzle.
‘Is trolling a part of the game elements now? The variables I have to calculate have doubled. Every action isn't just real or fake, but also includes being real pretending to be fake or being fake pretending to be real.’
Hegemonia thought that if she was unlucky, she could continuously end up on the same team as Sung-Woon, getting entangled in slow games filled with the others’ trolling. However, that did not happen.
[...Mafia nomination complete. Night has fallen.]
[Role: Mafia]
The other mafias were Aldin and Yummy.
‘Without Nebula, this means that this round will be decisive.’
And without much hope, Hegemonia glanced at the internal network and discovered some good news.
Hegemonia: I'm a mafia.
Krampus: I'm the doctor.
‘By avoiding the doctor every night, we can steadily eliminate and win. Moreover....’
Aldin said,
-Given the current situation, even if Yummy and I troll and vote and eliminate you by majority, it’ll all be over anyway because Nebula is on the other side, right?
-It’s nice that I don’t need to explain.
Yummy, listening to all this, said,
-Then why should Hegemonia win instead of Nebula?
Yummy voted to target Hegemonia in the mafia vote.
-I've been waiting for this moment, Hegemonia. The moment I get to take revenge on you with my own hands.
Aldin, who watched quietly, also responded,
-That’s true.
-Fuck you.
Hegemonia urgently said,
-What do both of you want?
Yummy said,
-Your defeat.
Hegemonia ignored that remark.
Aldin then said,
-Me? Uh...money.
Hegemonia was relieved when she realized Aldin was someone she could actually deal with.
-Great. Someone said they refuse my money, so if I win this way, I'm planning to have some left over.
When Hegemonia mentioned the amount Ovenwave and HumanTracker had left behind, Aldin blinked for a moment. Then, she glared and pointed at Yummy.
-Shall we kill this one first?
This time, Yummy sighed.
-Damn...I knew this would happen.
The first night's victim was Yummy, a fellow mafia, but nobody was aware of that fact.
***
Krampus: Why would you kill a mafia?
Hegemonia: I told you, they were trying to kill me.
Krampus: Oh, Yummy?
Hegemonia: Yes.
Krampus: Losing a mafia member is unfortunate, but I guess it's better than keeping a hostile ally....
Hegemonia: I appreciate your understanding.
And in Hegemonia's opinion, the mafias were definitely at an advantage compared to the civilians. The mafias knew that Hegemonia and Sung-Woon were on different teams, but the civilians did not know this fact.
‘So my chances of winning are higher.'
But that was Hegemonia's misconception.
As soon as day dawned, Sung-Woon, who confidently declared himself first as the police, said, "I'm the police, and Hegemonia is a mafia."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
The other players barely stopped Hegemonia from lunging across the round table.
Then, another police, Sha-Cha, raised their hand but was ignored.
Sung-Woon, on the verge of victory, was somewhat sensitive.
'Did he just accuse me without even considering if I'm a fellow civilian or a mafia?'
It seemed like the best strategy in Hegemonia’s opinion too. If she were a civilian, winning or losing didn't matter. It would conclude in a draw, and though Hegemonia would feel mixed feelings, she wouldn’t feel mortified. On the contrary, if Hegemonia was a mafia, since it was a brutal fact, it would increase his win rate, which would be beneficial.
There was also another advantage.
‘Trolling has reduced since Sha-Cha was the only one who also came forward as a police. It made clear that the civilians' trolling is meaningless if he’s on a different team as me.’
However, Hegemonia countered this by applying the same logic in reverse, insisting that it was merely Sung-Woon's last resort strategy.
This was also true, so the public opinion was becoming more cautious.
‘If I can just survive the vote...’
Hegemonia claimed to be a civilian and also appealed about the benefits of winning together with Sung-Woon. Fortunately, Ovenwave and HumanTracker did not show any particular hostility toward Hegemonia.
Krampus: Shall we start the operation now?
Hegemonia: Who first?
Krampus: Well, Sha-Cha seems likely to be the real police.
Hegemonia: It's a bit difficult for me to start.
Krampus: Right, it's also better if I do it than Aldin, who's a mafia.
Accusing someone of being a mafia always carried the risk of backlash.
Krampus, regardless of whether Sung-Woon was the real police, accused Sha-Cha as a mafia for coming out as the police later and also for suddenly saying they checked AR1026 to be a civilian.
There was a statement of defense that followed, but the participants of this mafia game tended to prefer killing someone off in the first vote rather than saving them. Therefore, Sha-Cha was hung, Wisdom was hung the following night, and AR1026 was also killed in the next vote for being suspicious after being vouched by Sha-Cha as a civilian.
Hegemonia's strategy was to form a public opinion against Sung-Woon, the fake police, rather than killing him directly. However, perhaps Sha-Cha was the real police, Sung-Woon continued to act as the police, appointed and hung innocent civilians, leaving Hegemonia with no real reason to kill him directly.
‘Was it just good luck earlier?’
