Chapter 350: [350] The Struggle for Sheriff

As the saying goes—play is play, fun is fun, but don’t treat the game like a joke.

Especially a dangerous game like this, where one careless move can cost you your moral compass.

The bonfire crackled quietly, occasionally letting off a sharp snap. The night breeze was crisp and cool. As it carried the scent of fire past the round table, it drew vivid lines between their gazes—locked, clashing.

The daytime camaraderie was over. With dusk fallen, humans, gods, and werewolves alike must now fight for their own victory—even if it means sacrificing others.

The first night had passed, and the Holy Grail had already announced the results: a "Silent Night."

As the name suggests, it meant that no players had died during the night.

But this one point opened up a flood of possibilities—perhaps the witch had saved someone, or the werewolves chose not to kill, or... the Dreamcatcher’s protection had worked.

As the Dreamcatcher, Sakatsuki’s first reaction was that his protection had been successful. The werewolves had targeted Ritsuka Fujimaru during the night, but failed because of his intervention.

Following that logic, there were two main possibilities: either Ritsuka wasn’t a werewolf and was just randomly targeted, or—Ritsuka was a wolf, and tried to "kill" herself to bait the witch’s potion and gain her trust.

But all of this hinges on the werewolves actually attacking, and the witch not healing anyone. If the foundation of that logic is wrong, then the whole deduction collapses.

"That’s the beauty of Werewolf, isn’t it? Within that unobserved black box, how many truths are hidden? Who can peel back the mist of lies and disguises, and dig out the treasure we call truth from the interplay of day and night?"

Sakatsuki murmured with a tinge of excitement, his sharp gaze sweeping across the varied expressions of the players.

During the discussion phase, the Holy Grail System projected a virtual panel showing everyone’s numbers and basic info. Sakatsuki happened to be Player 1.

Player 2: Sasaki Kojirou

Player 3: Cú Chulainn

Player 4: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne

Player 5: Mash Kyrielight

Player 6: Ritsuka Fujimaru

Player 7: Artoria Pendragon

Player 8: Tamamo-no-Mae

Player 9: Kiyohime

Player 10: Mordred

Player 11: Illyasviel

Player 12: Miyu

Player 13: Kuro (Chloe von Einzbern)

Player 14: Draco (the final seated player next to Sakatsuki)

Noticing Draco’s gaze, Sakatsuki tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What’s up?"

"I’m thinking about biting you to death," Draco replied flatly, then turned her head away, refusing to meet his eyes.

Bite me? Why? Did I do something during the day?... No, wait—this is the discussion phase. This is Werewolf.

In other words, Draco must’ve picked up on something to say that to me.

What could I have done that made her wary? I’m a Dreamcatcher—a good role. So if she sees me as a threat... does that mean she’s a werewolf? But even a werewolf wouldn’t know my identity. Not unless she’s the Wolf King... but even the Werewolf King doesn’t have seer abilities.

Seer? Could it be... but why would she say that?

Switching from casual to serious mode, Sakatsuki ran through Draco’s possible logic in his head, even reverse-engineering her role.

"Hey, don’t just zone out on me." Draco tugged at his sleeve. Unaware of Sakatsuki’s internal analysis, she leaned in and said softly before the system continued, "Explain this game to me. How do you actually play it?"

Explain? Little Red Dragon, who’s usually uninterested in anything, is actually asking me to teach her the rules?

If she were just a regular villager, would she be this eager?

Sakatsuki’s eyes flickered for a moment, then returned to normal.

"Of course. Then let me give you my perspective."

Identifying roles revolves around several key points: first, their state and perspective, then their behavior, and finally, the setup.

Let’s start with "state." Players who get important roles tend to fall into two extremes: some will desperately hide their identity, while others will immediately reveal themselves to take the lead—usually those confident in their abilities. The ones trying to hide their roles will do their best to act like normal villagers, so their speech tends to be softer or more restrained.

Some role cards naturally inspire confidence and righteousness when speaking. Others might fake nervousness and claim to be villagers—those are also likely to be roles in disguise.

In general, players whose behavior fluctuates wildly—those who swing between extremes—are likely to have a role. People who remain calm and steady from start to finish are far more likely to be ordinary villagers.

"Oh," Draco murmured, seemingly deep in thought. Then she pointed across the table—at the one with the ahoge, Player 7: Artoria. "So that one’s either a wolf or a special role, huh?"

"Hm? And what makes you say that..." Sakatsuki glanced over and sighed helplessly. "Yeah, she’s a little too easy to read."

Across the room, everyone who had mentally prepared after the daytime phase was showing calm, looking for clues through discussion and subtle probing. Even those bad at acting were sitting up straight and trying to hold it together.

