Ritsuka giving gold water to Mashâdeclaring her as "Good"âwas both a terrible move... and a brilliant one.
Sakatsuki had already explained the bad part: it was crude, lacked any tactical finesse, and clashed with Ritsukaâs identity as a Master.
But where was the brilliance? Simple: Ritsuka wasnât wrong.
Judging from Mashâs behavior thus far, she was indeed aligned with the Good side. This meant that Ritsukaâs claim stood on solid ground; her reasoning, fundamentally speaking, was valid.
It was only Sakatsukiâs metagame perspectiveâthe kind born from knowing the players themselvesâthat exposed the cracks in Ritsukaâs play. Without his input, or without considering off-table dynamics, only the real Seer revealing themselves could challenge her claim.
Yet despite all of that, Dracoâs sudden "confession," and her dragging Sakatsuki down with her as a "confirmed Good," completely threw the scales back out of balance.
Obviously, Dracoâs actions had drawn suspicion. No one in their right mind could fully trust her after that performance.
And so it followedâif Dracoâs Seer claim was shaky, then what about Sakatsuki, whom she had cleared? Could he be trusted?
Thinking one step further: was Sakatsukiâs takedown of Ritsuka just a calculated werewolf moveâfabricated accusations meant to smear the real Seer?
At that thought, Sakatsuki gave Dracoâs leg an annoyed little pat. She promptly caught his hand and tugged itâlightly, without force, smug satisfaction written all over her motion.
Sakatsuki could already see her proud little smirk.
Damn red dragon...
And with that, he twisted his arm back, reached behind her, and gave her a swift, not-too-hard slap. Then he withdrew before her tail could catch him.
A murderous glare was thrown his way. Sakatsuki grinned, raising a finger.
"Shhh~ Itâs Ritsukaâs turn to speak now. Rules are rules, you know~"
After successfully turning the tables on Draco, Sakatsuki settled into a better moodâand turned his attention to Ritsukaâs statement.
"...Yeah, okay, I admit checking Mash Night 1 probably wasnât optimal," Ritsuka began cheerfully. "But hey, itâs been ages since I last played Werewolf! And more importantlyâthis is vacation, people! Take it too seriously and you ruin the fun!"
Just as Sakatsuki feared, she followed her excuse with a pointed counterattack:
"Compared to me, isnât Player 14 far more suspicious? Player 1âSakatsukiâdid it ever occur to you that just because he understands the game doesnât mean his teammate does too? If a wolf is going to fake a Seer claim, theyâre at least going to try to sound convincing, right?"
"Dracoâs claim? Way too barebones. No logic, no support. If she and Sakatsuki are both wolves, then this whole âclearing Sakatsukiâ stunt is just a power playâto push me out and take control."
"What kind of real Seer gives a name drop and nothing else? No reasoning? No read analysis? Thatâs not how you win trust."
"And if she is the real Seer, why didnât she contest the sheriff vote and go for the badge? Why jump out on Day 1 like that if she wasnât planning to claim early?"
Her words hit their mark. Many players quietly nodded.
Ritsuka hadnât said anything that was technically wrong. Choosing Mash mightâve simply been emotional attachment to her kouhai. It was... understandable.
But Draco? Her behavior reeked of red flags. Her claim was so shallow, her clearing of Sakatsuki so casualâit gave people zero reason to believe her. Even if she wasnât a werewolf, she was being so reckless that voting her out seemed like the safest option.
With her statement complete, everyone instinctively turned toward Sakatsuki, breath held, waiting to hear his rebuttal.
But before he could speak, Player No.3âCĂș Chulainnâcut in and stole the spotlight.
"Yeah, I totally agree," Lancer said, nodding sagely. "Sakatsukiâer, Player 1âhis logic checks out, sure. But I dunno... the more he talks, the more wolfy he sounds. And after Player 14âs claim? It really starts to look like a trap play."
"Besides, since when is our Master ever wrong? She says itâs true, it must be true. I say we back her up!"