Eventually, with Lakrak hung, the last five remaining were Sung-Woon, Hegemonia, Krampus, Aldin, and Lunda.
Hegemonia: ...We've won.
With five remaining and two mafias among them, killing one civilian that night would even the numbers, leading to an automatic mafia victory.
Hegemonia felt drained by a game that wasn't even physical.
Krampus: Who will we kill last?
Hegemonia: Someone symbolic would be good. Nebula.
Krampus: Ah, I see.
Hegemonia told Aldin to target Sung-Woon.
Hegemonia waited for the curtain to lift, ready to declare victory. However, she couldn't utter a word.
[...Day has dawned.]
[The victim of the fifth night is...no one! The doctor has saved a citizen from an attack.]
Hegemonia hit her forehead. Unlike the previous games, there was only one person who declared themself as a doctor, and only Hegemonia knew who that was.
Hegemonia: You damn...! Hey!
Krampus: Yummy wanted to send their regards.
Hegemonia: What? Yummy?
Hegemonia, baffled, looked at Yummy's seat. She couldn't actually see Yummy because of the blur, but somehow it seemed like Yummy's shark face was visible.
Krampus, sitting at the table, said directly, "Ah, Yummy also asked me to say this." Before Hegemonia could reply, Krampus quickly said, "People betray."
***
Krampus and Yummy properly conversed not long after the Pantheon became the Hall of Myriad Stars. And through that conversation, Krampus realized that Yummy, who had chosen the heavy Domain: Revenge, had a different image than he had thought.
"So, how do you think you'd like to take your revenge?"
"I haven't thought about it."
"Do you want to hit her or something?"
"Not really."
"Maybe throw her into a river?"
"Why so scary?"
Unable to contain his curiosity, Krampus asked the Sanctuary about the compatibility rate of Yummy and the Domain: Revenge. Yummy was more suited to be a fairy of revenge than a Constellation of it.
Yummy was cheerful and had almost no evil in their heart. On a good day, they were the kind of friend one would want to have a drink with.
‘Indeed, it seems better for someone who doesn't quite fit the Domain: Revenge to obtain it.’
The idea that only those suited should possess such a Domain was also a matter to reconsider. It was unlikely for someone suited to revenge to have a decent personality to be in the Hall of Myriad Stars. However, Krampus probed Yummy just in case.
"You don't have any kind of feelings toward Hegemonia?"
"It's just a game, isn’t it? It wasn't for those living in Avartin, but between us, it was."
"Still, being the Constellation of Revenge, shouldn't you do something?"
"I did have that thought from the start."
Yummy's form of revenge was to repay the game with another game. After hearing that, Krampus laughed and supported that revenge.
Due to the circumstances, revenge did not come easily, but Constellations were patient.
Then, one day, when Hegemonia was causing a ruckus in the banquet hall, Lunda mediated and brought up the Mafia game. It was after this that Hegemonia approached Krampus.
Sung-Woon muttered, "It's over."
If the remaining people hanged Hegemonia through a vote, leaving four, and even if Krampus failed to defend against Aldin's attack, the game would end with the remaining two's votes.
Sung-Woon left Hegemonia, sprawled across the round table as if dead, and said to Lunda, "So, what's this plan you've been hiding the whole game?"
"...Plan?"
"Pretending to be clueless doesn't won’t make you not know."
"I don't know. I’m not sure what you’re talking about."
As Lunda averted her gaze, Sung-Woon decided to let it go. It was something that would naturally come to light eventually.
'It seems related to Lakrak being in the game. Well, moving on.’
Now, Sung-Woon's gaze turned to Aldin. "Were you Krampus's insider?"
Aldin replied, "Yes. You guys might not have liked it, but I was the game planner. This revenge was a sort of plan. It wasn't hard as long as I could control the variables."
Sung-Woon took off his mask, rested his chin in his hand, and looked at Aldin. "Are you getting rewarded with money?"
"What? Are you offering to lend some money?"
"No. It seems you've adapted well."
Aldin suppressed her anger and said, "In what aspect?"
"The first night you became a mafia, you could have killed Hegemonia right away. But you didn't, which means you must have been promised something by Hegemonia, right?"
Krampus glared at Aldin.
Aldin then pouted and showed her palms. "What? Do Constellations find it so displeasing that a demerit point laborer has insurance?"
"...Nevermind." Sung-Woon pointed to HumanTracker and Ovenwave, who were blurred. "Our Hegemonia's hitmen."
Hegemonia didn’t respond.
"The rest, I think, was Lunda's plan. Seems like she played quite solidly, but why is that? What am I missing?"
Lunda, along with Wisdom and AR1026, looked at the ceiling, acting like they didn’t know anything.
Then Sung-Woon's gaze finally turned to Sha-Cha. "The most puzzling one was you."
Sha-Cha replied, "I was curious about what the Constellations from Earth did for fun."
"You were just a gamer who purely enjoyed the game. So, did you enjoy it?"
"It was fun."
