novelraw Chapter 43 : Chapter 43
Chapter 43 : Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Round 4 started immediately after Round 3 ended.
The forced march without rest felt unfamiliar.
Personally, I didn't care much whether we rested or jumped straight into Round 4.
I hadn't consumed much physical strength in Round 3, nor did I have any separate plans after Round 3 was over.
It was fine to take a break, and it was fine to start Round 4 right away.
I was in a position to welcome either way.
But among the other players, there would likely be many who felt somewhat dissatisfied.
“People who intend to return to society after Round 3 ends will have many complaints.”
There must have been many people who struggled to survive through Round 3, hoping that the boarding fee would drop this time.
However, by rushing straight into Round 4, the time to stop by the Shopping Mall disappeared.
A significant number of players would be flustered.
Meanwhile, besides the players, there was someone else flustered upon hearing the announcement.
It was none other than August.
“Proceeding with Round 4 immediately? Why?”
She was someone who had been hoping to finally escape from me and return to her original position.
Not only had she failed her mission, but she had even provided her ability after being toyed with by me, so she was in a position where she didn't know what kind of disciplinary action she would hear upon returning.
While her mind was already complicated, she ended up having to act with me a bit longer, so she couldn't help but be flustered.
I spoke as I used the curtains by the window as a towel to wipe my sticky, wet hands.
“Judging by your reaction, it seems this is information that wasn't notified to you in advance either, Ms. August?”
August massaged her forehead with her hand and complained of dizziness.
In a situation where things she couldn't control by her own power were happening consecutively, she was clicking away at a calculator in her head, wondering if it was right to keep feigning her identity until the end.
Since I had earlier created a significant atmosphere as if there were a traitor among the Dealers, it was no wonder she had a lot on her mind.
It was 30 seconds later when she finished her agonizing and made a decision.
“Who did you hear it from, that I am August?”
She had made the decision to rather admit to being a Dealer and focus on identifying the traitor.
The truth was, there wasn't even such a thing as a traitor among the Dealers.
From now on, the organization would cause internal strife while chasing a traitor that doesn't even exist.
And they would slowly dry up.
Like a castaway chasing a mirage in the desert.
I put on an act, being conscious of the Dealers in the control room who would be observing this entire scene.
“Surely you didn't throw out that question expecting me to answer, did you?”
“I thought you were just managing to survive well with a rank 5 ability... but if you survived thanks to a traitor, the story is different.”
“I'd really like to hear your opinion on which part is different and how.”
“It means you didn't survive through your own individual ability.”
“Aha, I wondered what you were trying to say. You wanted to say that you being toyed with by me was because of the traitor, not because you lost due to a lack of capacity.”
In an instant, August had been treated like a child throwing a tantrum because of a competitive streak even after being thoroughly toyed with.
August let out a sigh aloud in frustration.
“Sigh, don't make me into a narrow-minded person. Think about it carefully. If there was foul play because a Dealer betrayed, all the experimental data targeted at you becomes useless. Don't you know what that means?”
“How could I not know? If it's revealed that all my actions so far were a fraud, my value as a test subject would disappear. Perhaps they might invalidate all the money I've earned so far and kick me out of the game site.”
“It would be lucky if it ended at that level. If the organization puts its mind to it, burying someone like you without anyone knowing is a piece of cake.”
I spoke with a snort.
“Heh, anyway, how this situation is resolved depends on your report, August. You'll have to work hard to defend me, by all means.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Why should I defend you?”
“No, you will have no choice but to do it. Because I've set up all the conditions so that it has to be that way.”
August bit her lips tightly.
If another player had said it, she might have regarded it as a bluff, but because I was the one who said it, the thought occurred to her that it might actually be true.
The basics of psychological warfare start from inflating the opponent's imagination.
The moment she thought, ‘It might be possible if it’s that person,’ she was likely to lose her pace, swayed by her own imagination.
I passed by August and stepped out into the corridor.
“Anyway, we're in a relationship where we have to play the game together until Round 4, so let's try to get along. In a player-to-player relationship, that is.”
August made a grumpy expression.
However, for someone who disliked me, she walked behind me without a word of complaint.
I walked ahead, and August followed behind at a distance of one step.
It was because she knew that turning me into an enemy recklessly would make it difficult to break through Round 4.
Not only that, the order from the higher-ups to ‘strip Lee Ju-seong’s balance and keep him in the game longer’ was still valid.
An ally in the sense that she was recognizing me as a comrade and providing the Damage Doping ability.
An enemy in the sense that she had to follow the orders of the higher-ups.
August's current situation was one where she had to stick close to me out of necessity in an ambiguous position that was neither ally nor enemy.
On the outside, she was trying hard to maintain a cool impression, but on the inside, she was wearing a crying face because this situation itself was unfair.
To me, the gap between the outside and the inside that August harbored was a means of utilization I would continue to favor, as well as a source of enjoyment.
“...”
“...”
There was no conversation passing between the two of us; we merely walked silently to the designated place.
November, who had come out to meet us, and No Tae-jin, who had arrived before the two of us, were waiting in the 1st floor lobby.
No Tae-jin inhaled deeply as if stealing his resolve and asked me.
“In the end, are you two the only ones who survived?”