Cue immediate reaction.
Sakatsuki broke into a snort-laugh.
Ritsukaâs face didnât moveâbut inside, she sighed heavily.
Because the truth was all too clear:
"Hey, Player No.3... did you just say âtrap playâ?" The quiet 2nd playerâSasaki Kojirouâchimed in with a chuckle. Watching Lancer freeze, then pale visibly, Kojirou grinned like the cat who caught the canary.
"Yeah. Youâre screwed, buddy. Welcome back, E-Rank Luck."
"No need to play the âoops, I misspokeâ card," Kojirou said coolly, utterly ignoring CĂș Chulainnâs desperate, pleading glance. "All the rules of Werewolf were directly implanted into our minds by the Holy Grail. Youâd have to try to forget them."
He continued in that calm, deliberate voice:
"The term âreverse hookâ is used when a wolf who hasnât fake-claimed as Seer tries to side with the real Seer in order to throw off the Good teamâs perspective or to hide their identity."
"But hereâs the thing: youâre saying Sakatsukiâs the one reverse hooking? Thatâd only work if the Seer were realâand if Sakatsuki hadnât even spoken yet."
"Also, if youâre claiming both Sakatsuki and Draco are wolves... how could Sakatsuki be reverse hooking anyone? Wouldnât that make him Ritsukaâs ally?"
That line got the whole table laughing.
Impossible, obviously. Everyone knew Sakatsuki won the sheriff badge by directly tearing down Ritsukaâs logic. If he were her ally, that entire play would be insane.
Kojirou, at least, had the decency to only deliver a single verbal stab. Sakatsuki, on the other hand, wasnât feeling so mercifulâhe immediately followed up with the finishing blow.
"Donât bring the Master card into this," he said sharply. "This is Werewolf. The roles are randomized, and unless youâre the Seerâwhich youâre notâyouâve got zero grounds to call Ritsuka Good. The only ones who know whoâs who are the wolves who meet each other at night."
Sakatsuki had still been fretting over how to save that troublemaker Draco... but then Doggo came charging in, offering himself up on a silver platter.
A chance like that? He wouldnât dream of missing it.
"Everyone, letâs set all the other discussions aside for now," Sakatsuki said firmly. "Player 3âs mistakes are just too blatant. No matter what, my voteâs going to him."
And just to twist the knife a little deeper, he threw in a final jab at Ritsuka:
"Ohâand donât even think about lynching Player 6 during the day. If she is a wolf, sheâs most likely the Alpha. Killing her might trigger her retaliation ability, and thatâd be disastrous."
That was the power of the sheriff badge. While everyone was still digesting Sakatsukiâs logic, the voting had already begun.
And the outcome was as one-sided as it gets.
CĂș Chulainn had made far too many mistakesâmixing up terminology, trying to hide behind "trust the Master" logic, practically spelling out "Iâm a wolf" with his expressions. Even his own teammates wouldnât be able to save him.
[Voting Results] Players 1, 2, 4, 5, 7â14 voted for Player 3. Player 3 voted for Player 1. Player 6 abstained. Player 3 has been eliminated. Please leave your final words.
"Lancer dies again!" Sakatsuki declared triumphantly.
"You people have no heart!" Ritsuka chimed in with mock outrage, joining in immediately instead of mourning her teammate.
The roundtable erupted in laughter, the mood full of mock tragedy and a very Fate-style sense of despair.
"Ughhh! I told you Iâm no good at this backstabbing game!" CĂș Chulainn groaned, clearly on the verge of tears. "Whatâs wrong with a little good old-fashioned fighting and stabbing? This kind of game just gives me a headache!"
Clearly, heâd given up on defending himself. Not even trying to deny the werewolf accusation.
[Punishment will be drawn during tomorrowâs Day Phase.] The Holy Grail System delivered its cold judgment.
[Night has fallen. All players, close your eyes.]
A new round had begun.
***
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