"That’s good to hear." Sung-Woon added, "Next time, let's also play a game that you guys only know."
Sha-Cha unlinked and relinked the index fingers of their clasped hands, remaining silent for a moment. Soon, they said, "Look forward to it."
And with that, the Mafia game was concluded with the players’ consensus.
***
"The Constellation of Judgment has arrived."
At Bion's whisper-like words, Jang-Wan nodded.
Jang-Wan didn’t turn to look at Lakrak, who approached her, and instead stared straight ahead.
Lakrak, too, without saying anything, looked at what Jang-Wan was observing.
Then Jang-Wan said, "Say hello to my little friend."
A smile crept up Lakrak's lips at the joke.
What was in front of Jang-Wan and Lakrak appeared to be nothing more than a tiny crystal ball and the swirl of lights within it. Yet, it was the result of countless origins of lives, the Light of Eternity and Life projected. Though small enough to hold in one's hand, it was a whole universe of its own.
"Were the earnings okay?" Lakrak asked.
"It was pretty good," Jang-Wan replied.
"I'm glad it went according to plan."
"Thanks to you. The plot twist made it a success."
A high number was shown above the crystal ball. It was the demerit points of someone known to have the highest in the Hall of Myriad Stars.
The demerit points in the Hall of Myriad Stars were determined by the very clear observable value of the Light of Eternity and Life.
Months earlier, Jang-Wan had researched whether there was a simple way to deal with someone's sins.
'Assuming all values are exchangeable....'
Although there was a loss in the conversion process, it was entirely possible with the power of magic. Eventually, it seemed possible to fill the hard-to-replace currency of sin with another, more easily earned currency.
However, the problem was which method and which currency were the easiest to earn.
After several ideas, gambling was settled upon. Once the method was decided, the process was straightforward.
Jang-Wan borrowed money from those who had a considerable amount, including Lunda and Lakrak, who then participated in the game, increased the stakes, and ultimately bet on a reliable gamer and won big profits after victory.
"But I didn't expect it to not be enough."
"There will be more opportunities."
"I hope so, but I'm not keeping my hopes up. Anyway...have all the people I owe money to gathered?"
Jang-Wan turned around with a bitter smile.
Besides Lakrak, there was Wisdom, Krampus, AR1026, and Lunda.
Others who wanted to help, like Eldar, RD, and Damien, were also there, but it was unfortunate they had failed to accumulate enough to be of help.
For example, Eldar's cafe, found everywhere in the Hall of Myriad Stars, was essentially a charity business because of its remarkable offer of the first cup free every day.
Then Wisdom said, "You don’t have to repay us back immediately, Jang-Wan."
"I just prefer to be meticulous with my accounts."
Krampus said, "It was an interest-free loan."
"Quiet, you triple agent. I’m not the winner, but I’ll select you as the best gamer."
"What an honor."
Lunda then said, "I could have done well if you had asked me too."
AR1026 said, "You're confident because of old habits, aren't you?"
"How long do your grudges last, hundreds of years?"
Jang-Wan, laughing, controlled the system window and paid off all the debts.
Jang-Wan still had no intention of showing her efforts to the actual one who benefited, so she wanted to keep it as secret as possible.
'...But at this point, it seems like pretty much everyone knows. I guess I'll have to be satisfied that the one who shouldn't know isn’t here.'
Jang-Wan hoped that Sung-Woon was unaware of this matter. For Jang-Wan, she did it because she wanted to, but if it were Sung-Woon, he would have treated it as a duty. And Jang-Wan no longer wished Sung-Woon would do that.
Jang-Wan glanced at Lakrak.
'Perhaps he's the substitute.'
Lakrak, deeply engrossed in the numbers to the point of not noticing Jang-Wan's gaze, said, "Still, this has brought the number closer to zero than eternity, hasn't it?"
"...I guess that’s true."
Closer than eternity. That at least sounded pleasant.
***
After the Mafia game ended at the Tower of Beginnings of the Hall of Myriad Stars, the streaming had concluded, and the players gathered among themselves and left.
The ones who still remained in their seats for quite some time after were Sung-Woon and Hegemonia, who was still groaning and resting her forehead on the round table.
Sung-Woon said, "Hey, are you crying?"
Hegemonia clenched her fist while still leaning over, but there was no response.
"Enough is enough, isn’t it?"
"Shut up."
"Is it four wins to two losses now? I've extended my lead by one more win."
"I’m actually gonna kill you."
Sung-Woon climbed onto the round table and walked slowly toward her.
It seemed as if Hegemonia's head would lift, but she didn't move.
Then Sung-Woon sat down right in front of her. "You haven't forgotten our promise, have you?"
"What promise?"
"The loser has to fulfill a favor of the winner."
"I remember."
"Then, as a favor, will you lift your head already?"
Hegemonia exhaled and did so.
Raising her right eyebrow, she asked, "Is that all?"
Then Sung-Woon laughed and pulled Hegemonia's hand. "Of course not."
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