Except for one—Artoria. Her ahoge was trembling nervously. Her eyes darted around. Her whole body was stiff, like she was wound too tight. One tap and she might snap.

"Miss Artoria, what do you think? Did no one die last night because the witch used her potion?"

"Ah! Master! Uh... I... well... maybe that’s it? Ahaha..." Spooked by a shoulder tap from Ritsuka, Artoria jumped from her seat. Under the Holy Grail System’s reminder, she shakily sat back down. Her suspicious behavior couldn’t be more obvious.

Her actions immediately drew everyone’s attention. Watching the now visibly uncomfortable King of Knights, Sakatsuki rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"This is the unique aspect of our game," he said. "Hardly any of you have played Werewolf before. In other words, aside from me, everyone here is a rookie."

Rookies mean unpredictability—wild moves, hard-to-read logic. But also, easier to understand and manipulate.

"That’s why you dared to use the Holy Grail as the prize? Because you’ve got the advantage here?"

"Exactly. Though, if someone drags me down with them just for fun, I’ll accept it. The prize is just a Holy Grail wish, not the Grail itself."

"You’re really... ridiculously confident."

"Much obliged."

And at that moment, the Holy Grail System spoke again:

[All players who wish to run for Sheriff, please raise your hands. 30-second countdown begins now.]

In Werewolf, "running for Sheriff" refers to competing during the first day for the Sheriff badge. The Sheriff has the final say in voting and a 1.5x vote multiplier. If they die, they can choose another player to inherit the badge.

The matter of who should hold the sheriff’s badge gave rise to a strategy known as the "Badge Meta." Because players who die at night can’t leave a final message, if the Seer is elected sheriff, they can pass their investigation results through the badge in the event of their untimely death.

Sakatsuki didn’t keep this knowledge to himself. On the contrary, he explained it openly, making sure everyone was aware.

Only by understanding the rules could one exploit them. And if the others followed the rules, Sakatsuki’s deductions would become all the more precise.

Perhaps he was being overly meticulous at this stage, but when the discussion period ended, most of the players raised their hands to enter the sheriff race.

[Players running for sheriff: #1 Shakugetsu, #3 Cú Chulainn, #6 Ritsuka Fujimaru, #7 Artoria, #10 Mordred, #13 Chloe, #11 Illya — seven candidates in total.]

[Randomized reverse order of speeches begins with player #11.]

"Huh? Me?" Kuro blinked in surprise as the countdown timer projected above the round table began. She clearly panicked.

"Uh... well, I’m really just here for the fun of it. Anyway, I’m not a werewolf, okay? That’s all."

As Sakatsuki predicted, the downsides of having beginners in this game were becoming clear. Kuro’s statement was careless, and when it was Illya’s turn—who didn’t even have time to prepare—her speech was almost entirely devoid of information. Even though Illya tried her best to appear serious, to Sakatsuki, she just looked like she was running for class president.

Mordred had likely raised her hand just to snipe her "father," but since she had to speak before her, and without time to prepare, her words were a scattered mess. Artoria’s speech was more conventional, but due to her inexperience and the fact that it was only the first day, she didn’t provide much substance either.

Then came player #6, Ritsuka Fujimaru.

"Night One: Player #5, Mash, is my golden check (confirmed villager). Tonight I will check player #7, Artoria. If I die, Artoria is a villager—give the badge to #7. If not, destroy the badge."

Finally, after a string of amateurish statements, Ritsuka, a modern-day human, delivered something of actual value.

Now it was getting interesting.

Sakatsuki sat up ever so slightly, gaze sharpening.

A "golden check" means that the Seer confirmed a player to be a villager during the night phase.

So here’s the question—is Ritsuka the Seer?

Or is she a werewolf pretending to be one, trying to draw out the real Seer by jumping the claim first?

While the others stared at Ritsuka, subconsciously waiting for her next words, Sakatsuki’s eyes were scanning everyone but her—reading the subtle changes in their expressions.

From there, he began to draw conclusions.

***

Glossary of the game terms:

Red check: Seer checks someone as a wolf.

Gold water: Seer checks someone as good.

Silver water: Player saved by Witch’s potion.

Bronze water: Player guarded and attacked simultaneously.

Claim: Declare one’s role.

Counter-claim: Another player claims the same role.

Withdraw: Drop out of Sheriff race.

Aggressive claim: Wolf claims a special role to sow confusion.

Take a side: A non-claiming player supports a claimer.

Charge: Wolves support their fake Seer.

Revers hook: Wolves support the real Seer to confuse town.

Self-stab: Wolves attack themselves or teammates for tactics.

No-kill: Wolves skip their night kill.

Talk slip: Wolf reveals themselves accidentally.

Self-destruct: Wolf admits and exits, triggering night.

Final vote: Last speaker decides vote.

Healed-through: Player still dies despite protection and heal.

***

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