It was like No Tae-jin to count the number of the living rather than counting the number of the dead.
I nodded my head and added conviction to his intuition.
“I don't know if it will be a comfort, but they blamed you until the end. They were people who deserved to die.”
“Thank you for your concern. But I'd like to refrain from speaking ill of the dead if possible. Because it's more constructive to care about the survivors than to consume attention on the dead.”
“Then let's discuss the topic that survivors should naturally share.”
“Are you talking about the prize money for Set 2 and Set 3?”
“Yes, let's clearly settle on how it would be best to fulfill the promise of dividing the prize money fairly among players.”
Even putting August aside as an exception, there was something left to settle between me and No Tae-jin.
Depending on how one interpreted the promise to divide all prize money fairly, the amount to be divided changed.
The key was whether to count the prize money obtained by all players, including me, during this Round 3 and divide it in half, or to divide it in half by considering only the prize money obtained by me and No Tae-jin.
No Tae-jin immediately waved his arm strongly.
“You take it all, Mr. Ju-seong.”
“Would that be alright?”
No Tae-jin caught his breath and then spoke as if unburdening himself.
“I don't know if it's okay to say such things between people in the same situation, but we flowed into this dark place because there was a problem with our character. Even if we return to the light in the same ugly state of the past, we will only repeat the past. To change the future, shouldn't I change myself first?”
Then, he looked at me with eyes that had become much clearer by putting strength into them and added.
“If I receive blood-stained money, the resolution I finally made will waver. So, I cannot accept that money.”
Wanting to become a new person and regain the qualification to return to the light...
It was a very upright goal.
Even if I were to return, all that was waiting for me was an unfamiliar personal history I had never experienced.
There was no footprint I had personally left anywhere in this world, and no place existed where I could affirm myself.
The only thing I knew clearly was this Money Game.
I, who had no choice but to maintain my identity only within this game, had no right to argue with No Tae-jin's opinion.
I expressed respect for No Tae-jin's opinion.
“I'll hope for your safe return, Mr. Tae-jin.”
“Although we failed to have everyone survive in Round 3, I intend to advocate for everyone's survival in Round 4 as well. Will you both comply?”
“I am welcome anytime. But I'm worried that someone somewhere might do something foolish during the game.”
Me and No Tae-jin looked at August at the same time.
August, who had been tidying her bangs and setting a sharp asymmetrical angle, stopped her movement.
She looked at me and No Tae-jin alternately once.
Then, she pointed out the core of this conversation in a cold tone that suited her characteristic cool impression.
“I think it's first to check the Round 4 game before we clarify each other's positions. If it's a game that can be played by three people, the rules will likely be simple, so let's judge after hearing them.”
November, who had been listening silently to the conversation of the three of us, cleared his throat.
It was a husky and refreshing throat-clearing, like clearing a blocked drain.
Thanks to November's dynamic throat-clearing, our attention was drawn to November.
November opened his mouth only after gathering our attention.
“All three of you are gravely mistaken.”
No Tae-jin was finding the Dealer difficult, like a typical player, and August was overtly keeping her distance from November in order not to show she was a Dealer in front of No Tae-jin.
By process of elimination, there was no one but me to respond to November's words.
“In what part is it a mistake?”
“The part about the Round 4 game being played by the three of you.”
“In that case, are you saying you'll be supplementing the personnel from somewhere else?”
“Partly correct, and partly incorrect.”
November turned his body 90 degrees and pressed the elevator button.
After the elevator door opened, November beckoned while putting his sturdy body into the large box.
It was a gesture to board the elevator.
“Round 4 is a team match.”
We followed November and boarded the elevator.
Before long, the box went up to a higher floor along with the frictional sound of the cable.
While moving to the game site where Round 4 would be held, November added.
“The survivors of the Sand Digging Game are one team, and you three, the survivors of the Musical Chairs game, are one team. Two teams competing against each other is the basic format of this Round 4.”
“People who were fighting each other to take money until just now have to cooperate... You didn't plunge straight into Round 4 for nothing.”
“I merely follow the orders of the higher-ups. I'll leave the interpretation to your imagination.”
If I had grasped the organization's intention correctly, this Round 4 was certain to be advantageous for the side that cooperated with each other in Round 3 to leave many survivors.
Three out of ten was a relatively large number of survivors in its own way.
How many people survived on the opposing side?
I demanded information from November with the thought that it couldn't hurt to ask.
“How many survivors are on the opposing team?”
Surprisingly, November provided the information readily.
However, the information that popped out of November's mouth exceeded my expectations.
“Everyone survived. In other words, all ten people survived.”
While we could not realize it even while including a man of character like No Tae-jin, the opposing team reportedly realized it as if showing off.
There were two hypotheses that could be established through this.
Either everyone on the opposing team had a gentle personality, or there was a strong person who could exercise overwhelming control.
While an unusual intuition was felt, the door opened along with a cheerful digital sound effect.
Ding!
The object that first caught my eye through the open door was none other than a standing sign.
The name of the game to be played this time was written in chalk on the standing sign in the form of a small blackboard.
The name written on the blackboard possessed both intuitiveness and unfamiliarity.
[Straight Yutnori]
It was a game name that contained an ominous unfamiliarity, consisting of familiar words yet with contents that couldn't be guessed.